Scratching an itch can bring a contradictory wave of pleasure and misery. A mouse study on scratching, reported in the Jan. 31 Science, fleshes out this head-scratching paradox and could point out ...

What’s common between a scratchy sweater, a mosquito bite, and poison ivy? A brush with any of them guarantees an itchy spot on the skin. Scratching that itch is extremely tempting because of how ...

The itch from bug bites, rashes, and other skin conditions can sometimes be so overpowering that it feels impossible to avoid scratching them. But new research explains why you might want to hold off ...

When you scratch an itch, something tells your brain when to stop. That moment of relief, when scratching feels "enough," is not accidental. Scientists have now identified a key molecular and neural ...

Journalist Annie Lowrey has a rare disease that causes a near-constant itch that doesn't respond to most treatments. She likens the itchiness to a... Chronic itch is miserable. Scientists are just ...

New research published in the journal Science uncovers how scratching aggravates inflammation and swelling in a mouse model of a type of eczema called allergic contact dermatitis. "At first, these ...

Relief for millions of eczema patients is a major step nearer after scientists discovered why we know when to stop scratching an itch. Researchers have identified a sensory channel that acts as the ...

One of the greatest pleasures in life is to scratch an itch — in both the real and figurative sense. Although scratching an itch provides immediate (albeit temporary) relief, it may actually trigger ...

I remember it well: our dark winter of itch when the kids were small. It started with a note sent home—years before the pandemic—that my child had been exposed, not to a deadly virus but to lice.

The problem with having skin is that it’s not blemishless and can burn very badly and is liable to develop rashes or sores, not to mention cancers, and—at once more benign and, in the moment, just as ...

When you scratch an itch, something tells your brain when to stop. That moment of relief, when scratching feels "enough," is not accidental. Scientists have now identified a key molecular and neural ...