Humans
- Health & Medicine
Vaping can lead to teen smoking, new study finds
A study in L.A. high school students finds that those who vape are much more likely than those who don’t to eventually take up smoking cigarettes.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: The nico-teen brain
Both e-cigarettes and tobacco products can release large amounts of nicotine during use. Nicotine is the chemical that makes tobacco addictive — and the teen brain is especially vulnerable to it.
- Microbes
How ‘brain-eating’ amoebas kill
When people infected with a “brain-eating amoeba” die, their own immune systems might be to blame.
- Health & Medicine
Five things to know about ‘brain-eating’ amoebas
These parasites can be scary, but they rarely trigger infections. Still, knowing more about them can help you avoid behaviors that heighten risks.
- Health & Medicine
Identifying as a different gender
People grappling with gender identity issues (and their families) face difficult choices. As society increasingly accepts transgender youth, more research is needed to understand how better to support them.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: How the body sculpts a child
The human fetus is prepared to develop as a female. But if its chromosomes or other chemical signals instruct it to become male, then gene pathways will flip some chemical switches to create masculine organs and features.
- Math
New math: Fail + try again = real learning
Hands-on instruction by trial and error is gaining traction. Kids really can learn mightily from their mistakes.
- Health & Medicine
Gender: When the body and brain disagree
Researchers are working to untangle the highly complex relationship between our biology and our identity. In some individuals, a conflict can emerge, leading to a transgender identity.
- Brain
Explainer: Sometimes the body mixes up male and female
Certain medical conditions demonstrate how complicated biology can be. Being genetically male and female will not guarantee that your body won’t sometimes contain one or more features of both.
- Health & Medicine
Sugar makes mice sleepy
Sugar may amp up sleep-promoting cells in the brain, a new study in mice finds.
- Health & Medicine
Pain relief could come from a ‘drugstore’ for cells
Mice with nerve damage can be treated for pain with an injection of cells from bone marrow. Scientists have now figured out why this works.
- Brain
To protect kids, get the lead out!
Lead poisons hundreds of thousands of children. In Chicago, experts show how the toxic metal hurts test performance in school.
