The appendix is an organ we tend not to think about until it acts up, causes illness and needs to be removed surgically.

It was the first day of spring break in 1992 in Phoenix, Ariz. and 12-year-old Heather Smith was excited for her family's upcoming ski trip But before Smith and her family had even packed their snow ...

Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut. That's the theory from surgeons and ...

MINNEAPOLIS — Stephen Colbert is away from late-night TV following emergency surgery last week — the comedian's appendix burst. That made us wonder: What does the appendix do for our body? And why are ...

This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more. This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more. Why do humans have an appendix? New research is reshaping our understanding of this ...

Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut. That’s the theory from surgeons and ...

DURHAM, N.C. – Long denigrated as vestigial or useless, the appendix now appears to have a reason to be – as a “safe house” for the beneficial bacteria living in the human gut. Drawing upon a series ...

The appendix is a small organ situated between the small and large intestines. For a long time, scientists didn't know its function and deemed it useless. In fact, it was seen as potentially dangerous ...

For years, the appendix carried a reputation as the body’s most pointless organ. Doctors often removed it without hesitation, and textbooks labeled it a vestigial structure—something our ancestors ...