Health on ZME Science

Meet Chuño, a space worthy food that the Incas made eight centuries ago

It's got an impressive shelf-life for something you prepare by leaving outside for a few nights then stomping on it.

Getting blackout drunk: how alcohol can leave you with no memory of the night before

Blacking out from alcohol is a bit more complicated than you might think.

Why some people are claustrophobic

A fraction of the world's population will always take the stairs.

Music for the nose: an olfactory organ

A"smell organ" shoots scents instead of musical notes to dazzle an audience.

Worst pain known to man is caused by the world's largest ant

The bullet packs the most painful punch in the animal kingdom.

How many people are younger or older than me?

To check where you stand among the age demographics in the U.S., Nathan Yau of Flowing Data made this interactive chart that's incredibly easy to use.

Ancient recipes: Pullum Numidicum (Numidian Chicken)

Perhaps one of the most underappreciated aspects of archaeology is cooking. We know surprisingly little about how people used to cook in ancient times, although a few delicious recipes managed to slip through the cracks and remain recorded. Such is the case with Pullum Numidicum (Numidian Chicken), a simple, delicious and authentic Roman recipe. The dish […]

Facts about left-handed people according to science

Pay gap, fighting, and over-achieving -- welcome to the world of lefties!

How to read the nutritional facts label

Nutritional labels can be daunting to read if you have no idea what to look for. Most of us don’t have the time and energy to work out what these mean, so we buy on impulse. Naturally, you’d think something as important as a product’s nutritional facts was presented in a more straightforward manner. But […]

Why we get goosebumps

Goosebumps are strange. We get goosebumps when we’re cold, when we’re afraid, and sometimes when we’re really excited – three very different situations. But no matter why we get them, goosebumps are tightly connected to a single hormone: adrenaline. The anatomy of a goosebump [panel style=”panel-success” title=”Goosebumps form:” footer=””]- when you’re cold – when you’re […]

Why you should microwave your sponges, according to science

The best way to keep your sponges clean is to microwave them.

Why depression makes you tired

Depression can be exhausting. Here's why.

How long different drugs stay in your body: what you need to know

How long marijuana, cocaine, LSD, and other drugs stay in your urine, hair or blood.

How hearing works and other eary functions

Hear all about it here.

How the eye works

How eyesight works and other functions.

Why does your voice sound so different when recorded

It's always annoying.

What is HIIT and what are the health benefits

Just a couple of minutes of high-intensity exercising can provide similar heath benefits as an hour of cardio. Learn why, along with some training tips.

How to easily determine your eye dominance

Not many people know it, but just like you have a hand dominance, you also have an eye dominance. Here's how you can figure it out.

Is organic food actually better? Here's what the science says

It happens to all of us. You’re in the supermarket, you’re buying vegetables and produce, and you’re faced with the inevitable choice: regular or organic? It’s a surprisingly complex question, that carries a different significance for different people. For some, organic means healthier, or more nutritious. For others, it means eco-friendly, or tastier. It can […]

Tea Histories: Yerba Mate

Mate Tea is one of the more uncommon and special teas you can have. Not exactly a tea, it’s been a favorite of millions for hundreds of years. Typically prepared from dried leaves of Yerba Mate, the tea is served through a metallic straw called a bombilla. But let’s take it slower, and start with the […]

How long does food stay fresh? Learn what expiration dates really mean

Experts did the math and they estimate that $165 billion worth of perfectly edible food gets tossed each year, due to it passing it's expiration date. But most of these dates are largely made up.

Is Dairy Addiction Real? Here's what science says

Dairy Addiction is one idea toted not only as a notion, but as a fact by a significant number of vegans, especially ones that do not link to any reliable source (if any at all) to provide any evidence to the conclusion they have reached. So I decided that I will take it upon myself […]

Why corn is a fruit, tomatoes are berries, rhubarb is a vegetable, and strawberries are neither

Fruits and vegetables – they’re tasty and they’re healthy… but do you know what they really are? Hank Green, which we know for developing EcoGeek, explained on Youtube why some things are fruits, some things are vegetables, and some things are neither. Prepare to have your mind blown: We generally consider vegetables as a side dish […]

9 Foods to Make Sure You're Eating Enough Potassium

Potassium is one of the more important nutrients in our diet, and the recommended daily dietary intake is 4700mg – but few of us actually get even close to that figure (you may need more or less potassium depending on your body and if you have certain medical conditions). Sure, you can take dietary supplements, but […]

What is Cat-Eye Syndrome -- here's what the science says

It might look cool, but this genetic condition can cause some very serious health problems.

