Janet Raloff

Engineers are homing in on germs and other surprises behind the development of tiny holes in home water pipes.

Here's a novel health food I learned about this morning--one that could be free for the gleaning right outside your front door (especially if you live in China). Warning: You have to be quick or it will get away.

A European astronomy group beamed a video of a Doritos sacrifice to the god of salsa at a possible alien race in a star system associated with the Big Dipper.

A new study suggests that mice with prostate tumors should say “nuts to cancer.” Paul Davis of the University of California, Davis, hopes follow-up data by his team and others will one day justify men saying the same.

Lead, a toxic heavy metal, can show up in the most unexpected places. For instance, several recent studies documented a worrisome tainting of calcium supplements. Just last month, some Mexican lollipops were recalled from U.S. stores upon a finding that their wrappers had leached lead into the candy. And recently, this column recounted the perils […]

Wildlife scientists hope to reduce widespread consumption of sea turtle meat and other products by pointing out the health risks they pose.

Although rice can contain traces of a liver carcinogen, a new study finds that pressure-cooking reduces toxin quantities to safe levels.

Ubiquitous waterborne protozoa appear capable of aiding the survival of several types of bacteria responsible for gut-wrenching food poisoning.

BLOG: New data point to unexpected sociability and filial behavior in carnivore.

If food that was going to leave you with gut-wrenching cramps — or more — tasted  sickening, few people would indulge. The problem, of course, is that sickening food can taste quite scrumptious. Foods that look, smell, and taste yummy can still harbor disease-causing pathogens. Mead et al./Emerging Infectious Diseases Indeed, when the hour of […]