When we say “salt”, we usually mean the stuff we sprinkle on our chips, which is sodium chloride (NaCl). But, technically speaking, this is just one example of a salt.

Scientists have identified an inner ear deficiency in children with autism that may affect their ability to recognize speech. The finding suggests that a hearing test could one day be used identify children at risk for the disorder at an early age.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force has released a report saying there isn’t enough evidence to recommend that clinicians perform visual screening for melanomas for patients with no known risk for the skin cancer.

Beginning exerciser to triathlete, we know that exercise does us good. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends a fitness program combining cardio and strength training. But what you eat is just as important...

Anyone admitted to a hospital faces stress and anxiety, often in tandem with pain and trauma. Add into this mix a bombardment of information and instructions from a sea of strangers, and it's easy to become overwhelmed. How can patients and their loved ones keep track of everything they need to know?

Manipulating the brain has been a tool used in the treatment of mental illness for centuries, and treatments have often been controversial.

In a series of experiments, an embryonic stem cell gene kicked into action dormant cellular processes that are key to preventing weak bones, clogged arteries, and other telltale signs of growing old.

When a child is diagnosed with asthma, parents usually have a number of questions. How serious is asthma? Will the child grow out of it?

The number of new cases of metastatic prostate cancer climbed 72 percent from 2004 to 2013, but it’s unclear whether the rise is due to a recent trend of fewer screenings, the disease becoming more aggressive, or both.

I remember as a child, on the rare warm days that we used to get in Britain, my grandmother telling me to “have a cup of black tea … it will help cool you down”. As a seven-year-old, this seemed like a crazy idea, especially when all I wanted was a cold lemonade and another ice cream.

It should be one of the most relaxing times of the day. You climb into bed, get comfortable and cosy, start to feel your brain slowing down … and then suddenly you experience a shocking falling sensation.

It is an open secret: while athletes dope their bodies, regular office workers dope their brains. They buy prescription drugs such as Ritalin or Provigil on the internet’s flourishing black market to boost their cognitive performance.

Superfoods are everywhere these days. Once found only in niche health food shops, displays of “exotic” superfoods like açai from the Brazilian Amazon and maca from the Peruvian Andes now appear in supermarket chains, chemists, and convenience stores.

Out of the blue, I passed bright red pee. I freaked, thinking it was a sign of terminal disease. Then I remembered the roasted beetroot tarts served at the party the night before – so delicious I’d eaten three!

Scientists in Greece claimed recently to have reversed the menopause. They did this by injecting blood plasma that contains platelets into the ovaries of eight women who had not menstruated for around five months in order to stimulate ovarian regeneration.

In a study of over 25,000 adults with detailed information about their eating habits, people with a greater diversity of foods in their diet showed a 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes over a ten-year period.

Ordering lunch at least an hour before you eat could help you cut calories and avoid unhealthy impulse choices.

If you take prescription opioids, you may have experienced withdrawal symptoms at some point—perhaps when you forgot to take a scheduled dose of medication. Opioid withdrawal is highly unpleasant. If you experience withdrawal symptoms, this does not meant that you cannot get off opioids...

"It doesn't matter how old you are or if you're in a wealthy country or a poorer one or if you've had it before—you can get it again," says Sarah M. Bartsch. "And it is really unpleasant. But if we don't focus on norovirus and teach people how to prevent it, little headway will be made to combat it."

It is a popular belief that women who live together synchronise their menstrual cycles, and that it’s mediated by their pheromones – the airborne molecules that enable members of the same species to communicate non-verbally.

Ever since I was a child, I chased the sun. I was ecstatic in the summer and miserable in the winter. My parents would have to chase after me to wear a hat and long sleeves because I wouldn’t think about sunburns or skin cancer at all, all I could think about was JOY.

Many of us have experienced intense cravings for dishes our moms or dads used to cook. Indeed, it would make sense that our parents' cooking forever shapes our food preferences.

Cuba has officially become the first country in the world to eliminate the transmission of HIV and syphilis from mother to child.