Humans

The highly rated variety of medical marijuana known as "Blue Dream" was displayed among other strains at a cannabis farmers market in Los Angeles in 2014.

Marijuana's Health Effects? Top Scientists Weigh In

7:40pm January 12, 2017

by Patti Neighmond

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine sorted through 10,000 studies to determine the good and bad health effects of marijuana. Tight drug restrictions impede research, they say.

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Chart: Obesity-Related Insurance Claims Have Risen In Youth Under 22

Obesity-Linked Diagnoses On The Rise Among Kids And Teens

2:13pm January 12, 2017

by Julie Appleby

A new analysis of U.S. health insurance claims is worrisome, pediatricians say: More and more young people are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

Science

New Gene-Editing Techniques Hold the Promise Of Altering The Fundamentals Of Life

1:33pm January 12, 2017

New Yorker writer Michael Specter discusses emerging biotechnologies that will make it possible to remove disease and change the characteristics of life by rewriting the genetic code in cells.

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Mai Dang, who owns Fashion Nails in Berkeley, Calif., does a client's nails. The ventilator hose poised over her shoulder helps keeps noxious fumes at bay.

California Nail Salons Start To Invest In Worker Safety

8:55am January 12, 2017

by Jenny Gold

A statewide collaborative of nail salons now has 120 members; all have made ventilation upgrades and switched from toxic products to safer ones. Will clients be willing to pay extra to help workers?

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'What Doesn't Kill Us' ... Invites Practical Medical Benefits

8:40am January 08, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Author Scott Carney talks about his new book, "What Doesn't Kill Us." Looking at case studies, Carney investigates how the body uses its environment to build resistance to normally extreme conditions.

I'm Fasting For Science: Will It Help Tame My Multiple Sclerosis?

6:00am January 08, 2017

by Brandie Jefferson

I like to eat, often and a lot. But when I heard about a medical study looking at whether fasting might tame the painful symptoms of MS, I was all in. Then I ate that 7 a.m. bagel.

More Families Choosing Cremation For Departed Loved Ones

8:08am January 07, 2017

Cremation rates in the U.S. have nearly doubled over the past 15 years. Barbara Kemmis, executive director of the Cremation Association of North America, discusses reasons for the increase.

A child takes a facial recognition test in which he is asked to match the face on the top to one of the faces on the bottom.

Brain Area That Recognizes Faces Gets Busier And Better In Young Adults

6:38pm January 05, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

From birth through age 30 or so, our ability to recognize faces keeps improving, research shows. At first, kids discern adult faces better than other kids' mugs. Not so after adolescence.

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New Guidelines Tell Parents When To Introduce Babies To Peanut Products

12:14pm January 05, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

The recommendations by a panel sponsored by the National Institutes of Health suggest introducing foods containing peanuts into the diets of children as young as 4 to 6 months.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute excavate the East Gallery of Denisova Cave in Siberia in August 2010. With ancient bone fragments so hard to come by, being able to successfully filter dirt for the DNA of extinct human ancestors can open new door

Dust To Dust: Scientists Find DNA Of Human Ancestors In Cave Floor Dirt

4:39pm January 04, 2017

by Joe Palca

Anthropologists in Germany say they may not need old bones to recover ancient DNA. They just analyze dust from the floor of caves where Neanderthals and other now-extinct human relatives once resided.