Ben Locwin
‘Public Panic Pandemic’: How our reaction to the coronavirus makes things worse than they should be
Deconstructing the epidemiology of a global panic ...
Tired all the time? Searching for genetic links to chronic fatigue syndrome
The hard-to-define and hard-to-diagnose condition continues to baffle researchers searching for its root causes -- and potential treatments ...
Summer is coming: Just how much sun can your DNA take before being damaged?
We're entering sunscreen season, which means 'high alert' for sun-related skin damage. How does our DNA impact our susceptibility? ...
Can we blame our genetics for overeating?
Are eating habits a matter of choice and discipline? What role do our genetics play in determining how much and ...
Gluten free diets are all the rage—here’s why that could be a bad thing
Gluten-free diets are all the rage, even though only a tiny fraction of us are susceptible to celiac-linked reactions. But ...
Can we reduce schizophrenia risk with prenatal supplements?
Schizophrenia has a clear genetic basis, but genes don't tell the whole story. The other factors that determine whether or ...
Searching through diets, medications and supplements for the Holy Grail of weight loss. Hint: There is no panacea
A quick review of some of the most effective and ineffective approaches to weight loss ...
Absence of a ‘smoking gun’ pathogen has stymied efforts to solve AFM mystery illness paralyzing children
What some are calling an "unprecedented mystery respiratory illness" is being reported in the Rockies and across the Midwest. Contributing ...
Emotions and memory: How your genes impact the way you see and feel the world
How much of our emotion is conjured up by an experience seems to be partly related to our genes. Could it ...
Why ending muscle wasting matters for curing cancer
Deterioration of muscle is the cause of death in many diseases, like cancer, but no treatments address this lethal symptom ...
Could a fake surgery really make you feel better?
Did you know placebo surgery occur? Some believe they are the next realm of understanding more about the effect of ...
Why daycare really might not be dangerous to your child’s health
Being around the large number of germs in daycare may actually improve your child's immune system. And we are now ...
How dreams may help us declutter our brains and solve problems
Do you remember your dreams from last night? In how much detail? Were they related to anything you experienced during ...
Looking for a memory boost? Forget crossword puzzles and get more sleep
People try numerous methods to stave off the memory decline associated with old age, but how many of them actually ...
Why does a drug work for you, but not for your sibling or friend? It’s in the genes
If you think you're not getting the same benefit from an over-the-counter medicine you've taken that others are getting, your ...
We know the placebo effect is biological. Is it also genetic?
We know that the placebo effect is in part biological: expectations of receiving a palliative leads to brain changes. Are ...
Getting to the roots of insomnia and what you can do about it
Ever struggle with sleep? Almost all of us will at some point our lifetime. Several factors are at play--including travel ...
Why all identical twins who are overweight are not identically obese
Identical twins have the same genomes, but they don't always look exactly the same, particularly in regards to weight. Science ...
Can’t get motivated? You may be able to blame your genes
Being apathetic may feel like following the path of least resistance. But studies of apathy in the brain show otherwise ...
Neurologic disorders may be linked to brain’s immune system
New research suggests there could be a link between certain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, and the brain's inability to clear ...
There’s a reason you have trouble thinking and remembering when hunger sets in
Why is it so hard to think while you're hungry? Researchers now believe it may come down to one protein ...
Time to stop treating men and women the same when it comes to drug treatments
Studies have shown that males and females metabolize drugs differently, suggesting we should be spending more time studying those differences ...
What do we know about wine as a magic elixir?
Is wine good or bad for you? Much of the attention surrounding the drink has focused on the compound resveratrol, ...
Tick tock, circadian clock research wins Nobel Prize—and why it may help us sleep and travel to Mars
Our clock system is in organisms across the planet. Better understanding of our internal body rhythms may help pave the ...
Insomnia cures: Do drug remedies provide the kind of sleep that our brain needs?
People spend billions on sleep remedies. The act of sleep and artificially assisting sleep are not on the whole a ...
‘Designer babies’ just around the corner? More scare than science
As CRISPR technology advances, old fears about 'designer babies' resurface. But we are a long way from being able to ...
Unraveling the paradox: Why GMO drugs and GMO foods are treated differently by critics
Many of the people who express outrage over genetic modification of crops because it 'tinkers with nature' are supportive of ...
Does the ‘Nordic diet’ reduce stroke risk? Maybe, maybe not
Study gives teeth to claims that the Nordic diet--which limits foods to what people in Denmark, Sweden and other northern ...