All Stories by Erin Garcia de Jesús
- Health & Medicine
Vaccines, fluoride, raw milk: How RFK Jr.’s views may shape public health
If confirmed as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy could influence U.S. policy on vaccines, drugs and food safety.
- Health & Medicine
Keeping weight off may be stymied by fat cells’ ‘memory’ of obesity
Some genetic changes in fat cells don’t go away after weight loss, a study in mice and human cells suggests.
- Animals
Stray DNA is all around us. It could revolutionize conservation
Environmental DNA harvested from the ocean, land and air can help scientists monitor wildlife. The challenge is figuring out how to interpret this eDNA.
- Health & Medicine
A twisted protein sheds light on chronic wasting disease in deer
The detailed structure of a misfolded protein from a diseased deer could help explain why the disease hasn’t made the leap to humans.
- Health & Medicine
Why finding bird flu in a U.S. pig for the first time is raising new worries
Swine can act as so-called “mixing vessels” for human and bird flus, giving avian viruses an opportunity to adapt for spreading in people.
- Animals
A single enzyme can alter the vibrant colors in parrot plumage
Tweaking the chemical composition of a parrot-specific pigment can shift feathers from red to yellow or green.
- Life
Here are some stellar picks from Nikon’s top microscopy images of 2024
The annual Small World photomicrography competition, now in its 50th year, puts life’s smallest details under the microscope.
- Plants
Carnivorous plants eat faster with a fungal friend
Insects stuck in sundew plants’ sticky secretions suffocate and die before being subjected to a medley of digestive enzymes.
- Animals
This fish has legs — and it uses them for more than just walking
Some sea robins have taste buds on their six crablike legs that help the fish ferret out prey buried in sand as they walk.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccines for mpox are finally reaching Africa. But questions about the virus remain
With concerns that mpox may now spread more easily and be more severe, researchers warn that failing to curb the outbreak means “nobody is safe.”
- Neuroscience
Some healthy fish have bacteria in their brains
Animals including mammals usually protect their brains from infiltrating microbes that can cause disease. But some fish seem to do just fine.
- Health & Medicine
California droughts may help valley fever spread
Droughts temporarily dampen the number of valley fever cases across the state, but cases spike in the years after rains return.
