Articles by Megan Scudellari

And the same endocannabinoid system that translates marijuana's buzz-inducing compounds into a high plays crucial roles in health and disease outside the brain.

The system responsible for the buzz humans get from marijuana plays a passel of physiological roles outside the brain.

As researchers sequence the DNA of thousands of kids with autism, dozens of genetic subgroups are emerging.

Researchers aim to leverage new insights into the underlying causes of the disorder to better help patients. 

Humans have spiked ecosystems with a flood of active pharmaceuticals. The drugs are feminizing male fish, confusing birds, and worrying scientists.

Personal drug regimens based on xenograft mice harboring a single patient’s tumor still need to prove their true utility in medicine.

There are no FDA-approved drugs to treat low sexual desire in women, but not for lack of trying.

In lieu of a career in punk rock, James Pfaus opted to study the brain signals underlying sexual behavior and then see what happened when he manipulated them.

Birds do it. Bees do it. We do it. But not without a physical, biochemical, and genetic price. How did the costly practice of sex become so commonplace?

Not one to shy away from controversy, Bruce Ames has pitted himself against industry groups, environmentalists, and his peers through his work identifying DNA mutagens. And he’s not done yet.

György Hajnóczky uncovers the chemical and physical strategies by which mitochondria communicate and function within a cell.

Tuberculosis is exquisitely adapted to the human body. Researchers need a new game plan for beating it.

By digging through dusty storerooms and reading dead people’s mail, science historian and philosopher Michael Dietrich keeps biologists attuned to the past and mindful of the present.

Weird and wonderful, plant DNA is challenging preconceptions about the evolution of life, including our own species.

Joel Cohen uses the tools of mathematics to deconstruct questions of life.