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
Second Boosters, Masks in the Next Wave and Smart Risk Decisions: COVID Quickly, Episode 27
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
How the War in Ukraine Is Causing Indirect Deaths
Crowded shelters and destroyed health care facilities will likely exacerbate COVID, TB and other diseases
Florida Gets Kids and Vaccines Wrong and Ukraine’s Health Crisis: COVID Quickly, Episode 26
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
People, Not Science, Decide When a Pandemic Is Over
Historians of the 1918 influenza pandemic discuss lessons for what the future of COVID might look like
The Push to Move Past the Pandemic: COVID Quickly, Episode 25
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
How the Pandemic Remade Science Journalism
It’s no longer possible to separate science and politics
Tracking Outbreaks through Sewers, and Kids’ Vaccines on Hold Again: COVID Quickly, Episode 24
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
How Olympic Figure Skaters Break Records with Physics
An exercise scientist explains the biomechanics behind jumps such as the quadruple Axel and what the body’s limits are
Honeybees Social Distance to Prevent Disease, Too
The insects balance separation and care for those infected by parasites
Omicron’s Effect Won’t Be as Mild as Hoped
It’s too soon to know if the variant causes milder COVID, but its transmissibility and ability to evade vaccines are still cause for concern
COVID Quickly, Episode 20: The Omicron Scare, and Anti-COVID Pills Are Coming
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
The Benefits of Vaccinating Kids against COVID Far Outweigh the Risks of Myocarditis
Vaccination is likely to prevent many more COVID cases than it is to cause a rare and nonfatal heart side effect in five- to 11-year-olds
COVID Quickly, Episode 19: Mandate Roadblocks, Boosters for All and Sickness in the Zoo
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
How Immunocompromised People without Strong Vaccine Protection Are Coping with COVID
People with diseases or treatments that suppress their immune system cannot count on the same protection most vaccinated people have
COVID Quickly, Episode 18: Vaccines for Kids and the Limits of Natural Immunity
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
The Quest to Overcome Gene Therapy’s Failures
Tragic side effects plagued the field’s early years, but researchers are finding ways to minimize the risks
COVID Quickly, Episode 17: Vaccine Lies and Protecting Immunocompromised People
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
Who Needs a COVID Booster Shot? Experts Answer Common Questions
Now that the FDA has authorized the shots for a broad range of Americans, many people want to know if they need a booster dose. Here’s what we have learned so far
COVID Quickly, Episode 16: Vaccines Protect Pregnancies and a New Antiviral Pill
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
2021 Medicine Nobel Prize Winner Explains the Importance of Sensing Touch
Ardem Patapoutian shared the physiology or medicine prize for work on mechanisms crucial to everything from bladder control to knowing where our limbs are
2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Awarded for Discoveries in Sensing Temperature and Touch
David Julius’s and Ardem Patapoutian’s research revealed the molecular basis of these basic senses
Why We Need to Upgrade Our Face Masks—and Where to Get Them
High-quality respirators such as N95s and KN95s are now widely available and provide the best protection against COVID, according to experts. Why aren’t more people wearing them?
COVID, Quickly, Episode 15: Booster Shot Approvals—plus Vaccines for Kids?
Today we bring you a new episode in our 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.
You can listen to all past episodes here.
An mRNA Pioneer Discusses How Her Work Led to the COVID Vaccines
Biochemist Katalin Karikó and her colleague Drew Weissman were recently awarded a $3-million Breakthrough Prize for their work