Laura Beil

Laura Beil

Contributing Correspondent

Laura Beil is an independent journalist specializing in medicine, health policy and science. She was the recipient of the Victor Cohn Prize for Medical Science Reporting in 2018. In addition to being a contributing correspondent at Science News, her work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, and other magazines. She began freelancing in 2007 after working as medical writer for the Dallas Morning News from 1992 to 2006. In 2018, she reported and hosted the podcast Dr. Death, which has been downloaded more than 50 million times.

All Stories by Laura Beil

  1. Health & Medicine

    Gum disease opens up the body to a host of infections

    Researchers are getting to the root of gum disease's implications for other diseases.

  2. Health & Medicine

    ‘Cancer moonshot’ launch prep under way

    Details are trickling out for the president’s proposed “cancer moonshot,” but plan for launch is still months off.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Vaginal ring somewhat effective at preventing HIV infection

    Studies of vaginal ring for HIV protection show promise, challenges.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Mom’s weight during pregnancy shapes baby’s health

    Obesity at conception or during pregnancy is a big problem that's getting bigger: New evidence says a child's mental health could be at stake.

  5. Animals

    Getting creative to cut methane from cows

    Changing feed, giving vaccines and selective breeding may enable scientists to help beef and dairy cattle shake their title as one of society's worst methane producers.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Signs of cardiac disease start early in obese children

    Worrisome changes to the heart that are associated with obesity can appear in childhood, a new MRI study shows.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Cardiac risks rise for linemen during football season

    Linemen on a football team face raised cardiac risk over the course of a season, a study of college players shows.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Organ waiting list policy benefits the wealthy, study charges

    Wealthier patients can afford to get on more organ transplant lists, giving them an advantage, a new study says.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Simple steps can offer health benefits

    Studies find that even small changes in eating habits and movement can lower risk of heart disease.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Daily drug shown effective in preventing HIV infections

    After a history of controversy, preexposure prophylaxis has been demonstrated to work for HIV prevention.

  11. Neuroscience

    Brain activity in unconscious patients offers new views of awareness

    As more people survive serious brain injury, researchers are using EEG and fMRI to learn who is aware inside an unresponsive body.

  12. Life

    Typical American diet can damage immune system

    The typical American diet sends our good and bad gut microbes out of balance and can lead to inflammation and a host of problems.