Why Plastics Are Dangerous to Our Health
Is the BPA found in plastics dangerous to our health? The science doesn’t look good. Learn when to avoid BPA and where it may be found.
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Science with Sophie: Dogs
Do dogs really exist? Okay, we know dogs really exist. But how do you know if something really exists if you can’t see it? On this episode of Science with Sophie, Sophie explores why it’s so important to do your own research, as well as how genetic traits as passed down. And as a bonus, you’ll learn all about the history of dogs, complete with at least five different canine cameos. Do the science experiment with Sophie To do the science experiment, you’ll need these things: something to write on something…
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Science with Sophie: Scab Science
Scab Science It’s happened to all of us. You’re running or riding your bike, you slip, you fall, and you skin your knee. After a few days, you notice that the cut where you skinned your knee has formed a scab. What happens to our bodies when we get hurt? Why do we get cuts, and why do we get scabs afterward? Learn how white blood cells, proteins, and skin cells work together to help you get better after you get hurt in this episode of Science with Sophie! Do…
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Fabulous Fat: Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements Combat Malnutrition
By Shayna Keyles @shaynakeyles Malnutrition affects hundreds of millions of children around the world. As of 2017, about 23 percent of children under five suffer from stunted growth because of malnutrition and about 8 percent experience extreme wasting, which is characterized by a low weight-to-height ratio. Although over the years many treatments have been developed that reduce chances of mortality, increase weight gain, and improve lean tissue creation—all signs of healthy development—more work is necessary to create an inexpensive, accessible, and long-term solution. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; also known as…
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Ongoing Human Evolution Revealed in Data
A research team at Columbia University has conducted a large-scale study of ongoing human evolution. Genetic data reveals how humans are evolving. By Kate Stone When I was about nine years old, a young schoolmate demanded to know, “If evolution is real, then why isn’t it happening now?” Being nine and not a biologist, I wasn’t prepared to answer this question. And yet, it was a question that I’ve heard echoes of in the years to follow. Now, a research team at Columbia University has conducted a large-scale study of…
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How and Why Do Brain Cells Die?
Sometimes our brain cells die, and researchers want to know why. Johns Hopkins University researchers may have found the answer.
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Pathogenic Triggers of Bacterial DNA Discovered
By Shayna Keyles @shaynakeyles Bacteria, those mysterious, microscopic creatures living in, on, and around us, are very often our benign neighbors with whom we quietly cohabitate and occasionally exchange mutual support. However, as anyone who has ever gotten pneumonia or strep throat knows, bacteria are not always looking out for our best interests. Occasionally, bacteria become pathogenic and infect their hosts, and if we are their hosts, we get sick. In a groundbreaking study published on July 29 in Science Access, researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory uncovered the molecular…
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Why Do Women Outlive Men?
Multiple studies have shown that, on the whole, women outlive men. Have you ever wondered where this information comes from and if it is true?
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Marshall Islands Radiation Still Too High Decades Later
By Emily Rhode @riseandsci In the years immediately following the end of World War II, the United States government conducted large-scale testing of nuclear weapons on a small group of islands in the remote Pacific Ocean. On March 1, 1954, the largest nuclear device ever tested by the United States was detonated at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Castle Bravo, as the bomb was known, created a mushroom cloud of radiation almost four and one-half miles wide. This was more than 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on…
Read More![Dichroa febrifuga, a medicinal herb that has been historically used to treat fever, is named for its active ingredient, febrifugine. By Keith Edkins (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://magazine.scienceconnected.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Dichroa_febrifuga_Glasgow-e1463012377212.jpg)
Malaria Drugs: Herb Garden to Medicine Cabinet
Malaria kills 1 million people each year, most of whom are children in sub-Saharan Africa. Turning to nature for new malaria drugs. By Bill Sullivan, PhD We live on a lush planet filled with over 290,000 species of plants. Herbs are a particular type of plant that lack a wooden stem, and humans have often sampled them in hopes of finding a new food or flavoring. Sometimes ingestion of an herb produces unwanted effects, such as death. But other herbs have medicinal qualities, such as the alleviation of fever. An…
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