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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Food has always carried meaning, but in contemporary nutrition culture, it is increasingly treated as a moral test. In the unqualified world of wellness and nutrition influencers, foods are no longer discussed as more or less nutritious; they are labelled good or bad, clean or dirty, virtuous or problematic. Framing nutrition this way shifts the focus away from health and toward judging both food choices and the people who make them.

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.

A failed private lawsuit accusing major food companies of engineering addictive food has been resurrected by San Francisco’s city attorney, recasting contested nutrition science as a public nuisance. The new complaint invites judges—not legislators or regulators—to redraw the boundaries of what constitutes acceptably safe food. At stake is whether litigation will become the new tool for reshaping America’s dinner table and designing healthy menus.

On this episode of Science Dispatch, we dive into the latest Kīlauea eruption and the alarming chemistry behind the air people are breathing. The volcano is releasing massive amounts of sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrochloric acid, and other nasty gases—creating vog (volcanic smog) that irritates lungs, eyes, and skin, especially for sensitive groups. Here's what you need to know.

You've seen them on your social media algorithms: longevity influencers promising eternal youth with fancy gadgets, exotic supplements, extreme protocols, and million-dollar routines. In reality, most of what they're peddling is just a flashy overpriced rebrand of what doctors and health experts have been recommending for decades.

Eat romantic AND protect your ticker! This Valentine's Day, love your heart as much as you love your Valentine! 💕 Discover 4 heart-healthy foods + a bonus red wine toast — backed by real studies that slash heart risks.

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.

The term 'exploding trees' has been trending on social media, given the frigid cold temps blanketing the Midwest, and some influencers out there are fueling the misinformation. So what's the science say? Hear us out.

Imagine a world where your pill could actually tell your doctor: “Yes, I’ve been taken.”
That’s no longer science fiction. MIT engineers have created a revolutionary smart pill that reports from inside your stomach the moment it’s swallowed.

Ladies, what if you could screen for cervical cancer from the comfort of your own home—no awkward exam, no long drive to the doctor, just a simple swab you mail in? This isn't some distant future... it's a brand-new guideline that's about to change everything for women's health, and it's a massive win that could save countless lives.

Lonvi Biosciences says the answer is yes: citing a Nature Metabolism paper, its CTO claims “living 150 years is entirely practical” with a monthly three-day dose of PCC1, a grape-seed–derived “senolytic” meant to wipe out inflammation-spewing senescent “zombie cells.” The catch is that the longevity boost so far is in mice—not humans—so selling PCC1 as a life-extension breakthrough is a classic leap from intriguing lab biology to premature, hype-heavy promises.