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Mucus has several names. Snot, the sticky goo that pours from your nose during a cold. Or phlegm, the gunk that can clog your lungs and make you cough. You probably aren’t a fan of the stuff. But mucus is so much more than a runny nose. Your body is making mucus all the time. And it plays an important role in keeping you healthy. “Mucus and phlegm get sort of a bad reputation,” says Dr. Richard…, Mucus at Work, In the next hour, you’re going to inhale thousands of bacteria. But you’ll never know it. Bacteria land on the mucus-lined surface of the lungs and get trapped. Then little hairs called cilia go to work. They push the mucus up and out of the lungs with all the trapped bacteria, viruses, and dust. “It comes up at sort of a nice slow rate to the back of the throat,” Boucher says. “And if you’re…, Too Much Mucus, You usually only notice mucus when you’re making too much of it. Or if it changes consistency. An infection can make mucus thicker and stickier. Infections also lead to [qtip: inflammation|Heat, swelling, and redness caused by the body’s protective response to injury or infection.] in the mucous membranes that line the nose and the rest of your airway. This can cause certain airway [qtip: glands|…, Colors of Mucus, Mucus can come in a range of colors. This won’t surprise you if you’ve ever looked closely at your tissues after blowing your nose. Mucus is normally clear. During a cold, you may find that your snot is cloudy or yellowish. Proteins released by the cells that cause inflammation can get stuck in the mucus and give it this color, Lane explains. He’s currently studying how cells in the nose and…, Wonders of Mucus, While excess snot and phlegm aren’t pleasant, you wouldn’t want to go without mucus. “Mucus creates a layer of protection between the outside world and you. So it’s very, very important,” Lane says. It’s not just important for people. It’s also the slime that allows a snail to move across the ground. It’s the slippery coating that protects fish against bacteria in the water. “It’s a really…

With every beat of your heart, blood carries oxygen from your lungs throughout your body. This life-sustaining process happens automatically, whether you’re awake or asleep. But for people with sickle cell disease, it often goes awry. People with this disease have an abnormal type of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule in red blood cells. Normally, red blood cells are flexible and shaped…, One Gene, Many Symptoms, Sickle cell disease is caused by changes in a single gene. But everyone has two copies of the gene. You inherit one copy from each parent. More than two million people in the U.S. carry one abnormal copy, called sickle cell trait. They don’t usually have any symptoms. But if you inherit two copies, the result is sickle cell disease. About 100,000 people in the U.S. live with sickle cell disease.…, New Drug Options, The most common treatment for sickle cell disease is a drug called hydroxyurea. It coaxes the adult body to make fetal hemoglobin. This increases the number of functional red blood cells. Hydroxyurea doesn’t work for everyone. But three new treatments have been approved in the last few years. Some of the newer drugs prevent sickled cells from sticking to the blood vessels. Thein’s team is testing…, Fixing the Blood Cells, Currently, the only cure for sickle cell disease is a bone marrow transplant. Bone marrow is the spongy tissue containing the [qtip: stem cells|Immature cells that have the potential to develop into many different cell types in the body.] that give rise to blood cells. In a bone marrow transplant, the stem cells in the patient’s bone marrow that produce blood cells are first destroyed. Then, stem…

Your jaw works hard every day so you can laugh, talk, smile, and eat. When it’s working properly, you may not give it much thought. But if your jaw starts to hurt, it can take the joy out of simple, everyday things. The jaw joint is one of the most complex joints in the human body. For most people, it moves effortlessly up and down, side to side, and in and out, transitioning from one movement to…, Note, : The title of this article was changed after publication.

Exercise is important for your body and your brain at any age. A new study reveals how physical activity may slow the decline in learning and memory as you get older. Researchers looked at the brains of young and old mice. Some had access to a running wheel in their cage, while others did not. The team found changes in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. This area is important for…

Wearing a face covering is an important part of keeping you and others healthy right now. But they can also make talking to those around you more difficult. Face coverings can muffle sound. They can also hide important clues about the speaker’s message and emotions. This can make it hard to understand speech, especially for those with hearing loss. Millions of people in the U.S have hearing loss…

Have you ever wondered why science takes so long? Maybe you haven’t thought about it much. But waiting around to hear more about COVID-19 may have you frustrated with the process. Science can be slow and unpredictable. Each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. It can take many years to build up enough basic knowledge to apply what scientists learn to improve…, How Basic Research Works, When scientists are interested in a topic, they first read previous studies to find out what’s known. This lets them figure out what questions still need to be asked. Using what they learn, scientists design new experiments to answer important unresolved questions. They collect and analyze data, and evaluate what the findings might mean. The type of experiment depends on the question and the…, Building Together, Science is a collective effort. Researchers often work together and communicate with each other regularly. They chat with other scientists about their work, both in their lab and beyond. They present their findings at national and international conferences. Networking with their peers lets them get feedback from other experts while doing their research. Once they’ve collected enough evidence to…, An Ever-Changing Process, Science is always a work in progress. It takes many studies to figure out the “most accurate” model—which doesn’t mean the “right” model. It’s a self-correcting process. Sometimes experiments can give different results when they’re repeated. Other times, when the results are combined with later studies, the current model no longer can explain all the data and needs to be updated. “Science is…

A hot cup of coffee or tea is a highlight of the morning for some people. It can make you feel awake and alert. Caffeine is the chemical that causes these sensations. But does caffeine have other effects on the brain? Caffeine is found naturally in tea and coffee. But it is added to energy drinks and many types of soda. It’s even put in some snack foods and medications. More than eight out of 10…

Myopia, or nearsightedness, usually starts during childhood and worsens over time. A new study found that a type of contact lens can slow its progression. People with myopia can see close objects clearly, but things farther away are blurry. Those with severe myopia have a greater risk of developing other eye problems later in life. Myopia is caused by the eye growing too long from front to back.…

It’s hard to avoid stress. Work, money, current events, and the hassles of everyday life are just a few of the things that can cause stress. Long-term, or chronic, stress is linked to several health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, and anxiety. It’s important to learn how to manage stress so it doesn’t overwhelm you. The first step is to recognize your…

Maybe you’ve noticed that you get out of breath doing light activities lately. Or have a cough that won’t go away. You might think it’s temporary, or just part of getting older. But these issues can also be signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, more commonly called COPD. With COPD, your lungs can no longer take in all the air you need. More than 16 million people in the U.S. are living…, Lessening Lung Irritation, Smoking is the main risk factor for the disease. But up to a quarter of people who develop COPD have never smoked. The number of people in the U.S. who smoke has dropped over the last few decades. “But the amount of chronic lung disease has not declined as fast as we would have expected, given the decrease in smoking,” says Dr. Joel Kaufman, who studies how the environment impacts chronic…, Boosting Quality of Life, People who currently smoke or smoked in the past may feel stigmatized and embarrassed to talk with their doctor, when they shouldn’t, Woodruff says. “That’s a huge population that may not be getting the attention they need,” he says. If you have symptoms of COPD, talk with your health care provider. They can refer you for testing. The main test used to diagnose COPD is called spirometry. In this…, Personalizing Treatments, Better treatments are still needed for COPD. Scientists first need to learn more about how the disease differs between people. “By identifying the different subtypes of COPD, we can then target the specific underlying problems with new therapies,” Woodruff says. In a recent study, Woodruff’s team identified one such subtype. They found that many current or former smokers had normal results on a…