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by Rebecca Mandt We usually think of extinction of a species as a bad thing. But what if that species is directly causing human suffering or death on a global scale? The ultimate goal of disease eradication efforts is to target an infectious disease by…

A common pigeon, also known as a rock pigeon or Columba livia (scientific name) [Image: Rock Pigeon under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license]Pigeons are many things to many people – navigators, couriers, rats with wings – but the word “doctors” rarely comes to…

by Emily Ricq Depression affects 15 million Americans and is characterized by debilitating feelings of sadness or emptiness that interfere with the ability to lead and enjoy life [1]. The substantial personal and public health burden imposed by…

The link between Zika virus and the increase in microcephaly cases was first investigated because mothers who gave birth to children with microcephaly reported having had a rash, like the one in this figure, during their pregnancy.…

by Danielle Heller Proteins are molecular machines. They perform an incredible diversity of tasks that enable all living cells to function.  Like any machine, a protein must be properly assembled in order to carry out its specific task, and if something…

by Caitlin Nichols figures by Krissy Lyon We’ve all heard the saying that quality is more important than quantity. The preference for quality over quantity applies in the human body as well. Cancer, for instance, is caused by malfunctioning cells that…

by Michael R. Gerhardt Our climate is rapidly changing, and many countries are beginning to take action. In the United States, President Barack Obama has announced the Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric power generation,…

by Patty Rohs figures by Anna Maurer New technology is allowing scientists to investigate natural history museum specimens in ways that we never thought were possible. To the public eye, these museums may seem like an unchanging archive of life on earth.…

Analysis of human DNA reveals a distinctive genetic “fingerprint” [Image: Micah’s DNA under CC BY-SA 2.0 licence]Spitting into a plastic tube normally doesn’t cost $199, but the personal genomics company 23andMe has recently won FDA…

Image from New Scientist illustrating the Delft experimental setup Quantum mechanics is so mind-boggling that it has stumped even the greatest minds. In particular, Albert Einstein was so bothered by quantum mechanics that he never gave up in his…