Mini Mask Update

Today we’re revisiting caffeine. It’s a drug that tons of us take every day. So, is that a bad thing?? What is it really doing to our bodies and our brains? Plus — if we get it in the form of energy drinks, is that super dangerous? We talk to Dr. Astrid Nehlig, Prof. Gregory Marc ...  Show more

A group of scientists meet a very unusual woman. A key part of her brain isn’t working: the amygdala. This is the part of the brain that we think is responsible for feeling fear. And in fact, this woman does seem pretty fearless. Researchers test her fear response using some very ...  Show more

What do we actually know about virus transmissibility, the efficacy of face masks, and the implications of wearing a face covering? It turns out, it takes a lot of work to get to the bottom of what the data truly says. Articles circulating on social media are often misleading—omi ...  Show more

There is truly a myriad of factors that go into what makes us healthy. From diet and exercise to mindset and environmental factors, health is truly a holistic, multifaceted state. Now more than ever is an opportunity for us to tune into the things we can do to fortify our health ...  Show more

Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between. ...  Show more

Dr. Nina Shapiro is the Director of Pediatric Otolaryngology and a Professor of Head and Neck Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She joins Jonathan to discuss the history and importance of vaccinations, how vaccines work, good science versus bad science, thou ...  Show more