Remember taking children’s cough syrup as a kid whenever you got sick? Some flavors were more palatable than others, but all have left most of us with distinct, visceral memories of dissolved plastic fruit. It comes as no surprise that the intended purpose of these flavors was to mask the taste of the medicine enough to take a full spoonful with only mild fuss. However, for one crucial drug called praziquantel, dealing with the horrible taste of medicine was under-funded and overlooked. Recently, scientists previously unknown to each other joined forces to tackle this issue and provided a look at how science can be done.
Read MoreWe’ve all heard about the disappearing polar ice caps, rising sea levels, and emerging crazy weather patterns around us. But discovering these environmental changes didn’t happen overnight – lots of careful research goes into the field of climate science, and there’s more work being done every day to explore details about phenomena triggered by global warming. July has been particularly abuzz with articles in this field; below, I’ve summarized a few of the papers and news items from the summer.
Read MoreDespite the five — or arguably six — mass extinction events that have occurred on our planet, most of us are only familiar with the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. In this series, I investigate the causes and effects of the other great mass extinctions, and then examine recent literature to determine whether, indeed, we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction. This is the first part in a five-part series.
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