Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 28, 2021

1st COVID-19 vaccine vial used in the US headed to museum

When a New York nurse became the first American to receive a dose of an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine in December, it was a moment that would go down in history. Now, that first vaccine vial is heading to a history museum, to be displayed in an exhibit planned for next...

Feb 28, 2021

Scientists want to store DNA of 6.7 million species on the moon, just in case

A lunar ark hidden inside the moon's lava tubes could preserve the sperm, eggs and seeds of millions of Earth's species, a group of scientists has proposed. The ark, or gene bank, would be safely hidden in these hollowed-out tunnels and caves sculpted by lava more than 3 billion years...

Feb 28, 2021

WHO thinks it knows where COVID-19 originated

After a months-long investigation, the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that wildlife farms in China are likely the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. These wildlife farms, many of them in or around the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, were likely supplying animals to vendors at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale...

Feb 28, 2021

An 'absolute plague' of mice is ravaging eastern Australia

Mice in the cabinets. Mice in the streets. Thousands upon thousands of mice in the barn, pooing so much it takes six hours to clean up their waste. These are scenes from Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, where an out-of-control mouse infestation is making life miserable for farmers, grocers...

Feb 28, 2021

COVID-19 may trigger diabetes in some people

Emerging data hint that COVID-19 can trigger diabetes in some people, although the exact reason remains unknown. Scientists around the world noticed an uptick in new diabetes cases last year and, in particular, saw that some COVID-19 patients with no history of diabetes were suddenly developing the condition, Scientific American...

Feb 28, 2021

What is DNA?

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, and it's a molecule that supplies the genetic instructions that tell living creatures how to develop, live and reproduce. DNA can be found inside every cell and is passed down from parents to their offspring. What is DNA made of?DNA is made up of molecules...

Feb 28, 2021

Does coffee really stunt kids' growth?

One reason coffee isn't usually given to kids may be the widely held belief that the caffeinated beverage can stunt children's growth. But is there any truth to this idea? The answer is a resounding no: There's no evidence that coffee or caffeine stunts childhood growth and development. Instead, a...

Feb 28, 2021

Mysterious brain disease 'cluster' under investigation in Canada

Officials in Canada are racing to find the cause of a mysterious brain disease that has afflicted more than 40 people in the New Brunswick province, according to news reports. Symptoms of the mystery illness resemble those of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare and fatal brain disorder; and include memory...

Feb 28, 2021

Spaceflight and long-distance swimming shrink the heart

What do extreme long-distance swimming and spaceflight have in common? They can both shrink the heart, according to a new study. Both activities reduce the pressure of gravity on the heart, making it so that it doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood upwards through the body. The...

Jan 31, 2021

California coronavirus variant is spreading rapidly. Should we worry?

A variant of the new coronavirus that first appeared in Southern California last summer has now spread to more than a dozen U.S. states and several other countries, according to a new study. The variant, known as CAL.20C, was first detected in a single case in Los Angeles County in...

Jan 31, 2021

CDC issues new guidelines for safely reopening schools

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a detailed guide to safely reopen America's schools, some of which have been closed for in-person learning for nearly a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan is centered on five key mitigation strategies to reduce COVID-19 transmission in...

Jan 31, 2021

Prior infection with common cold viruses won't protect against COVID-19

For months, scientists have wondered whether past exposure to seasonal coronaviruses that cause common colds might prevent people from getting a severe case of COVID-19. TThat protection would explain why children, who get more of these colds, are less severely impacted by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. But a...

Jan 31, 2021

Another new coronavirus variant now detected in 13 countries

A new coronavirus variant has been detected in the U.K., Nigeria and 11 other countries, including the U.S., according to a report by researchers at the University of Edinburgh. The variant, dubbed B.1.125, contains a mutation in the virus's spike protein, which allows it to bind to and enter human...

Jan 31, 2021

Lengthy clinical trials to test vaccines modified for variants won't be necessary, FDA says

If the novel coronavirus mutates such that current COVID-19 vaccines are no longer effective at fighting the virus, researchers will have to modify the vaccines. But new guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicate that long, extensive clinical trials may not be necessary to test the modified...

Jan 31, 2021

New coronavirus variant in NYC has vaccine-evading mutation

A new coronavirus variant with concerning mutations is on the rise in New York City, according to news reports. This latest coronavirus variant, dubbed B.1.526, first emerged in New York in November 2020, and it now accounts for about 25% of coronavirus genomes that were sequenced from New York in...