Police Killings of Unarmed Black Americans May Affect Health of Black Infants
Maternal stress arising from perceived racial discrimination could cause premature births and lower birth weights
Stories by Tanya Lewis
Four Out of Five Adolescents Worldwide Aren't Getting Enough Exercise
A new report of young adults in 146 countries finds that most did not meet recommended activity levels, especially girls
What We Know about the Possible Carcinogen Found in Zantac
The popular heartburn drug may produce potentially unsafe levels of NDMA when its active ingredient breaks down
A Dangerous Optical Illusion
A common vision correction could interfere with depth perception while driving
Scientists Program CRISPR to Fight Viruses in Human Cells
A common gene-editing enzyme could be used to disable RNA viruses such as flu or Ebola
New Gene-Editing Tool Could Fix Genetic Defects—with Fewer Unwanted Effects
“Prime editing” can potentially correct almost any type of mutation, but it requires much more testing before clinical use
Discovery of Molecular Switch for How Cells Use Oxygen Wins 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine
Research by William Kaelin, Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza led the way for applications in treating anemia, cancer and other diseases
Can Rabbits Help Unravel the Mystery of Female Orgasm?
A study suggests the phenomenon may have evolved from a mechanism for triggering ovulation
Possible Carcinogen Found in a Common Heartburn Medication Is Present in Some Foods
Some forms of the drug ranitidine—including Zantac—have been shown to contain low levels of NDMA, which causes cancer in rats
Mapping HIV Prevalence in Sub-Saharan Africa
Having more localized data on infection rates within countries could help health authorities better target treatment
What Chili Peppers Can Teach Us about Pain
U.C. San Francisco researcher and Breakthrough Prize–winner David Julius talks about capsaicin, opioids and snake vision
Scientists Seek Better Guidelines for Editing Genes in Human Embryos
In the first of two meetings, an international commission discussed the criteria required before such experiments should be conducted—if ever
In Case You Missed It
Top news from around the world
A Year In, the Second-Largest Ebola Outbreak Continues to Rage
Despite vaccination and treatment efforts, the epidemic in Central Africa has resulted in 1,700 deaths and counting
Why the WHO’s Emergency Declaration for Ebola Is a Big Deal
The president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene talks about how the designation could help fight the nearly year-old outbreak in central sub-Saharan Africa
Elon Musk’s Secretive Brain Tech Company Debuts a Sophisticated Neural Implant
Neuralink says it can robotically implant more than 3,000 flexible-polymer electrodes in a rat or monkey brain. The device is still a long way from routine human use, however
Anorexia May Be Linked to Metabolism, a Genetic Analysis Suggests
A large, correlation-based study identifies eight genome regions associated with the eating disorder
Climate Change Is Having a Major Impact on Global Health
Warming temperatures are exposing more people to heat waves and increasing the risk of disease spread
Fake Whiskeys and Octo-Ecstasy
Scientific American assistant news editor, Tanya Lewis, and collections editor, Andrea Gawrylewski, take a deeper look at two short articles from the Advances news section of the December issue, on counterfeit whiskeys and the effect of real ecstasy...on octopuses...
Tinder for Cheetahs; and an Unusual Blindness
Scientific American assistant news editor, Tanya Lewis, and collections editor, Andrea Gawrylewski, host a new podcast that takes a deeper look at short articles from the Advances news section of the magazine...
