Hoping against hope, cell phone conversations – hands-free or not – continue to distract drivers. No two ways around that. But so does talking to the car's other occupants. 

This summer, a new mosquito emoji will be available for use in your texts and tweets. Global health advocates hope that it'll be used to raise awareness about mosquito-borne diseases. Get ready to give your messages about malaria, Zika, dengue, and yellow fever a little more buzz. 

New research into the 1918 and 2009 influenza pandemics reveal a potential warning sign: Mild cases of influenza that occur in the spring or summer may be a harbinger of a devastating pandemic to come in the autumn.

Environmental Working Group, which promotes fear and doubt about the (non-organic) American food supply, tries to pretend it isn't industry-driven. But given the group's cozy relationship with industry, it's no surprise officials have named Shazi Visram, a top organic baby food company founder, to its board.

There's a perennial shortage of donated kidneys, but the U.S. donor pool just got larger. Previously, more than 3 million infected with the hepatitis C virus couldn't be donors. But now, thanks to incredible new drugs, infected kidneys can be successfully transplanted. For this miracle, give the pharmaceutical industry a tip of the hat.

Wheat is one of our most important crops. Unlike corn and soy, GMO versions are not sold. There are several reasons for that, but one is the complexity of the wheat genome and challenges of altering it. Now, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing may have created a bigger, better wheat. 

Pollsters have taken a beating the last few years. Getting Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election wrong were spectacular failures that shook the public's faith in prediction models.

Despite claims that organic furniture is less likely to kill you in a house fire, chemicals have a track record of making your safer.

A few summers ago, adults, but mostly children, were becoming paralyzed after falling ill. This was something that had not been seen in 60 years. It was called acute flaccid myelitis, and while different causes were suspected the mystery remained unsolved. After researchers took a long look at the cases, they may have found the cause.

A team of scholars at Iowa State Univ. presented research validating what the scientific community has long suspected: Some anti-GMO groups are (1) either sending information to Russian propaganda sites to assist in their efforts to undermine American agricultural dominance or, (2) they're acting as "useful idiots" by promoting concern about America's food supply.