Of Science, Fear, and Nuclear Radiation
The risks from ionizing radiation are vastly overstated, according to a growing number of critics who cite serious flaws in the science that has dominated exposure guidelines for decades. Other...
View ArticleHow Gene Editing Is Changing the World
In this brisk, accessible primer on a technology that is driving major scientific advances — and raising complex ethical questions — biologist Nessa Carey shows how new gene editing techniques like...
View ArticleAfter Sexual Assault, Some Survivors Seek Healing in Self-Defense
Though the self-defense classes vary depending on who is offering them, they share some commonalities, including the use of a female instructor who teaches the techniques, and a male instructor who...
View ArticleIt May Take Years to Uncover All of Vaping’s Health Risks
Marketing that claimed vaping to be a “safer” alternative to smoking may have led millions of teenagers to believe e-cigarettes are “safe.” But as new cases of lung illnesses emerge, it has become...
View ArticleAs Droughts Spread Across India, So Does Water Budgeting
In India, the world’s largest user of groundwater, parched rural communities face severe water shortages due to recurring droughts and unregulated extraction. Cooperation may be the key to...
View ArticleAmid a Water Crisis, California Officials Fan Flames of Confusion
In the aftermath of the 2018 Camp Fire, government officials discovered that many of the region’s underground water pipes had been contaminated with benzene and other cancer-causing chemicals. With...
View ArticleAs Vaping-Related Lung Illnesses Continue, the Culprit Remains a Mystery
People across the U.S. are continuing to fall ill with vaping-related lung disease. In a conference call Thursday, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 530 probable...
View ArticleAn Inside Look at Hospital Care, Through a Nurse’s Eyes
In her memoir "How to Treat People: A Nurse's Notes," Molly Case interweaves the professional and the personal in presenting a mosaic of vignettes drawn from her work in the “high dependency unit” of a...
View ArticleFor India’s Caste-Based Sewer Cleaners, an Uncertain Robot Rescue
To help end the lethal practice, some researchers and companies are building sewer robots and other technological solutions that can sweep out debris and keep tunnels clear. In July 2018, the Indian...
View ArticleDo DNA Databases Make Would-Be Criminals Think Twice?
The power of DNA databases as a preventative crime tool is best understood through the lens of behavioral economics, which considers criminal behavior as a rational response to competing incentives — a...
View ArticleEp. 39: Solving the Deadly Transplantable Kidney Shortage
Join freelance audio producer Kaitlin Benz and podcast host Lydia Chain as they take a penetrating look at the challenging paths of patients diagnosed with kidney failure, and chat with the doctors...
View ArticleAs Bots Spread Vaccine Misinformation, Some Social Platforms Fight Back
Social media platforms can continue to help reduce misinformation that could further increase vaccine hesitancy in the United States and elsewhere. Following Pinterest’s lead, these tech companies can...
View ArticleThe Honeybee’s Most Fearsome Enemy
Honeybees play a crucial role in America's food production, but they are suffering critical losses. The biggest culprit isn’t pesticides, starvation, or even the mysterious affliction known as colony...
View ArticleIn a New Study on Bird Loss, Some Scientists Say Subtlety Is Lost, Too
Some ecologists suggest the study demonstrates how high-stakes research, the constraints of high-profile journal publishing, and sophisticated publicity can sometimes coalesce to eclipse important...
View ArticleThe Uncertain Future of Safety-Net Hospitals
When safety-net hospitals like Hahnemann University Hospital close, things spiral into chaos. Closures of such hospitals — which care for our poorest and our sickest by design — already have created...
View ArticleA Gynecologist’s Guide to Safeguarding Your Vagina From Myths and Scammers
Given how long doctors have neglected the female body, gynecologist Jen Gunter argues in "The Vagina Bible,” it's not surprising that so many women continue to gravitate toward harmful vaginal myths,...
View ArticleFor Gun Locks and Safes, Lax Oversight and Lousy Design
"The assumption that locking up guns in various ways will reduce gun violence rests upon a faulty belief that these products — handgun safes and gun locks — are adequate for securing guns," one gun...
View ArticleAmid Rising Climate Stakes, Trump and Allies Get Personal
In an impassioned speech to the U.N. Climate Action Summit on Monday, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg begged world leaders to listen to the science on climate change. For many right-wing...
View ArticleFor Vulnerable Populations, the Thorny Ethics of Genetic Data Collection
Without studies that look at underrepresented populations, genetic tests and therapies can’t be tailored to everyone. But projects intended as correctives, like All of Us and International HapMap, face...
View ArticlePoor Toothbrushing Is Putting Nursing Home Residents at Risk
Thousands of people a day who are in nursing homes often go without their teeth being brushed. Besides being icky and uncomfortable, the bacteria that arise as a result of the poor care often are...
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