Cannabis under the microscope: up close and personal

Scientists, in the lab at least, see marijuana differently from growers or users. Like other plants, once you dive into the microworld cannabis looks immensely different from the buds you see online. These amazing pictures which size up the planet’s crystals, trichomes or leafs were taken by Ford McCann and compiled in a book called Cannabis […]

Why Viagra makes you see everything blue-tinted

A lesser known side effect of a famous blue pill.

What's Inside a Flu Shot - And Why There's Nothing to Fear

The science of flu vaccines.

Why you get zapped when you hit your elbow - the hilarious funny bone

We've all hit our elbow a rough couple of times before, so you must remember what follows: a gripping tingling suddenly engulfs your whole arm in tandem with excruciating pain. It all feels like a million volts of electricity just passed through you. Usually, this numbness only lasts a couple of minutes, but if it doesn't go away then this is the case for a doctor. If you ever wondered what causes this strange sensation, read on.

Do people learn anything from Psychology?

Psychology is maybe most valuable when it exposes our inherent biases and what's commonly known as irrational thinking. But you'd expect people to learn and correct their behavior after learning the findings of surprising psychology experiments. For most people, this isn't the case.

We're heading for a chocolate crisis - cocoa shortage incoming by 2020

The world is running out of chocolate, and if we don’t take some significant action soon, we’ll be dealing with a major chocolate shortage in less then a decade. The Swiss Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s largest chocolate producer, has joined a host of industry experts in expressing concerns about “a potential cocoa shortage by 2020”. […]

The Problem with Using Psychology to Explain Collecting

Collectors are more than just horders.

Your Taste in Music Might Reveal How Dumb (or Smart) You Are

Virgil Griffith, a student at Caltech, embarked on a most interesting project to seek whether there’s any connection between the music you enjoy and, uhm, your intellectual abilities. Griffith used aggregated Facebook data about the favorite bands among students of various colleges and plotted them against the average SAT scores at those schools. This allowed him […]

How antivenom is made and why it's so darn expensive

Some 100,000 people die each year from venomous snakes bites. Most die because there's not enough antivenom.

The Weird Wold of Parasitic Twins & Twin Chimerism

So you perhaps thought that twins could be either identical or fraternal? But did you know that there are actually other types of twins besides these two mentioned? Of course, identical and fraternal twins are the ones we are more aware of because they are the ones we hear about most and are most likely […]

Why tattoos are permanent - it's not what you think

Here's a scientific explanation that will show you what happens when you get a tattoo and why the ink will forever show on you body. Hint: it's not because of how deep the ink is.

Drug Development: What it is, how it works, and why it matters

We’ve been receiving many messages from you guys, asking why exactly does it take so long to develop a new drug/treatment, especially when it appears to be extremely promising. So, in this article, I will explain what drug development is, how it works, why it takes so long (usually 10-15 years) and why it costs […]

Tomtato or Pomato? Half potato, half tomato plant increases crop efficiency

The pomato is produced by grafting a tomato plant and a potato plant.

Everything you wanted to know about paracetamol

Paracetamol or acetaminophen (going by trade names such as Tylenol, Panadol, Efferalgan, and many more) is one of the most common and effective drugs out there. You’ve almost certainly took it at some point in your life, your parents have, your friends have, I don’t think I know more than a few people who never […]

9 reasons why there wasn't stress in the good old days

Turns out, heroin was much easier to get a few decades ago.

5 pandemics that plagued mankind before COVID-19

In late 2019, weird reports of a virus started emerging from a city most people have never even heard of (Wuhan). It didn’t cause a wave at first. Most people were just going about their lives, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen: a pandemic that would take the whole world by storm, causing […]

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