Why do humans have an appendix? New research is reshaping our understanding of this overlooked organ and its antiquated role ...

You may have heard that astronauts have their appendix removed before leaving Earth. After all, people say you can live without this organ because it serves no purpose, but how much truth is there in ...

WASHINGTON – 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 conclusion from ...

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 ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. It’s the one organ we’ve been told is basically useless, and now it might actually be harboring a stealthy health risk. So ...

After decades under a label that marked it as superfluous, the appendix may finally be able to justify its existence. Doctors at Duke University Medical School found the appendix protectsbeneficial ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The appendix is a small, finger-shaped pouch located where the small intestine joins the large intestine (Getty Images/iStockphoto ...