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This photo courtesy of the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), provided in October 2022, shows excavation of the East Smithfield plague pits in London, which were used for mass burials in 1348 and 1349. According to a study published Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, in the journal Nature, our Medieval ancestors left us with a biological legacy: Genes that may have helped them survive the Black Death make us more susceptible to certain diseases today - a prime example of the way germs shape us over time. (MOLA via AP)

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Genetic twist: Medieval plague may have molded our immunity
By LAURA UNGAR - AP Science Writer
Wed,10/19/22-10:04AM , 72 Reads
Our Medieval ancestors left us with a biological legacy: Genes that may have helped them survive the Black Death make us more susceptible to certain diseases today.

It's a prime example of the way germs shape us over time, scientists say in a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
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This microscope image provided by Pasca Lab/Stanford Medicine shows a human astrocyte cell, center in yellow, and human glial cells (scattered in blue) inside the brain of a rat. (Pasca Lab/Stanford Medicine via AP)

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Scientists grow human brain cells in rats to study diseases
By LAURA UNGAR - AP Science Writer
Wed,10/12/22-10:00AM , 94 Reads
Scientists have transplanted human brain cells into the brains of baby rats, where the cells grew and formed connections.

It's part of an effort to better study human brain development and diseases affecting this most complex of organs, which makes us who we are but has long been shrouded in mystery.
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Abi Frazier holds a box containing an urn with the ashes of her daughter Cadi Hope, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Mustang, Okla. Frazier discovered at her 20-week anatomy scan that the baby she was carrying had a neural tube defect and other problems her doctors said were "incompatible with life." So she made the most difficult decision of her life last year: to terminate a much-wanted pregnancy. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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They ended wanted pregnancies. Post-Roe, they face new pain.
By LAURA UNGAR - AP Science Writer
Sun,09/18/22-7:31AM , 125 Reads
Ashley Lefebvre hugs her unborn daughter’s urn each night. Sarah Halsey treasures the tiny hat worn by her baby who lived just 38 minutes. Abi Frazier moved away from her home with a furnished nursery.

All ended wanted pregnancies because of grave fetal medical problems.
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This August 2022 photo provided by Pfizer shows vials of the company's updated COVID-19 vaccine during production in Kalamazoo, Mich. New booster shots are here and social distancing guidelines are easy but COVID-19 infections aren't going away anytime soon, experts say. They predict the scourge that’s already lasted longer than the 1918 flu pandemic will linger far into the future. (Pfizer via AP, File)

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EXPLAINER: Is COVID-19 winding down? Scientists say no.
By LAURA UNGAR - AP Science Writer
Tue,09/06/22-11:22AM , 89 Reads
Is the coronavirus on its way out?
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