Science journalist
Recent Stories
How Gamblers Try – And Fail – To Beat The System
Human tendency to seek patterns leads to misperception of randomness. Habitual gamblers are more likely to believe they see patterns in random sequences of events, and…
Patient safety a matter of design
An international group of health care systems has begun a year-long project to gather and share data on how to design systems to improve patient safety.…
Questions raised about whether compulsory licenses get best prices
The use of so-called ‘compulsory licenses’ by developing countries to obtain cheaper drugs for HIV and AIDS by circumventing patents has not been the best strategy…
Researchers track eye movements to sway moral decisions
Altering the timing of a decision on the basis of gaze manipulates choices. People asked to choose between two written moral statements tend to glance more…
Sewage Bacteria Reveal Cities’ Obesity Rates
Urban ‘microbiome’ can offer glimpses into disease trends. Sampling the waste in a city’s sewage system can be a good way to study the microbes that…
Pharmaceuticals in the environment: a growing problem
Drugs taken by humans and animals find their way into rivers, lakes and even drinking water, and can have devastating effects on the environment. When Rebecca…