Category: Science

Positive Emotions Can Actually Harm You: Here’s How

While happiness can benefit your health in many ways, excessive joy can actually be harmful to your health. “There are cases of people who have suffered heart attacks when receiving very pleasant news but who have not been channeled in a calm way,” Isabel Suárez, a psychologist with over 25 years of experience and the head of…


EXCLUSIVE: Watchdog Urges Investigation of CDC, NIH Misinformation

President Joe Biden’s administration should investigate scientific integrity violations committed by officials who made false or misleading claims about COVID-19 and other matters, a watchdog says in a new letter. Multiple officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for instance, falsely said that COVID-19 was a top-five cause of death for…


Creating a ‘New Normal’ for Science: Should We Really Leave That ‘Mission’ to the Feds?

Commentary Ronald Reagan once quipped that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” He might have spared some thought on the terrors inflicted by those who presume to advise government. We rightly blame elected officials for poor judgment. We should also blame the…


Number 1 Herb to Detoxify From Heavy Metals

Amid recent studies showing that our household spices are rampant with heavy metals, including lead, aluminium, and mercury, health experts have highlighted that one of the best strategies for detoxifying from heavy metals is to consume more of a herb that can easily be added one’s diet with little expense—cilantro, otherwise known as coriander outside…


Microorganisms in the Gut Decide How Well Your Body Fights Cancer (Part 6)

In this series, we’ll share how the latest developments in this medical frontier are transforming our approaches to illness and offering new strategies to heal and prevent disease. Previously: Short-chain fatty acids—created by the microbiome—are the main metabolites it makes that link the gut to disease.  Mind-blowing studies are revealing miraculous qualities of our gut…


Gut Microbes Versus Today’s Top Killer Diseases (Part 6)

In this series, we’ll share how the latest developments in this medical frontier are transforming our approaches to illness and offering new strategies to heal and prevent disease. Previously: Short-chain fatty acids—created by the microbiome—are the main metabolites it makes that link the gut to disease.  Mind-blowing studies are revealing miraculous qualities of our gut…


Galactic Gobble: Star Swallows Planet in One Big Gulp

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—For the first time, scientists have caught a star in the act of swallowing a planet—not just a nibble or bite, but one big gulp. Astronomers on Wednesday reported their observations of what appeared to be a gas giant around the size of Jupiter or bigger being eaten by its star. The sun-like…


Obesity Epidemic Linked to Unexpected Factor: New Study

A new study published in Nature Metabolism (pdf) has revealed that the basal metabolic rate (BMR) in people in the United States and Europe has decreased over the past three decades, potentially contributing to the growing obesity epidemic in both regions. Basal metabolic rate, or basal energy expenditure, refers to the energy required per unit of…


FDA Approves First Pill Containing Human Feces

Patients needing a fecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections now have the option of getting stool in pill form. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Vowst, the first oral biologic drug for fecal microbiota that was shown in clinical trials to be as effective as fecal microbiota transplants given rectally. Biologic…


First Lunar Eclipse of 2023 Dims Full Moon Ever so Slightly

Stargazers in Asia and Australia had the best seats for the year’s first lunar eclipse. The four-hour eclipse got underway late Friday or early Saturday, depending on the location, as the moon slipped into the fringes of Earth’s shadow. In what’s known as a penumbral lunar eclipse, the full moon passed within the outer part…