Surprising Science — February 4, 2011

Cancer Isn’t a Disease; It’s Part of You

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Cancer cells are your own body, your own cells, just misbehaving and going a bit wrong. Therefore, we don’t need to cure cancer, just control it.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Person examining a petri dish with tweezers, holding small colored objects, against a dark background.

Health

Are microplastics really destroying our health?

They’re in our brains, hearts, and blood — but what are they doing to us?

Two colorful cells with purple nuclei, green cell edges, and radiating filament structures against a black background.

Health

When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow

The findings suggest that biochemical and physical effects of exercise could help heal nerves.

An abstract composite image depicting where life began with mountainous terrain, chemical structures, and a monochrome inset of a cloudy sky.

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when life first sprang forth on Earth?

Although early Earth was a molten hellscape, once it cooled, life arose almost immediately. That original chain of life remains unbroken.

A close up image of a group of pink bacteria on a black background.

Neuropsych

The growing link between microbes, mood, and mental health

Research suggests that to maintain a healthy brain, we should tend our gut microbiome.

Charles bridge in prague, czech republic.

Neuropsych

An untold story of LSD psychotherapy in communist Czechoslovakia

Uncovering the story of Milan Hausner, the Sadská clinic, and LSD psychotherapy behind the Iron Curtain.

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