Tanya Lewis is senior desk editor for health and medicine at Scientific American. She writes and edits stories for the website and print magazine on topics ranging from COVID to organ transplants. She also appears on Scientific American’s podcast Science Quickly and writes Scientific American’s weekly Health & Medicine newsletter. She has held a number of positions over her nine years at Scientific American, including health editor, assistant news editor and associate editor at Scientific American Mind. Previously, she has written for outlets that include Insider, Wired, Science News and others. She has a degree in biomedical engineering from Brown University and one in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Follow her on Bluesky @tanyalewis.bsky.social
COVID, Quickly, Episode 3: Vaccine Inequality—plus Your Body the Variant Fighter
Today we bring you the third episode in a new podcast series: COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
The Biggest Barriers to COVID Vaccination for Black and Latinx People
Differences in life expectancy, car ownership and language may contribute to the racial and ethnic disparities
COVID, Quickly, Episode 2: Lessons from a Pandemic Year
Today we bring you the second episode in a new podcast series: COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
How the U.S. Pandemic Response Went Wrong—and What Went Right—during a Year of COVID
On the anniversary of this global disaster, we take a look back at some of the biggest mistakes, surprising successes and lingering questions
COVID, Quickly, Episode 1: Vaccines, Variants and Diabetes
Today we begin a new podcast series: COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.
Nursing Home Workers Had One of the Deadliest Jobs of 2020
An analysis of incomplete data shows they had a death rate higher than that of loggers and may have rivaled fishers for the most perilous profession
Printing a Brain Aneurysm in a Dish
Scientists make and treat a 3-D-printed model of a ballooning blood vessel
Should We Change COVID Vaccine Doses to Reach More People? What the Data Say
Scientists are debating whether to delay, skip or halve doses. But untested tweaks could shake public confidence
The ‘Shared Psychosis’ of Donald Trump and His Loyalists
Forensic psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee explains the outgoing president’s pathological appeal and how to wean people from it
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID Vaccine Is First to Win U.S. Authorization
The FDA issued the emergency use authorization for the vaccine late on Friday. And immunizations of health care workers and long-term care facility residents could begin within days
FDA Commissioner Says Vaccine Approval Process Will Be Transparent and Guided by Data
Stephen Hahn describes how the agency will evaluate vaccines for emergency authorization
To Control COVID, Biden Needs to Marshal Federal Resources—and Change Attitudes
The incoming U.S. president must help skeptics see benefits in masks and persuade Congress to spend more money on testing and protective gear
Evaluating COVID Risk on Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Stay safer on different forms of transportation
A New Cell Map of the Human Heart
Scientists have created an atlas of cardiac cells in six regions that could help chart what goes awry in heart disease
Seven Ways the Election Will Shape the Future of Science, Health and the Environment
Climate change, nuclear arms control, the pandemic and more will be determined by whoever wins the White House and Congress
Upcoming Supreme Court Ruling Could Jeopardize Health Insurance for People with COVID
In a case on the Affordable Care Act next month, a conservative court could take away protections for preexisting conditions
Eight Persistent COVID-19 Myths and Why People Believe Them
From a human-made virus to vaccine conspiracy theories, we rounded up the most insidious false claims about the pandemic
How Trump Could Have Exposed Biden and Others to COVID at the Debate
An expert on airborne virus transmission explains the risks of talking loudly without wearing a mask in an indoor environment
Discovery of Hepatitis C Snags Nobel Prize in Medicine
Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice share the award for identifying the virus behind the blood-borne liver disease
How Trump’s COVID Diagnosis Could Affect Public Perceptions
A noted bioethicist says the president’s case could trigger calls for greater transparency about his health—and spawn conspiracy theories
Trump’s COVID Infection Puts Him in Multiple High-Risk Categories
The president is age 74, male and heavy—all factors linked to more severe cases of the illness
COVID-19 Testing Lab Shows How Colleges Can Reopen Safely
More than 100 colleges in the Northeast have partnered with the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard to test their students and staff
Elon Musk’s Pig-Brain Implant Is Still a Long Way from ‘Solving Paralysis’
His start-up Neuralink is not the first to develop a wireless brain implant. But the considerable resources behind the effort could help commercialize the technology faster
COVID-19 Spit Tests Used by NBA Are Now Authorized by FDA
A new saliva-based diagnostic does not require a “brain-tickling” swab, and it can be used with a range of chemical reagents