Grades 5-8 - Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

  • In early life, your mother is likely to be your most important person, emotionally, cognitively and behaviorally.
    Honor thy mother

    Mother is your first — and most important — relationship. What does science tell us about the effects of mothering? What happens when groups of monkeys are raised without a mother? How does a “fragile family” affect young people? What are “social risk factors,” and why should we care about them?


    Thursday, May 5th, 2011
  • Coffee: Drink of the gods?
    Coffee: Drink of the gods?

    Coffee used to be slandered as a mood-boosting, energy-enhancing addiction. But new research shows that the complex chemistry of coffee – java contains way more than just caffeine – may help with diabetes, dementia, heart disease, even some cancers. Where does the research stand? How convincing is it? Bottoms up?


    Thursday, April 21st, 2011
  • Apples
    In praise of the lowly apple

    Among foodies, apples lack the “healthy-tasty” cachet of acai berries or pomegranates. But in a year-long study, apples produced major benefits in cholesterol and inflammation. After eating 75 grams of dry apple a day, the women even lost three pounds. Is there something not to love about apples?


    Thursday, April 14th, 2011
  • Nuclear nightmare in Japan
    Nuclear nightmare in Japan

    With three nuclear reactors and three pools of spent fuel teetering on the edge of meltdown, Japanese technicians struggled to throttle the nuclear demons after the gigantic tsunami. Is Fukushima closer to Chernobyl or Three Mile Island? How will the disaster affect plans for a renaissance of nuclear power?


    Thursday, March 24th, 2011
  • Genetic solution to cancer, diabetes?
    Genetic solution to cancer, diabetes?

    People with a genetic case of dwarfism in Ecuador don’t get cancer or diabetes, and a new study links that benefit to the genetic changes we see when calories are severely restricted. Could blocking growth hormone in adulthood lead to serious health benefits?


    Thursday, February 17th, 2011
  • Flying virus!
    Flying virus!

    Got flu? Then virus particles can enter the air aboard aerosols released by a sneeze, cough or even a breath. Smaller droplets can stay aloft for hours — so size matters. According to a new study, many droplets can float for an hour — plenty long enough to infect another victim.


    Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
  • A climate of extremes?
    A climate of extremes?

    Are extreme heat, wicked cyclones and record rainfalls signs of climate change, or just more changes in the weather? Will warming eliminate record cold days? Will hurricanes get bigger?


    Thursday, January 13th, 2011
  • Pisces, a research ship of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was a floating laboratory to study Deepwater Horizon's aftershocks.
    Methane on the menu in the Gulf of Mexico?

    The BP spill released about 160,000 tons of methane into the Gulf of Mexico, but a new study shows that it was eaten by friendly bacteria. The seabed contains an astonishing amount of methane, a strong greenhouse gas. So can bacteria reduce the global warming hazard of massive methane releases?


    Thursday, January 6th, 2011
  • The morning after
    The morning after

    It’s as sure as sunrise. Drink too much, and you’ll pay next morning: lassitude, nausea, headache, dizziness, and more specialized agonies will be cause for regret. Hangovers: If you can’t avoid them, will they cause you to drink less? Do fruitflies get hung over?


    Wednesday, December 29th, 2010
  • Maggots, leeches, parasitic worms
    Maggots, leeches, parasitic worms

    Three gross “biotherapies” are gaining medical attention, and two already have FDA approval as “medical devices” (?) ! Leeches can suck excess blood after surgery, and maggots remove dead tissue and kill bacteria in hard-to-heal wounds. Parasitic worms might fight ulcerative colitis — a widespread bowel disease. Maybe.


    Thursday, December 23rd, 2010


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