WEIRD ANTHROPOLOGY
Your sleep architecture could be putting you at risk of multiple diseases. (Rido/Canva) – By Mike McRae 2026 Sep 17 – Thomas Edison famously regarded sleep as a waste of good work hours, electing to snooze a mere three or four hours every night. …
Varicella zoster virus, also known as human herpesvirus 3, causes chickenpox and shingles. BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images – By Andrew Bubak, Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Colorado Anschutz Published: 2026 Sep 14 – Shingles can cause pain that is notoriously …
The Aedis aegypti mosquito spreads dengue from person to person. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images – By Andrés Henao, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Disease, University of Colorado Anschutz Published: 2026 Sep 15 – The Tampa Bay Times reported the death of an elderly woman …
The temperature of your tea could affect your risk of cancer. (SUKANYA PHANPHOKA/Getty Images/Canva) – By Mike McRae 2026 Sep 13 – If I can give those of you who start their day by throwing back a freshly made cup of tea or coffee …
Phthalates are added to PVC materials to make them more flexible. (MiguelMalo/Getty Images Signature/Canva) – By Mike McRae 2026 Sep 11 – Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is commonly added to plastics to make them more flexible. It may also affect genes that play a critical …
Inflammation is a massive problem – but so are some of the year’s biggest hype supplements that claim to combat it. Depositphotos – By Bronwyn Thompson 2026 Sep 07 – From Korean cosmetic sperm injections to experimental peptides, the wellness industry has become one of …
Scientists discover an entirely new tickborne virus. Depositphotos – By Bronwyn Thompson 2026 Sep 06 – Scientists have uncovered a new pathogen transmitted to humans from ticks, reminding us that one of the biggest threats to our health is zoonotic disease. Researchers from Beijing’s State …
Tau proteins (red) in nerve cells have a surprising origin. (Science Photo Library/Canva) – By Mike McRae 2026 Sep 03 – A protein thought to play a critical role in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease may not originate where scientists thought, according to a …
Students starting college or university are often excited – but experts advise understanding risks and recognizing danger when necessary. Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images – By Kaitlyn M. Sims, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, University of Denver; Institute for Humane Studies Published: 2026 Sep …
Telling tales by a fire could have helped us evolve speech in the first place. (Valerii Stoika/Canva) – By Mike McRae 2026 Sep 02 – Come, sit. Let me tell you a story. Listen closely now. – For hundreds of thousands of years, our …
