On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in a challenge to abortion pill access across the country, including in states where abortion is legal. The stakes for abortion rights are sky-high, and the case is the most consequential battle over reproductive health care access …
Read More »Are You Noise Sensitive? Here's How to Tell
As a mom of three boys, I can barely hear my thoughts against the cacophony of my brood plotting their next Minecraft moves, bartering Pokémon cards, or singing a Weird Al parody. They’re not fighting or wreaking havoc, but life with three energetic school-aged kids is, well, noisy … and …
Read More »Why You Hear Voices in Your White Noise Machine
Every night, I—like millions of others—put on a noise machine to help me sleep. Mine offers several types of noise: white, pink, green, and brown. I’ve noticed something strange, though. After about 30 minutes of the noise pumping into my head, I start to hear things. Sometimes it’s music, like …
Read More »A Gene-Edited Pig Kidney Was Just Transplanted Into a Person for the First Time
In a world first, surgeons in Boston have transplanted a genetically altered pig kidney into a 62-year-old man. The procedure is a step toward providing more readily available organs to patients who are in desperate need of a transplant. The four-hour surgery was carried out on March 16 at Massachusetts …
Read More »There Are Already More Measles Cases in the US This Year Than All of 2023
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association sent out separate but similar pleas on Monday for unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinated against the extremely contagious measles virus as vaccination rates have slipped, cases are rising globally and nationally, and the spring-break travel period is beginning. …
Read More »The Global Danger of Boring Buildings
Thomas Heatherwick is on a mission. The world’s architects and city planners need to be driven to stop filling cities with dull buildings, the designer and founder of Heatherwick Studio believes. The health of the planet—and its population—may be at stake. If planners keep sanctioning buildings that nobody loves, then …
Read More »The Keys to a Long Life Are Sleep and a Better Diet—and Money
In one way or another, the superrich have always been trying to extend their lives. Ancient Egyptians crammed their tombs with everything they’d need to live on in an afterlife not unlike their own world, just filled with more fun. In the modern era, the ultra-wealthy have attempted to live …
Read More »A Pill That Kills Ticks Is a Promising New Weapon Against Lyme Disease
If you have a dog or cat, chances are you’ve given your pet a flavored chewable tablet for tick prevention at some point. What if you could take a similar pill to protect yourself from getting Lyme disease? Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is developing such a pill for humans—minus the tasty flavoring—that …
Read More »Climate Change Is Bad for Your Health, Wherever You Are
Extreme heat kills roughly half a million people worldwide each year, but at the current rate of global warming it could be close to five times as deadly by 2050. Then there are the indirect health risks of climate change: Chaotic weather and higher temperatures generate deadly natural disasters, bring …
Read More »I Tried Aescape’s Robot-Arm-Powered Massage Table—and Loved Being in Control
I had My first-ever professional massage last December during a spa day with some friends. Everyone opted for a traditional massage, which required a preliminary consultation. They disrobed, and the massage took place in a private room. I opted for a shiatsu massage—a clothed experience in a semiprivate area, and …
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