Angus Chen

Lafayette Square across from the White House is a popular spot for people with a political bone to pick. Next to the persistent "ban nuclear weapons" sign, protesters come here to picket in front of the president's home. On Wednesday, there's a group of women gathered behind a banner scrawled ...

If you peek into classrooms around the world, a bunch of bespectacled kids peek back at you. In some countries such as China, as much as 80 percent of children are nearsighted. As those kids grow up, their eyesight gets worse, requiring stronger and thicker eyeglasses. But a diluted daily ...

The number of babies born with syphilis has shot up, and it's taking a toll.

Of the 458 babies born last year with syphilis, 33 were stillborn or died shortly after birth. From 2012 to 2014, there's been a 38 percent increase in cases of congenital syphilis in the U.S. ...

When it comes to enjoying the flavors in food, our tongues really aren't that useful. They can detect just a few basic tastes: sweet, salt, sour, bitter, umami, and maybe fat.

But real complexity comes from a food or drink's aroma, and the main way we sense all the ...

English bursts with consonants. We have words that string one after another, like angst, diphthong and catchphrase. But other languages keep more vowels and open sounds. And that variability might be because they evolved in different habitats.

Consonant-heavy syllables don't carry very well in places like windy mountain ranges or ...

About one out of every six Americans has some form of neck pain, and chronic sufferers have few treatment options. But acupuncture or the Alexander technique, a system for adjusting posture, could provide some long-term relief for chronic neck pain.

Typical care for neck or back pain often involves some ...

In America, it seems only unicorns get seven or eight hours of sleep a night, and the rest of us suffer. But people may be meant to sleep as little as 6 1/2 hours nightly and were doing so long before the advent of electricity and smartphones, researchers say.

To ...

We talk a lot on The Salt about the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in nuts, olive oil, fish, fruits and vegetables. Scientists believe it's one of the world's healthiest patterns of eating, and can protect against a lot of chronic diseases.

In the Arctic, the typical meal looks ...

"What's wrong with you, buddy? What's wrong?" a man says to his dog in a video uploaded to YouTube last month. The pup moans pitifully and trips over himself. He's having trouble blinking. He gazes into nothingness; his eyes are a deep, black abyss. He's wobbling on his paws. The ...

Carbohydrates are a rich source of energy. That's exactly why some of us may feel a bit conflicted about them, since several recent studies and diets have suggested we should cut them to lose weight. (The latest study concluded that total calories matter most if you want to ...

Just last month, a NASA satellite was able to capture another whole-Earth picture for the first time since 1972.

Some days, the french fries are just irresistible. You know it's not the best thing to put in your body, but did that salad really stand a chance after the smell of fried garlic, Parmesan and thyme on crisp potato wedges wafted over to you?

Well, Kristina Legget, a ...

A new drug called K2 has hit the streets of Brooklyn. The cheap substance can have effects that last up to 4 hours, and although it’s completely legal, it's dangerous and unpredictable.

President Obama will announce new rules today for carbon emissions from power plants, but more than a dozen conservative states and the coal industry are scrambling to fight back.

A high school student wrote a poem titled "Worst Day Ever." It went viral when readers realized it reads forwards and backwards. Here's the poet and the story behind the poem.

Joss Stone's new album, "Water For Your Soul," finds inspiration from African pop, folk and reggae. She wrote many of the new songs with Damian Marley, Bob Marley's youngest son.

Obama announces his new climate rules to regulate the energy industry today, but critics say the costs may outweigh the environmental benefits.

Protesters descended onto Dr. Palmer's home, the hunter who killed Cecil the Lion, with signs reading "Justice For Cecil" or "Rot In Hell." He has not been seen in public since Tuesday. 

The Olympics are returning to Beijing in 2022 for the Winter Games. The decision edged out Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, in a 40 to 44 vote.