The James Webb Space Telescope Is on The Launchpad!

The science community is getting a very long-awaited Christmas gift this year – the much-delayed launch of the James Webb Space Telescope!  The successor to the much-loved Hubble, the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, was originally scheduled to be launched in 2007. Now, 14 years later, all systems seem to finally be ready to … Read more

Study Finds Alarming Levels of Microplastics in The Feces of People With IBD

Motes of weathered plastic increasingly dust every corner of our planet, permeating our food, our air, and our water. From the moment we’re born – if not long before – we’re exposed to its effects, and we don’t fully know what that’s doing to our health and wellbeing.   A recent investigation by a team of researchers … Read more

Being Denied an Abortion Has Lasting Impacts on Health and Finances

As the Supreme Court decides the future of abortion laws in the U.S., a key question to be considered is whether access to the procedure has positive or negative consequences for the people who get an abortion, and for society in general. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization concerns the constitutionality of a new Mississippi … Read more

It Turns Out That Everything We Know About The Runner’s High Could Be Wrong

Many people have experienced reductions in stress, pain, and anxiety, and sometimes even euphoria after exercise. What’s behind this so-called ‘runner’s high’? New research on the neuroscience of exercise may surprise you.   The runner’s high has long been attributed to endorphins. These are chemicals produced naturally in the body of humans and other animals … Read more

Cannabis Treatment Can Reduce Kids’ Epileptic Seizures by 86%, Early Results Show

The anti-seizure qualities of the cannabis plant can likely not be boiled down to a single compound, like cannabidiol (CBD), according to emerging research. Studies in Australia have recently revealed numerous other compounds in the cannabis plant that also show anticonvulsant effects. Some of them could even be more powerful than CBD.   A small … Read more

Waiting 60 Seconds Before Cutting The Umbilical Cord Can Save Lives, Study Finds

Waiting just 60 seconds to clamp umbilical cords gives very premature babies a better shot at life, reducing the risk of death and disability in the first two years of childhood by almost one-fifth, new research shows.   The Australian-led study, conducted in 25 hospitals across 7 countries, looked at health outcomes of more than 1,500 … Read more

NASA scientists consider the health risks of space travel

Humans aren’t built to live in space, and being there can pose serious health risks. For space administrations like NASA, a major goal is to identify these risks to hopefully help lessen them.  That was a major theme during NASA’s Spaceflight for Everybody Virtual Symposium in November, a virtual symposium dedicated to discussing current knowledge … Read more

COVID Is Driving a Children’s Mental Health Emergency

When COVID shut down life as usual in the spring of 2020, most physicians in the U.S. focused on the immediate physical dangers from the novel coronavirus. But soon pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris began thinking of COVID’s longer-term emotional damage and those who would be especially vulnerable: children. “The pandemic is a massive stressor,” explains … Read more

COVID Is Driving a Chlidren’s Mental Health Emergency

When COVID shut down life as usual in the spring of 2020, most physicians in the U.S. focused on the immediate physical dangers from the novel coronavirus. But soon pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris began thinking of COVID’s longer-term emotional damage and those who would be especially vulnerable: children. “The pandemic is a massive stressor,” explains … Read more