Carly Kay is the Fall 2025 science writing intern at Science News. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in science…
Category: Life
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s Denmark vaccine schedule delusion—Why it would be a health disaster in the U.S.
It’s official. CNN confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services was planning to announce an overhaul of the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule to align it with Denmark’s, which recommends fewer…
Guilt and Shame Shape Behavior Through Separate Brain Pathways
Summary: Guilt and shame arise from different cognitive triggers and rely on distinct neural systems to guide compensatory behavior. Using a controlled game that manipulated both harm and responsibility, researchers…
Emotional Stress Triggers Instant Arousal From Deep Sleep
Summary: A new study uncovers a precise brain pathway that rapidly converts emotional stress into sudden wakefulness during NREM sleep. Researchers found that GABAergic neurons in the BNST activate glutamatergic…
GLP podcast: Evolutionary mismatch. Is civilization wrecking our health?
There’s a dangerous mismatch between our biology and the tech-saturated world we inhabit—and it might be killing us. That’s the provocative thesis advanced by a coalition of evolutionary biologists who…
Depression Quietly Damages the Heart Through Stress Circuits
Summary: Depression and anxiety may heighten cardiovascular disease risk through chronic stress pathways in the brain and body. In a large analysis of more than 85,000 adults, those with depression…
Ancient DNA rewrites the tale of when and how cats left Africa
Like a toy on a string, the timing of cat domestication has been a moving target. Now researchers have pounced on a new timeline suggesting that tame descendants of African…
Viewpoint: The U.S. has entered a dark period in public health, thank you Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
We expect [medical] breakthroughs to occur on a regular basis, and 2025 delivered; successful trials of gene therapies for diseases that have no treatments, for example, filled scientists and the…
Second-Hand Gifts Are Becoming the New Status Symbol
Summary: New research shows that buying second-hand gifts is typically a thoughtful, intentional decision rather than an impulsive one. Consumers are motivated by fair prices, the thrill of finding rare…
