A medieval cesspit in the old city of Jerusalem has revealed the presence of a number of ancient parasite eggs, which gives researchers a glimpse into the nature and spread of infectious diseases in the Middle East during the 15th century. 

Scientists found evidence of six species of intestinal parasites in the 500-year-old latrine, which included large quantities of roundworm and whipworm, both spread by fecal contamination of food and probably endemic to the region dating back to human evolution out of Africa. Two of the parasites detected, Entamoeba dysentery and fish tapeworm, were common in northern Europe in the medieval period, but either very rare or almost completely absent among the populations of the medieval Middle East.

How much of feeling healthy is subjective? 

People today feel less healthy than ever, even though people live far longer far better than ever in history, according to a new paper. The reason they feel less healthy, and thus demand more medical treatment, is because of the decline in subjective health - people used to go to the doctor when they needed it - and expectations of more and more egalitarian "good" health. Because of the increased demand for zero health defects, there are demands for more doctors and more expansion and the cycle continues.

The result: In the Western world, 25 years of runaway expansion of the medical system has actually led to people feeling less healthy over time.

While looking for life on planets beyond our own solar system, a group of international scientists has created a colorful catalog containing reflection signatures of Earth life forms that might be found on planet surfaces throughout the cosmic hinterlands. The new database and research, published in the March 16 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gives humans a better chance to learn if we are not alone.

By Chris Gorski Inside Science Currents Blog -- It's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament time and fans have lots of questions. Will Kentucky win it all and finish the season undefeated? Will one of the "First Four" – the teams that begin tournament play on Tuesday night – become a Cinderella story during this year's March Madness games? What's the best selection method for a pool-winning bracket?

Insulin has been in use since 1923 so why isn't it generic?

It is a corporate conspiracy, say government-funded academics. It is constantly being improved because so many people rely on it, which leads to a new patent, say companies.

Bans are all the rage in states like California and New York but the key question is whether or not they actually work; the entire developed world is facing an obesity crisis so if bans are the only thing that will prevent a strained health care system from collapsing, advocates for managing individual behavior say they should be used as needed.

The cost of treating people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with newly approved therapies will likely place a tremendous economic burden on the country's health care system. The prediction comes from a cost-effectiveness analysis led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The findings, reported in the March 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, predict that the cost of providing patients their daily regimens could total $136 billion over five years - 10 percent of the country's annual prescription drug spending.

Female mice are attracted more strongly to the odour of healthy males than unhealthy males. This had already been shown in an earlier study by researchers from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology at the Vetmeduni Vienna. Now the team of behavioural scientists went one step further - and tested a common assumption that more attractive males have better mating success than other males.

Females also mate with unhealthy males

Sarah Zala and Dustin Penn investigated whether females would also choose to mate with healthy over infected male if given a choice. In the laboratory and in large enclosures, the females were allowed to freely choose between two males, one healthy and another challenged with a mild infection, which they previously found to alter male odour.

Millennials are anything but "newsless," passive, or uninterested in civic issues, according to a new comprehensive study of the information habits of people age 18-34. The research looks closely at how members of the Millennial generation learn about the world on different devices and platforms.

The study finds that Millennials consume news and information in strikingly different ways than did previous generations. Contrary to popular perception, they keep up with news that is commonly referred to as "traditional" or "hard," as well as stories that connect them to hobbies, culture, jobs, and entertainment. This study was conducted jointly by the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.