Helen Petre is a science communicator with Science Connected. She is a retired biologist who continues to learn, write, and teach, hoping to share her experiences and quest for scientific knowledge with a new generation of conservation stewards and scientists.
ArchaeologyBiologybiologyhealthHealthhistoryhuman civilizationinfectionparasiteswater contaminationwater quality
Parasites versus Roman Soldiers: Fort Life Along Hadrian’s Wall
Parasites spread through contaminated food and water, affecting Roman soldiers in the first century and people today ...
Alzheimer’sAlzheimer’s DiseasebrainhealthHealthmicroplasticsneurologyParkinson's Diseaseplastic pollution
The Role of Microplastics in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Researchers piece together the correlation between microplastics in the brain and neurodegenerative diseases, with both on the rise ...
animalsbearsBiodiversity and ConservationecologyEcologyecosystemenvironmentrestorationwildlifewolves
Impact of Restoring Large Predators Is Complex
Large predators can’t be added or subtracted to an ecosystem like simple arithmetic—many factors shift simultaneously ...
What Really Happened to Napoleon’s Army in 1812?
Cold and disease tore into Napoleon’s army in the retreat from Russia. DNA research tells us more about the pathogens soldiers encountered ...
Silicate Weathering Drives the Carbon Cycle
Rocks break down through weathering or erosion, but did you know there’s a cycle from air to land to ocean that loops this process? ...
Sink and Swim at the Lake: Littoral Zones Are Now Carbon Sinks
Freshwater shorelines absorb more carbon than previously thought, shifting the estimated balance of carbon sources and carbon sinks ...
The Impact of Agricultural Pesticides Is Underestimated
Agricultural pesticides stay in the air long after they are sprayed, latching onto particles in the air instead of breaking down ...
New Evidence on the History of Leprosy in America
Leprosy in America was long thought to originate exclusively from European colonization, but its origins go deeper ...
A Potential New Treatment for Chronic Pain
Chronic pain management may have a new angle, with a recent finding that regulatory T cells in female mice influence their pain perception ...
We Have Plastic in Our Brains: A New Study
Increasing amounts of plastic in our brains has scientists questioning how microplastics impact cognitive health ...
Dark Energy Does Not Exist
Dark energy was proposed to explain why we have accelerated expansion of the universe, but new research suggests an alternate explanation ...
Yellow Food Dye Makes for Transparent Skin
Mice got transparent skin from exposure to yellow food dye, opening up more questions in physics and medicine ...
Blind Cavefish Evolved to Have More External Taste Buds
Taste buds evolved on the head and chin of blind cavefish to help them locate food in their dark environment ...
Heart Failure (HFpEF) and Obesity
The most common type of heart failure, HFpEF, is associated with diabetes and obesity, and this influences what makes effective treatment ...
