The Sciences
Transparent Rats Give Scientists Clear View to Innards
New technique turns rodent bodies transparent
Medical Technology1337 articles archived since 1845
Health
Weaponized Ebola: Is It Really a Bioterror Threat?
What would it take to hijack the virus in west Africa and turn it into a bioterror agent elsewhere?
Health
U.S. Prescription-Drug Safety Program Expands
The FDA will continue to monitor safety from health records
U.S. Department of Defense Health Official Speaks Out on Ebola and Other Threats
Earlier this month, I posted a Q&A on the Ebola outbreak with a Stevens colleague, medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail. MacPhail also put me in touch with someone who could provide more insight into the outbreak, Dr...
Ig Nobel Prizes Make You Laugh, Then Think
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—What happens in the brains of people who see Jesus in a piece of toast? What are the physics of slipping on a banana peel?
How We Made Contact Lenses Comfortable and Safe
He would dab on a bit of cocaine to anesthetize his eyes first. Then, to prevent air getting in, Müller would insert the lenses with his eyes under water.
The Sciences
7 Amazing Google Science Fair Projects
Tonight, Google will announce the winners of its fourth annual Google Science Fair, which Scientific American co-sponsors. Watch the awards ceremony here live.
Health
Giant African Rats Detect Land Mines and TB for a Living
So yesterday, I adopted an unborn land-mine-detecting African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus) from Tanzania. Did I spend 20 minutes figuring out what I was going to call it, as one of my many privileges as an adoptive parent?...
Health
White House Unveils Strategy to Combat Antibiotic Resistance
A new science advisory panel assessment sparks executive actions to tamp down the threat of a future without lifesaving drugs
Journey Through the Brain: MIT Neurotech
Editor's note: This is the first installment in a series about emerging neurotechnologies. Join a pilot class of 12 PhD students at MIT as we explore how neuroscience is revolutionizing our understanding of the brain...
Health
Bio-Spleen Sucks Pathogens and Toxins from Blood
The new device rids the blood of bacteria, fungi, viruses and toxins using nanoscale-size magnetic beads. Cynthia Graber reports
Health
New Tracking Technologies Aim to Prevent Sloppy Handling at U.S. Biolabs
The CDC is piloting cameras and tablets in high-level biosafety spaces in an effort to avoid future infectious disease botch-ups
Technology
5 Ways to Thwart Illegal Drug Dealing Online
Recent reports from ABC News and the UK's Daily Mail suggest eBay is providing a platform for sellers engaged in an illegal prescription drug trade.
Smartphone App Takes Morality Science Out of the Lab and Into the Real World
Just when it seems there's a mobile app for just about everything, psychologists have shown there's room for one more: they are using smartphones to help them better understand the dynamics of moral and immoral behavior out in the community...
Health
Map of Body’s Protein-Folding Machinery Wins a Major Medical Prize
The Lasker Awards are called the “American Nobels,” and one of the new winners says curiosity is his driving force
Induced Labor Decreases Rate of Cesareans, Study Finds
I used to think there was no question about this. Induction was the prologue to a long, hard labor that often wouldn’t go well. And cesarean section was the (un)natural logical end of that...
Health
Blood Transfusions from Survivors Best Way to Fight Ebola
A panel of experts from the World Health Organization says blood plasma and whole blood transfusions should have priority—for now
Health
Cadavers and Curios from the Dawn of Modern Medicine [Slide Show]
Illustrations from the new book Dr. Mütter’s Marvels chronicle the tools available to 19th-century Philadelphia doctor and medical innovator Thomas Mütter
Mind & Brain
Could Deep Brain Stimulation Fortify Soldiers' Minds?
As many as 20 percent of war veterans return from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression, according to a 2008 report from the RAND Corporation...
Health
Ebola Now Poses a Threat to National Security in West Africa
The virus remains unchecked because of the lack of a global effort to implement emergency public-health measures
