Cells, brains, bodies, buildings, cities: my journalism covers a wide range of topics, always looking for new insights into the everyday and extraordinary people uncovering them.
A Harvard professor explains Daoism, with help from RZA
A resurgence of scholarship on Daoism and a new anthology sheds light on a misunderstood religion.
Boston Globe, November 30, 2014
Drug development: A complicated path
Only one drug is available to treat sickle-cell disease, but a wave of investment and industry attention is set to turn the tide.
Nature Outlook, November 13, 2014
The city is an ecosystem, pipes and all
Ecologists are starting to understand cities as ecosystems, but managing them that way is another challenge.
Boston Globe, November 7, 2014
The body electric
The bionic vision of Hugh Herr, from prosthetic limbs to movement enhanced with exoskeletons.
Technology Review, October 21, 2014
Paralyzed rats take 1,000 steps, orchestrated by computer
Restoring fluid movement to paralyzed limbs starts with epidural stimulation and software.
Technology Review, September 25, 2014
Was the human brain unleashed?
The human cortex is not just bigger than that of other mammals, it's wired differently. Why?
Harvard Magazine, September 1, 2014
A speech synthesizer direct to the brain
Recordings from the brain’s surface are giving scientists unprecedented views into how the brain controls speech.
Technology Review, July 9, 2014
Will cities of the future be built of wood?
Skyscrapers made of wood? It's not the material we associate with dense cities, but there's a movement to revisit this age-old material in new urban buildings.
Boston Globe, July 6, 2014
What am I thinking about you?
A Q&A with MIT neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe explores the uniquely social human brain.
Technology Review, July 1, 2014
Climate change may mean more crime
What are the social costs of climate change? Provocative new studies suggest conflicts and crime may rise with temperatures.
Boston Globe, March 2, 2014
Dirty water is not forever
The Charles River overcomes its polluted reputation with its first public swim in decades.
Boston Globe, December 29, 2013
Latency: a sleeping giant
Most people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis never get disease, but predicting who will is turning out to be a complex problem.
Nature Outlook, October 10, 2013
Life's beginnings
Studying how life bloomed on Earth--and might emerge elsewhere.
Harvard Magazine, September 1, 2013
Re-designing product design
MIT's Neri Oxman wants designers not just to dream up new products but to change the way they’re made.
Technology Review, June 18, 2013
Shared decision-making: on the same page
Increasingly, there’s a notion that medical decisions should be shared, but can doctors and patients learn to work together?
Proto, June 1, 2013
Greening health care
Health care leaders tackle longstanding environmental challenges.
Ensia, May 29, 2013
The too-smart city?
We’re already building the metropolis of the future—green, wired, even helpful. Now critics are starting to ask whether we’ll really want to live there.
Boston Globe, May 19, 2013
The science of cities: life in the concrete jungle
Urban ecology research is aiming to help cities make better decisions to improve the urban environment.
Nature, November 20, 2012
Do you really need a knee replacement?
Knee replacements are on the rise, but the decision to get one is not always straightforward.
Winner of the 2014 Media Orthopedic Reporting Excellence Award from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Boston Globe, October 22, 2012
Were Aristotle and Thoreau ecologists?
A new history traces the ancient roots of a modern science.
Boston Globe, October 21, 2012