Life Science

You've just touched a hot stove -- and probably felt an immediate sharp pain, then a dull ache. How do we sense pain, and why does it eventually go away?

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

That man dressed in animal skins and running around Jerusalem trying to baptize people isn't alone. Tourists in Jerusalem sometimes suffer from a strange conviction that they are Biblical figures. Are they mentally ill or is there more to it?

By Katie Lambert

Sleepwalking is an intriguing phenomenon. How can a person be unconscious but still coordinate his or her limbs? And how do we know when we're really awake?

By Katie Lambert

According to DNA research, we may all have a common ancestor, an African woman who lived thousands of years ago. How did scientists reach this conclusion? Is it even possible?

By Josh Clark & Desiree Bowie

How can spam e-mail help fight HIV? Find out how spam e-mail and HIV are linked and learn about new methods for HIV treatment.

By Josh Clark

Have you ever seen a baby with a tail? How about a whale with legs? Believe it or not, these things happen. They're called atavisms, and they might help us figure out evolution.

By Katie Lambert

You might think that not being able to feel pain would be a blessing. No tears, no painkillers, no lingering aches. But really, not being able to feel pain is dangerous.

By Katie Lambert

If your eyes are the windows to your soul, then your face might just be the window to your DNA. An examination of your face shape could determine if you suffer from a genetic disorder.

By Josh Clark

Collective hysteria can spread when a fear exists of exposure to a disease, combined with a contained environment. Learn more about collective hysteria works.

By Jacob Silverman & Austin Henderson

The journal "Nature" recently published a paper describing how a cell transplant had allowed blind mice to see again. What does this mean for humans?

By Tracy V. Wilson

Given the choice, would you rather have been born with a different eye color, hair color or skin tone? Of course, you didn't have these options, but could you have them for your own children?

By Kevin Bonsor & Julia Layton

Every animal you can think of -- mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians -- all have brains. But the human brain is unique. It gives us the power to think, plan, speak and imagine.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. & Robynne Boyd

While most psychologists believe that brainwashing is possible under the right conditions, some see it as improbable or at least as a less severe form of influence than the media portrays it to be. So how does someone get brainwashed?

By Julia Layton & Alia Hoyt

Stress is just around every corner for most of us these days. Reducing it requires you to learn the various types of stress, their different causes and how to deal with them.

By Betty Burrows

This week, a group of London-based scientists requested official permission to begin a three-year study involving stem cells derived from human-cow hybrids.

By Julia Layton

To achieve stability despite quick eye movements, the eyes take before and after shots of an image and compare them. Now, scientists may have finally discovered how.

By Julia Layton

Hereditary illnesses are passed down from parents to their children like gene traits, and children might inherit a disease even though their parents never suffered from its symptoms. Learn about hereditary illnesses.

By Alvin Eden & Elizabeth Eden

Learn the physiological processes that trigger a coma, how an actual coma differs from television depictions and how often people awaken after months or even years of being in a coma.

By Stephanie Watson

Plants that eat other creatures? It sounds like a genetic experiment gone awry. But there's actually nothing unnatural about it; carnivorous plants have been around for millions of years.

By Ann Meeker-O'Connell

The CBS drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" routinely uses cutting-edge technology to solve crimes, including collecting and analyzing DNA evidence. But catching a criminal using DNA evidence is not quite as easy as "CSI" makes it seem.

By William Harris

Cloning is the process of making a genetically identical organism through nonsexual means. In this article, we will examine how cloning works and look at possible uses of this technology.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

What is the difference between a hardwood and a softwood? How hard does a tree have to be to be considered hardwood?

With movie titles like "Attack of the Clones" and "The Clone Wars," it's no wonder human cloning makes us anxious. As scientists make startling discoveries cloning animals, are humans next?

By Kevin Bonsor & Cristen Conger

We can see dinosaur and plant fossils at just about any natural museum. What exactly are fossils, though, and how do they form?

By Austin Henderson

Nearly every cell in your body has the same DNA. It's the hereditary material located your cells' nucleus. But what does it do and why is it so important to all living beings?

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. & Jennifer Walker-Journey