Stories by Fonda Mwangi

Mary Roach unpacks the millennia-long effort to replace failing body parts—and the reasons that modern medicine still struggles to match the original designs.

A revamped CDC advisory committee faces vaccine debates, studies reveal brain changes in athletes, and climate change drives deadly heat waves across Europe.

Scientists are uncovering how your gut might be shaping your thoughts, feelings and cravings.

Kissing bugs are creeping across the U.S.—and they’re bringing Chagas disease with them.

 In his new book, Daniel Yon explains how our brain is constantly constructing reality

A single tick bite can trigger a bizarre meat allergy—here’s how alpha-gal syndrome is reshaping people’s diets.

A common nasal spray shows promise in reducing COVID risk, but vaccine access remains tangled in policy in the U.S.

With the CDC in disarray and its future uncertain, this episode explores what’s driving the exodus of agency staff and what this means for national health security.

Hurricane forecast maps are more complex than they appear. Understanding them could change how you prepare for the next storm.

Two decades after Katrina, we revisit the storm and discuss the evolution of hurricane preparedness since then.

Peanut allergies more than tripled in U.S. kids between the late 1990s and late 2000s, and the prevalence has risen even more since then. Scientists are still searching for answers—and new ways to treat them.

Traditional biology has long ignored nature’s sexual diversity—but evolution tells a far more complex story.

China is having a fast-rising chikungunya outbreak in a place that has never had one before.

In his new book, Sam Kean reveals how re-creating ancient tools, techniques and traditions can unlock secrets about how our ancestors lived—and what they felt.

A new hormone-free birth control pill that reversibly stops sperm production has passed its first safety trial in humans, offering hope for more reversible contraceptive options.

From planets roaming space to major shifts in health funding, catch up with this week’s news roundup.

Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois shares how his meteorology roots drive his fight to protect climate science and push back against political interference.

NASA faces historic budget cuts that could shutter missions and stall vital research, prompting a bipartisan outcry from all of the agency’s living former science chiefs.

The lowdown on the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to repeal of the “endangerment” finding. Also, how did a juicy ketchup ingredient help create a starchy tuber?

A conversation with Anthropic’s chatbot raises questions about how AI talks about awareness.

Extreme weather is front-page news. But what are the phenomena behind the headlines?

Set your alarm on Wednesday to see some of the summer’s stunning meteor showers.

If you’re seeking a summer read, Scientific American has some fantastic fiction and notable nonfiction to recommend.

This episode of Science Quickly goes on an archival adventure in Scientific American’s July 1925 issue.