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Constipation is often treated as a simple plumbing problem, too little movement, too much delay. But emerging research suggests that, in some people, the culprit may not be sluggish muscles or faulty nerves, but rather an unexpected partnership between common gut microbes quietly reshaping our intestinal environment.

New York City’s nation-leading cigarette taxes have pushed pack prices into the $14 range—and pushed consumers into the black market. Evidence from littered-pack studies shows most cigarettes smoked in the city evade local taxes altogether. If policymakers want to see how this escalates, Australia offers a cautionary tale.

Some breakthroughs change humanity forever. Others, not so much. This one clips discreetly onto your underwear and monitors how often you fart – the status of your flatus. And no, it's not April Fool's Day.

Metabolic Health is your body's internal systems: blood sugar levels, blood pressure, lipids, and inflammation. Poor metabolic health can drive up insulin resistance, a main culprit of heart disease, type two diabetes, among other issues.

There’s no shortage of spectacularly bad advice about dietary fat these days. None quite compares to the Soap Diet — a theory I involuntarily tested decades ago, courtesy of my mother. It's even worse. Probably.

On this episode of Science Dispatch, we take a look at the radiation oncology experience from the perspective of a patient (and radiation expert) who endured 28 mornings of this common but misunderstood therapy. What does the science say about efficacy and side effects? Perhaps more importantly, what can other patients expect from this experience?

Fruit flies’ exposure to radiation from the basis of modern federal radiation directives, the debate over how we calculate radiation risk has resurfaced with new Executive orders. The consequences reach far beyond academic quarrels.

A system that allows drug makers to profit from restricted access will never liberalize on its own—and patients will continue to bear the cost.

Newly published data indicate a quiet shift in hospital nurseries that may signal a broader change in how Americans view routine medical prevention. Hepatitis B vaccination is no longer as widespread at birth as it was just a few years ago. Whether this marks a temporary fluctuation or the start of a sustained trend carries implications that will unfold slowly and measurably over time.

For most of the 20th century, you could buy a laxative that looked like a chocolate bar. This seemed like a good idea until people started treating it like a chocolate bar. The story of “old” Ex-Lax is part dorm folklore, part chemistry lesson, and mostly useless. Enjoy it anyway.

A study published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that your daily caffeine fix might be doing more than just perking you up—it could be protecting your brain from dementia.

Few topics provoke as much concern as the perception that puberty is beginning earlier than ever. While synthetic endocrine-disrupting chemicals are often cast as the primary culprits, puberty is complex, and evidence from a large population study suggests that energy balance and inheritance may exert stronger, more consistent influences on pubertal onset than trace chemical exposures alone.

Climate change plaintiffs now claim that greenhouse gases are causing property damage through fire, flood, and frost, ignoring the role of Mother Nature. Creative attorneys are repackaging these natural catastrophes as the consequence of the “nefarious” activities of alleged greenhouse gas polluters, such as oil and gas companies. Whether these cases will be allowed to be brought in state court before sympathetic juries is now a question posed to the Supreme Court.

There’s a difference between explaining science and dancing around it. When the question is basic immunology, the answer shouldn’t require decoding. A straight answer still counts. It was in short supply at the Casey Means hearing.

Raw milk has long been at the center of passionate debate, with public health concerns often clashing against emerging research on its microbial complexity and potential benefits. A recent ACSH commentary appears to overlook a growing body of peer-reviewed evidence. This review highlights key scientific advances that challenge outdated assumptions and call for a more balanced, evidence-based conversation.

Words matter in national dietary guidance—especially technical ones. In the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, readers are urged to prioritize oils “with essential fatty acids,” with olive oil, butter, and beef tallow offered as examples. But in nutrition science, “essential” has a precise biochemical meaning—and those examples don’t align with it.

One year ago, Los Angeles experienced one of the most destructive urban wildfire disasters in its history. The fires consumed more than 55,000 acres, destroyed nearly 16,000 homes, and claimed approximately 440 lives — leaving tens of thousands displaced and entire neighborhoods altered. While debris was cleared in record time, the health consequences of burning not just forests but entire urban environments are still unfolding.

Why do some people get goosebumps from a song while others hear the exact same notes…and feel nothing?
New research reveals “musical anhedonia” — a real brain disconnect where music hits your ears but never reaches the reward center. It’s not picky taste, but a fascinating finding from neurology. Let's take a closer look.

Today is an AI edition, a chance to consider its expanding reach — from the playroom to the ballpark to the battlefield. What was once confined to screens and research labs is now embedded in toys, adjudicating sports, and shaping the debate over how we defend the homeland, with Iran in the foreground and Ukraine in the background.

Stories about celebrities taking propanolol, a beta-blocking drug, are all over the place. It's being used to ward off stage fright. Does it really work, or is it just more celebrity nonsense? Hint - it works.

In 1921, Otto Loewi woke from a dream with the idea for an experiment that proved nerves communicate using chemicals, not just electricity. By showing that stimulating one frog’s heart released a substance that slowed another heart, he discovered the first neurotransmitter—acetylcholine—launching modern neuropharmacology. His breakthrough transformed medicine, even as his life was later upended by the Nazis despite his Nobel Prize–winning work.

From miracle weight-loss fix to mass tort battleground: drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro promise better health — but also spark mass lawsuits. So, are they a pharma bonanza, a plaintiffs’ jackpot, or both?

A short newsletter item summarized a new Canadian study into a simple takeaway: toddlers who eat more ultra-processed foods tend to develop more behavioral problems. The statement is technically accurate—but like many science headlines, it omits the context that explains what the findings truly mean. When the effect sizes and baseline scores are examined more closely, the story becomes far less alarming—and more interesting.

A dish of living human neurons has been taught to play Doom. No, it isn’t conscious or watching the screen the way players do. But it is learning to respond to signals in a way that produces recognizable gameplay, something that is mind-blowing. The real story isn’t gaming; it’s what this kind of bio-electronic interface might eventually be good for.