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 ...