Latest articles by Mindy Weisberger
'The parasite was in the driver's seat': The zombie ants that die gruesome deaths fit for a horror movie
"Once the egg hatches, the ant has only a few weeks of life before it succumbs to the manipulations of its attacker, stumbling away from its home and family and then undergoing decapitation from the inside out."
Flu: Facts about seasonal influenza and bird flu
Learn interesting facts about the flu, a viral infection that targets the respiratory system.
Diagnostic dilemma: A fish bone wandered through a man's abdomen and stabbed his liver
A man went to the hospital several times with gut pain and a fever — and it turned out that his relatively common symptoms had an unusual cause.
Diagnostic dilemma: Speed eating a 7-pound burger sent a man to ER unable to pass gas
A case report highlights one potential danger of competitive speed eating.
Diagnostic dilemma: Teen's improbable pregnancy occurred after oral sex
A teen girl with abdominal pain learned she was pregnant and had conceived under extremely unusual circumstances.
Diagnostic dilemma: One Direction concert left teen with 'crackling' bubbles in her chest
In what doctors called an "extraordinary" case, a teenage girl developed several rare conditions after attending a pop concert.
Diagnostic dilemma: A man ended up in the ER after drinking 6 gallons of milk in 2 days
A man experiencing excessive thirst drank lots of milk, with dangerous consequences.
Diagnostic dilemma: A woman injected herself with venom from a black widow spider
Most exposures to black widow spider venom are accidental, but in a rare medical case, the exposure was intentional.
Diagnostic dilemma: A woman's nut allergy was triggered after sex
A woman with a known nut allergy had a severe allergic reaction after sex, even though her partner bathed and brushed his teeth first. Here's why.
Diagnostic dilemma: A surgeon accidentally transplanted a tumor into his own hand
In an unusual case, a surgeon developed a cancerous lump on his hand that stemmed from an injury he sustained while performing surgery.
Diagnostic dilemma: A man's penis was turning to bone
A man in his 60s went to the emergency room after a fall and ended up being diagnosed with a rare disorder of the penis.
Diagnostic dilemma: A woman got 'broken heart syndrome' after eating too much wasabi
The patient was diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as "broken heart syndrome," which had an unusual cause.
Body parts grown in the lab
In recent years, scientists have successfully grown a range of miniature organs and human body parts in the lab.
How many galaxies orbit the Milky Way?
The number of known galaxies circling the Milky Way is increasing as we develop new powerful telescopes.
How many times does a heart beat in a day? What about in a lifetime?
Celine Dion sings that "my heart will go on," but how many times does it actually beat in a day or even a lifetime?
Tardigrades: Facts about one of the hardiest animals on Earth, and beyond
Reference Tardigrades, often called water bears or moss piglets, are near-microscopic animals that are extremely resilient.
Why did Homo sapiens outlast all other human species?
What's the secret to Homo sapiens' success as a species?
Do animals have friends?
Friendship is a key component of human social relationships. Is this also true for animals?
How to make a solar eclipse viewer to safely watch the total solar eclipse on April 8
Don't have a pair of eclipse glasses to view the April 8 total solar eclipse? No sweat; you can make a safe and simple DIY eclipse viewer with a box, some tinfoil, and a few household craft supplies.
What's the difference between deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning?
Deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning are easy to mix up. Learn what the difference is and see examples of each type of scientific reasoning.
Why don't people have tails?
Scientists recently found that a so-called jumping gene may have jumped ship millions of years ago, and taken our tails with it.
James Webb Space Telescope: Origins, design and mission objectives
Reference NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has launched and it's the most powerful in history, giving us the deepest ever view into our universe.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a federally-recognized American holiday observed on June 19. It is also known as Emancipation Day and Black Independence Day. In 2023, it falls on a Monday.
