If you feel like you’ve been seeing more pregnant women lately, your eyes are not deceiving you. According to the US Census, August is the month with the highest number of births. During pregnancy, the fetus relies on its mother’s diet to sustain its nutritional needs for growth and development in the womb. For years, scientists have studied the potential long-term effects of prenatal nutrition on the development of adult diseases like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. New research is showing that a mother’s nutrition and health may also contribute to permanent changes in fetal metabolism, even before she knows she’s eating for two… Continue reading You Are What You Eat…And Also What Your Mother Ate

As Major League Baseball prepares to take a hiatus for the All-Star Break, many people are reflecting back on a season in which some of the biggest names in baseball have been tainted by the steroid scandal. Only time will tell what steroids will do to the legacy of baseball, but understanding the science behind the phenomenon is a good start. What are steroids and what effects can they have on our bodies, both good and bad? And what exactly did Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez (allegedly) do, and why? Read on to find out… Continue reading If You Take Them, Hits Will Come: The Science Behind the Steroid Era of Baseball

Viruses, small biological particles that have the ability to reproduce, have been around far longer than even humans, existing for billions of years. Unlike living organisms, viruses cannot reproduce independently; rather, they depend on the infection of a host organism. As humans evolve, the viruses evolve as well, and new strains continually arise over time. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV, the causative agent of autoimmune deficiency syndrome, AIDS) and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus are two examples of viruses that have only recently spread to humans. The newest virus making headlines is the H1N1 flu, which has fast become a topic of international concern… Continue reading The H1N1 Flu: a Simple Seasonal Sickness or an International Crisis?

From the initial sparks of human agricultural activity 12,000 years ago, to the flames of the industrial revolution in the late 19th century, and now the present conflagration of our globalized society, human activities have fundamentally altered the Earth’s soils, oceans, and atmosphere… Continue reading Powers Unseen: Notes from Earth's Master Chemists

Have you wondered where all the complimentary peanuts on plane trips have gone? Although the economy has forced airlines to cut expenses, it would seem peanuts are no longer in vogue. But why is that? Continue reading Sprouting Nut Allergies May Be Treatable

Although the Obama administration is still in its infancy, important strides have been made to fulfill the promise President Obama made in his inaugural address to, “restore science to its rightful place.” First, the $787-billion economic stimulus package has infused $10.4 billion into the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and another $3 billion into the National Science Foundation (NSF). Given that the NIH and NSF fund the overwhelming majority of the basic science research in the US, this financial support is a promising sign of progress toward reinstating US biological research as a world-premier engine for healthcare innovation and a major driver of economic stimulation… Continue reading Stemming the Science Drain: Outlook on U.S. Stem Cell Research Under the Obama Administration

If you have been watching TV, listening to the radio, or riding the T lately, you’re likely to have seen or heard a lot of public service announcements raising awareness of heart disease, particularly in women. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for both men and women in the United States, even though heart disease is often thought of something that affects men more often… Continue reading Prevention is the Best Medicine: Detecting Heart Disease with Markers of Inflammation

Three types of technologies have been proposed as solutions to the challenge of global climate change. The first is clean energy technology (for example, wind, solar, or biofuels), which can produce electricity or power cars without burning fossil fuels. The second is conservation: everything from turning off unused lights to designing more energy efficient buildings and appliances can reduce the carbon footprint of homeowners and corporations. A third option is to permanently remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere by sequestration, or locking them up into a stable reservoir… Continue reading A New Proposal for Carbon Sequestration

In research being hailed as groundbreaking, a team of researchers led by Dr. Gerard Karsenty at Columbia University has discovered an unlikely partner in the fight against bone disease: your gut. Exciting new research shows that a signal released by the gut can regulate the bone cells that strengthen bone tissue. Scientists hope that by learning how to control this signal, they can find new treatments for diseases such as osteoporosis… Continue reading How the Gut Talks to Bone

Most people think of bacteria as solitary cells swimming around in search of nutrients. Now scientists are realizing that this viewpoint misses the true nature of these microorganisms. The vast majority actually live in highly organized communities called biofilms, which can contain many different species. These groups of bacteria can have far-reaching consequences, from slowing down ships to aiding water purification. Scientists are now taking advantage of new technologies to understand the behavior of these bacterial societies, and to attempt to control them… Continue reading Biofilms: The Far-Reaching Effects of Microbial Communities