Emma Betuel

Emma is a writer based in NYC. Previously, she covered health and biology for WBUR’s Commonhealth blog and The Borgen Project Magazine. Last year, she spent too much time reading Darwin’s notes on pea plants. She recently started questioning the nature of her reality.

Feature

The rise and fall of an "open-source" Covid-19 test

Nope

Donovanosis: Is there really a “flesh-eating” STI on the loose?

How a viral virus video spread fake health information.

Fact-check

Swollen balls and impotency: Fact-checking Covid-19 vaccine claims

There’s no evidence “that any of the Covid-19 vaccines available in the U.S. negatively impact male fertility.”

Feature

Delta-8-THC: The rise and fall of a cannabis "Wild West"

Delta-8 exploded in popularity in 2020, but much of what's on the market could be unregulated or unsafe.

Not Sports

How giant bullet chess accidentally made chess sporty

Checkmate.

Dream Teams

What an ancient burial taught scientists about humanity

“You could literally spend decades excavating this cave and make new discoveries.”

Not Sports

How the Star Wars fandom turned an iconic weapon into competitive sport

These athletes use lightsabers — only you can't call them that.

Future Love

The high stakes fantasy (and reality) of loving a digital nomad

A life of remote work can be a relationship pressure cooker. It can also deliver a soulmate.

Dream Teams

Why an unexpected team is giving a famous work of art a necessary makeover

“It reflects the kind of collaboration and cooperation we'll all ultimately need.”

Not Sports

How geeky charm turned a WWII maneuver into a competitive sport

Where am I? Which direction is the transmitter? Hopefully I don’t get lost.

Ancient humans

Human evolution theory debunked by ancient crystals and eggshells

A new study challenges a dominant view about ancient Homo sapiens.

Dream Teams

What did dinosaurs look like? An unlikely team is debunking old beliefs

“We all were really just astounded by how lifelike it was.”

Case closed

Scientists discover the mysterious cause of mass bald eagle deaths

Scientists discovered a deadly three-part process, involving invasive plants, abundant bacteria, and chemicals in the environment, killed bald eagles.

GameStonk

The GameStop short squeeze hatched a new kind of YouTuber: the stonks streamer

To the moon 🚀

Dream Teams

One team is redefining how the world measures happiness, for the better

If we want to “build back happier,” we’ll have to know where to look.

Loci

This ancient brain hack could change your life for the better

It's time to build a 'memory palace.'

Single shot

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine: Scientific answers to 4 essential questions

What you need to know about effectiveness, availability, and more.

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Not Sports

A circus act turned extraordinary sport is making its case for the Olympics

“Things are about to get real.”

Dream Teams

How volcano scientists are uniting to know more sooner

This time around, we might actually see it coming.

Vaccine news

What the new variants mean for the future of Covid-19 vaccines

"I think this is one of the biggest advantages of the messenger RNA technology."