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

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 ...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Contrary to conventional wisdom, the appendix may not be useless after all. New research suggests that the structure helps beneficial bacteria survive and repopulate the ...

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 ...

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 ...

DURHAM, N.C. – The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers at Duke University Medical Center proposed that it actually ...

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 ...