All Stories by Bethany Brookshire
- Health & Medicine
Weekend warriors put up a fight against death
Weekend warriors shove all their weekly activity into just one or two days, and it’s still enough to reduce mortality risk.
- Science & Society
Analysis finds gender bias in peer-reviewer picks
The peer-review process aims to avoid bias, but it turns out there’s gender bias in who is picked to review the papers.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, methadone made a rosy debut
Heralded as the “answer to heroin addiction,” methadone is still used to treat opiate addiction, despite risks.
- Neuroscience
How scientists are hunting for a safer opioid painkiller
Scientists are sorting through chemical structures, twisting and turning known drugs and exploring new ways to ease pain.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, fluoridation was promoted as a bone protector
In 1966, scientists hoped fluoride might protect adult bone health. While the results broke down over time, the benefits for teeth remain clear.
- Science & Society
Why people don’t vote, and what to do about it
The United States has terrible voter turnout. Political scientists have studied why people don’t vote and some effective ways to improve voter participation.
- Science & Society
Blame bad incentives for bad science
Scientists have to publish a constant stream of new results to succeed. But in the process, their success may lead to science’s failure, two new studies warn.
- Genetics
How gene editing is changing what a lab animal looks like
What makes a good animal model? New techniques bring opportunities and challenges to model organisms.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, noise was a nuisance (it still is)
In 1966, scientists warned of the physical and psychological dangers of a louder world.
- Oceans
50 years ago, humans could pick the oceans clean
Scientists have long recognized that we might overfish the oceans. Despite quotas, some species are paying the price of human appetite.
- Health & Medicine
Exercise helps you get in shape for old age
Exercise can fend off the effects of aging on the body and brain.
- Science & Society
Empathy for animals is all about us
We extend our feelings to what we think animals are feeling. Often, we’re wrong. But anthropomorphizing isn’t about them. It’s about us.
