EpidemiologyMay 5, 2022
Guns Now Kill More Children and Young Adults Than Car Crashes
Firearms now exceed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of injury-related death for people ages one to 24, an analysis shows
Stories by Tanya Lewis
Tanya Lewis is senior desk editor for 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 appears on Scientific American’s podcast Science Quickly and writes Scientific American’s weekly Health & Medicine newsletter. She has held a number of positions over her nine 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. Follow her on Bluesky @tanyalewis.bsky.social
InequalityMay 3, 2022
Overturning Roe v. Wade Could Have Devastating Health and Financial Impacts, Landmark Study Showed
The researcher who led the Turnaway Study explains how being denied an abortion had lasting negative effects on those who were forced to carry their pregnancies to term and on their children
Public HealthMay 2, 2022
Safer Indoor Air, and People Want Masks on Planes and Trains: COVID Quickly, Episode 29
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
Public HealthApril 15, 2022
Venturing Back to the Office and the Benefits of Hybrid Immunity: COVID Quickly, Episode 28
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
Public HealthApril 1, 2022
Second Boosters, Masks in the Next Wave and Smart Risk Decisions: COVID Quickly, Episode 27
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
EpidemiologyMarch 29, 2022
How the War in Ukraine Is Causing Indirect Deaths
Crowded shelters and destroyed health care facilities will likely exacerbate COVID, TB and other diseases
Public HealthMarch 18, 2022
Florida Gets Kids and Vaccines Wrong and Ukraine’s Health Crisis: COVID Quickly, Episode 26
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
EpidemiologyMarch 14, 2022
People, Not Science, Decide When a Pandemic Is Over
Historians of the 1918 influenza pandemic discuss lessons for what the future of COVID might look like
Public HealthMarch 4, 2022
The Push to Move Past the Pandemic: COVID Quickly, Episode 25
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
PoliticsMarch 1, 2022
How the Pandemic Remade Science Journalism
It’s no longer possible to separate science and politics
VaccinesFebruary 15, 2022
Tracking Outbreaks through Sewers, and Kids’ Vaccines on Hold Again: COVID Quickly, Episode 24
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
PhysiologyFebruary 14, 2022
How Olympic Figure Skaters Break Records with Physics
An exercise scientist explains the biomechanics behind jumps such as the quadruple Axel and what the body’s limits are
AnimalsFebruary 1, 2022
Honeybees Social Distance to Prevent Disease, Too
The insects balance separation and care for those infected by parasites
EpidemiologyDecember 23, 2021
Omicron’s Effect Won’t Be as Mild as Hoped
It’s too soon to know if the variant causes milder COVID, but its transmissibility and ability to evade vaccines are still cause for concern
EpidemiologyDecember 3, 2021
COVID Quickly, Episode 20: The Omicron Scare, and Anti-COVID Pills Are Coming
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
VaccinesDecember 2, 2021
The Benefits of Vaccinating Kids against COVID Far Outweigh the Risks of Myocarditis
Vaccination is likely to prevent many more COVID cases than it is to cause a rare and nonfatal heart side effect in five- to 11-year-olds
VaccinesNovember 19, 2021
COVID Quickly, Episode 19: Mandate Roadblocks, Boosters for All and Sickness in the Zoo
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
VaccinesNovember 9, 2021
How Immunocompromised People without Strong Vaccine Protection Are Coping with COVID
People with diseases or treatments that suppress their immune system cannot count on the same protection most vaccinated people have
VaccinesNovember 5, 2021
COVID Quickly, Episode 18: Vaccines for Kids and the Limits of Natural Immunity
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
MedicineNovember 1, 2021
The Quest to Overcome Gene Therapy’s Failures
Tragic side effects plagued the field’s early years, but researchers are finding ways to minimize the risks
VaccinesOctober 22, 2021
COVID Quickly, Episode 17: Vaccine Lies and Protecting Immunocompromised People
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
VaccinesOctober 15, 2021
Who Needs a COVID Booster Shot? Experts Answer Common Questions
Now that the FDA has authorized the shots for a broad range of Americans, many people want to know if they need a booster dose. Here’s what we have learned so far
Public HealthOctober 8, 2021
COVID Quickly, Episode 16: Vaccines Protect Pregnancies and a New Antiviral Pill
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
PhysiologyOctober 8, 2021
2021 Medicine Nobel Prize Winner Explains the Importance of Sensing Touch
Ardem Patapoutian shared the physiology or medicine prize for work on mechanisms crucial to everything from bladder control to knowing where our limbs are