The World’s Tiniest Pacemaker Ever Made That Dissolves
For the small percent of babies born with a heart defect who need a pacemaker in the fragile days after surgery, the current solution involves wires, a device strapped to the outside of the chest, and a removal procedure risky enough that it has killed patients. A team of engineers and doctors at Northwestern University […]
The Sleep Apnea Pill That Could Replace Your CPAP Machine
Millions of people around the world rely on a bulky breathing machine called a CPAP to get through the night, and many of them quietly give up on it because sleeping with a mask strapped to your face simply becomes too difficult to keep doing. Now, for the first time, scientists may have found a […]
The Small City That Took On McDonald’s And Won
A small city in Germany took on McDonald’s in court and won, and now cities around the world are paying very close attention. Tübingen, a charming medieval university town in southwestern Germany, was drowning in disposable takeout trash, with paper coffee cups stuffed into every bin and pizza boxes piling up on centuries-old church steps […]
Why Every Culture In The World Makes This Same Dish
No matter where you grew up, there is a good chance your family had a special bowl of something warm waiting for you on your worst days. Across every continent and culture, people have been simmering broths and stocks for thousands of years, and scientists and historians are still uncovering just how deeply these humble […]
Blind Patients Are Reading Again Thanks To This Tech
For people who have lost their central vision to eye disease, the inability to read is often one of the most devastating parts of the experience, taking away everything from books and labels to phone numbers and handwritten notes in an instant. But a tiny wireless chip smaller than a pencil eraser may be about […]
Rockstar Cycles 1000 Miles To Save A Charity
When a rock musician decides to cycle the entire length of the United Kingdom, roughly 1,000 miles from the southern tip of England all the way to the northern coast of Scotland, you know the cause behind it must be something truly special. Ross MacDonald, bassist of the globally beloved band The 1975, is doing […]
The Age Gap Friendships That Are Changing Lives
Most of us naturally seek out friends who are close to our own age, people who share the same stage of life and the same everyday pressures, but a growing body of research is now making a compelling case that some of the most meaningful friendships we can ever have are with people from a […]
Ayahuasca For Depression Is Proving To Be Surprisingly Helpful
For the roughly 332 million people around the world living with depression, a groundbreaking new clinical trial published in a leading medical journal is offering a genuine and powerful reason for hope. Researchers at Imperial College London studied a naturally occurring compound called DMT, the active ingredient in the traditional Amazonian brew ayahuasca, and found […]
The Surprising Brain Benefits Of Birdwatching
If you have a birdwatcher in your life, it turns out they might be onto something far more powerful than a relaxing morning hobby. A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that expert birdwatchers actually have measurably different brain structures compared to beginners, with notably denser tissue in the areas responsible for […]
The Unexpected Run Club Taking Over America
Running has a new soundtrack, and it goes all night long. Grammy-winning DJ and music producer Diplo has launched his own run club series, taking the well-worn concept of a 5K race and completely transforming it into something that people in cities all across America are calling the most fun they have ever had in […]