Stories by Tanya Lewis

We now have the ability to screen for thousands of genetic diseases in newborns. That may not always be the healthy thing to do

Scientists engineered the bacterium to produce psilocybin

In addition to a recent spate of lung illnesses, e-cigarettes have been linked to a greater likelihood of developing diseases such as COPD and emphysema

Maternal stress arising from perceived racial discrimination could cause premature births and lower birth weights

A new report of young adults in 146 countries finds that most did not meet recommended activity levels, especially girls

The popular heartburn drug may produce potentially unsafe levels of NDMA when its active ingredient breaks down

A common gene-editing enzyme could be used to disable RNA viruses such as flu or Ebola

“Prime editing” can potentially correct almost any type of mutation, but it requires much more testing before clinical use

Research by William Kaelin, Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza led the way for applications in treating anemia, cancer and other diseases

A common vision correction could interfere with depth perception while driving

A study suggests the phenomenon may have evolved from a mechanism for triggering ovulation

Some forms of the drug ranitidine—including Zantac—have been shown to contain low levels of NDMA, which causes cancer in rats

U.C. San Francisco researcher and Breakthrough Prize–winner David Julius talks about capsaicin, opioids and snake vision

Having more localized data on infection rates within countries could help health authorities better target treatment 

In the first of two meetings, an international commission discussed the criteria required before such experiments should be conducted—if ever

Despite vaccination and treatment efforts, the epidemic in Central Africa has resulted in 1,700 deaths and counting

Top news from around the world

The president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene talks about how the designation could help fight the nearly year-old outbreak in central sub-Saharan Africa

Neuralink says it can robotically implant more than 3,000 flexible-polymer electrodes in a rat or monkey brain. The device is still a long way from routine human use, however

A large, correlation-based study identifies eight genome regions associated with the eating disorder

Warming temperatures are exposing more people to heat waves and increasing the risk of disease spread

Scientific American assistant news editor, Tanya Lewis, and collections editor, Andrea Gawrylewski, take a deeper look at two short articles from the Advances news section of the December issue, on counterfeit whiskeys and the effect of real ecstasy...on octopuses.

Scientific American assistant news editor, Tanya Lewis, and collections editor, Andrea Gawrylewski, host a new podcast that takes a deeper look at short articles from the Advances news section of the magazine.

Very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe.