BiotechOctober 23, 2019
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
Stories by Tanya Lewis
Tanya Lewis is a senior editor covering health and medicine at Scientific American. She writes and edits stories for the website and print magazine on topics ranging from COVID to organ transplants. She also co-hosts Your Health, Quickly on Scientific American's podcast Science, Quickly and writes Scientific American's weekly Health & Biology newsletter. She has held a number of positions over her seven years at Scientific American, including health editor, assistant news editor and associate editor at Scientific American Mind. Previously, she has written for outlets that include Insider, Wired, Science News, and others. She has a degree in biomedical engineering from Brown University and one in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
HealthOctober 21, 2019
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
MedicineOctober 7, 2019
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
NeuroscienceOctober 1, 2019
A Dangerous Optical Illusion
A common vision correction could interfere with depth perception while driving
EvolutionSeptember 30, 2019
Can Rabbits Help Unravel the Mystery of Female Orgasm?
A study suggests the phenomenon may have evolved from a mechanism for triggering ovulation
MedicineSeptember 19, 2019
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
NeuroscienceSeptember 5, 2019
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
Public HealthSeptember 1, 2019
Mapping HIV Prevalence in Sub-Saharan Africa
Having more localized data on infection rates within countries could help health authorities better target treatment
BiotechAugust 15, 2019
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
Public HealthAugust 2, 2019
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
PolicyAugust 1, 2019
In Case You Missed It
Top news from around the world
Public HealthJuly 23, 2019
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
NeuroscienceJuly 17, 2019
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
HealthJuly 15, 2019
Anorexia May Be Linked to Metabolism, a Genetic Analysis Suggests
A large, correlation-based study identifies eight genome regions associated with the eating disorder
EARTHMarch 1, 2019
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
ChemistryJanuary 14, 2019
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.
NeuroscienceOctober 17, 2018
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.
EnvironmentJuly 13, 2018
Science News You Might Have Missed
Very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe.
PolicyJuly 1, 2018
In Case You Missed It
Top news from around the world
CognitionMay 23, 2018
Superslow Brain Waves May Play a Critical Role in Consciousness
Signals long thought to be “noise” appear to represent a distinct form of brain activity
PolicyDecember 14, 2017
A Year of Trump: Science Is a Major Casualty in the New Politics of Disruption
From a rollback of environmental protections to attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, here’s a look at the president’s impact on science-related issues
PolicyAugust 18, 2017
Trump Administration’s Science Priorities “Better Than Feared”
But the White House memo completely omits climate science and space, emphasizing military tech and basic R&D
CognitionJuly 1, 2017
Brain Activity during Sleep Can Predict When Someone Is Dreaming
Studying the dreaming brain offers a window on consciousness
Mental HealthMay 1, 2017
The “Goldilocks” Level of Teen Screen Use
It pays to get the time spent on a device just right