Studies show that scratching overrides itch signals and engages pain-modulating regions in the brain, creating a sense of ...

Scratch-off tickets are big money for state-run lotteries. Is it the promise of winning big that keeps players in the game? Or is there something else happening in the brain? NOVA is available to ...

Pashun George and her sister grew up scratching their mother’s back before bed. Now, they charge $130 an hour for it. In 2010, they turned the tradition into a family business, Scratcher Girls, the ...

Mosquito bites are itchy and we tend to scratch itchy things. The scratching feels good in the short term but tends to hasten and exacerbate swelling and inflammation. This leads to more scratching ...

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 ...

Scratch-off tickets are big money for state-run lotteries. Is it the promise of winning big that keeps players in the game? Or is there something else happening in the brain?