All Stories by Bethany Brookshire
- Neuroscience
Lonely brains crave people like hungry brains crave food
After hours of isolation, dopamine-producing cells in the brain fire up in response to pictures of humans, showing our social side runs deep.
- Animals
‘Phallacy’ deflates myths about the penises of the animal kingdom
By touring nature’s many penises, Phallacy author Emily Willingham puts the human organ in its place.
- Health & Medicine
Five big questions about when and how to open schools amid COVID-19
Researchers weigh in on how to get children back into classrooms in a low-risk way.
- Science & Society
College biology textbooks still portray a world of white scientists
Despite recent efforts to include more women and people of color, it will be decades — or even centuries — before textbooks reflect student diversity.
- Animals
The ‘ratpocalypse’ isn’t nigh, according to service call data
A new study shows that rat-related reports in New York City went down during COVID-19 lockdowns compared with previous years during March and April.
- Animals
Calculating a dog’s age in human years is harder than you think
People generally convert a dog’s age to human years by multiplying its age by seven. But a new study shows the math is way more complex.
- Health & Medicine
How making a COVID-19 vaccine confronts thorny ethical issues
COVID-19 vaccines will face plenty of ethical questions. Concerns arise long before anything is loaded into a syringe.
- Science & Society
Biomedical studies are including more female subjects (finally)
In 2019, 49 percent of biomedical research articles had both male and female subjects, almost double the percentage a decade ago.
- Animals
5 reasons you might be seeing more wildlife during the COVID-19 pandemic
From rats and coyotes in the streets to birds in the trees, people are noticing more animals than ever during the time of the coronavirus.
- Physics
50 years ago, Fermilab turned to bubbles
The National Accelerator Laboratory, now called Fermilab, used to have a bubble chamber to study particles. Today, most bubble chambers have gone flat.
- Neuroscience
Female rats face sex bias too
In neurobiological studies, male lab animals tend to outnumber females, which are considered too hormonal. Scientists say it’s time for that myth to go.
- Science & Society
Medical student evaluations appear riddled with racial and gender biases
Women and minorities are more frequently described by personality in medical student evaluations, but men are described by their skills, a study says.
