Heroin laced with elephant tranquilizer hits the streets

Why is polio so hard to beat?
For just more than two years, Nigerian health officials have been celebrating a country free of the paralyzing effects of the poliovirus.

5,400 diagnosed with cancers linked to September 11 attacks
Next month will mark 15 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, but thousands of people across the country continue to feel its effects on their health.

Relax, readers: Audiobooks aren’t ‘cheating’
From the perspective of cognitive psychology — that is, the mental processes involved — there is no real difference between listening to a book and reading it.

A ‘good death’ by going gentle into that goodnight
Plan for the end sooner than later, say experts. And that begins by asking the right questions.

This ‘Googly-eyed’ squid is the cutest ocean find
Hey, come look at this weird sea creature. It’s so purple! And unnervingly alert!

Where language is processed in your brain
Language is all around us but where does it sit inside us, and will we ever be able to ‘read’ our brains?

Should you believe the Old Farmer’s Almanac’s forecast?
The story goes that, in 1815, Old Farmer’s Almanac founding editor Robert B. Thomas was interrupted by a boy wondering what to put down for the weather forecast of July 13, 1816.

Your parents hold clues to your life expectancy, heart health
Your parents may have a significant influence on how likely you are to stay healthy later in life.

‘The older you are, the worse the hospital is for you’
Many elderly patients deteriorate mentally or physically in the hospital, even if they recover from the original illness or injury that brought them there.

92-year-old man sweetly serenades 90-year-old wife
Harvey Wosika got on bended knee to sing to Mildred, his wife of 50 years.

Acetaminophen during pregnancy may increase risk of hyperactivity in kids
Women who take acetaminophen during pregnancy are more likely to have a hyperactive child, according to a new study. Prenatal exposure to the medication was associated with a higher risk of having children who exhibit emotional or behavioral symptoms, the researchers said.

Ancient squirrel’s nest leads to discovery of giant virus
Thank an ancient squirrel, climate change and French scientists for the new discovery of an ancient virus, Mollivirus sibericum, that sounds like it could launch a creepy movie.

5,000-year-old brewery discovered in China
An archeological find in China may be the first evidence that beer was an important product in China many years before the experts originally thought. It may have even inspired the development of a sophisticated society.

Aleppo’s angel: A nurse’s devotion to Syria’s children
Malaika, a 29-year-old head nurse, holds Ali, a 2-day-old infant, as he struggles to take his final breaths. Born in eastern Aleppo, one of the hardest-hit cities in Syria’s five-year civil war, Ali was born with chest issues that forced him to rely on an oxygen pump and an incubator in the neonatal unit at Aleppo Children’s Hospital.

Were mystery holes in skulls an ancient aspirin?
John Verano investigates ancient mysteries. As a forensic anthropologist, he’s examined skeletons and mummies throughout the Americas to unlock secrets about prehistoric human sacrifice, warfare, injury and disease.

Zika in Puerto Rico now a public health emergency
Puerto Rico has recorded 10,690 Zika cases, including those of 1,035 pregnant women, prompting the declaration of a public health emergency in the commonweath by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Was Venus once habitable?
Imagine a mostly dead planet with a heavy, toxic atmosphere 90 times thicker than ours and surface temperatures that reach 864 degrees: hot enough to melt lead.

The face of the Olympics will never be the same
Simone: That’s a name many Olympic viewers will never forget.

Officers risk lives to get suspected bomb away from crowds
New York Police Sgt. Hameed Armani came to New York on a calling. After growing up in Afghanistan and seeing death all around him, Armani says, he wanted to save lives.

Fighting the male biological clock by banking sperm
William Hudson has yet to meet the future Mrs. William Hudson, and so he’s not taking any chances: When he was 28, he froze his sperm.

Painting allows blind artist to see a world of color
John Bramblitt believes he could draw before he could walk. Drawing and illustrating just clicked with him from the beginning, but he also loved telling stories with words. He would share his written stories with his family and friends, but the art remained personal.

The female athletes who were ‘too manly’ to compete
Women with naturally high levels of testosterone were once banned from competing at the Olympic Games. But should hormones matter at the elite level?