Category: Health

Every good story has many chapters. In the case of mosquitoes, it is about the mosquito itself—its life cycle, its quest for survival, and its relentless search for a blood meal. Then there is the story about the habitats these tiny creatures have evolved to exploit, often in plain sight.  Read on to find out […]

Our master chefs in the SciStarter kitchen have been working overtime to bring you this delectable Thanksgiving menu, featuring citizen science projects guaranteed to satisfy even the most insatiable curiosity. Hors d’oeuvres: Nature’s Notebook At Nature’s Notebook, nature is always in season; currently, the program features the spicy flavors of autumn! Deepen your connection with […]

Keeping people healthy also means keeping our environment free of pollutants and limiting our exposure to disease-causing microbes. In this issue of the SciStarter newsletter, we highlight projects that need your help researching and improving human and environmental health. Try one or all of them this month, as we commemorate Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, Pollution Prevention Week (Sept. […]

With the release of its first 100,000 genomes, all from volunteers, the All of Us project is on its way to solving one of the most pernicious problems in modern medicine: a startling lack of diversity. The National Institutes of Health project, which launched in 2018, will eventually gather genetic information and other medical data […]

This post is based on the latest episode of our podcast, Citizen Science: Stories of Science We Can Do Together! In it, host Bob Hirshon talks with researchers reaching out to citizen scientists to help track infectious disease, create a national bank of biosamples and better understand neuromuscular mobility issues. Listen here: Citizen Science: Stories […]

On December 13, trucks loaded with coronavirus vaccine doses and dry ice poured out from Pfizer’s production facility in Michigan. Moderna’s own deliveries soon followed. And in the more than six months since then, nearly half of all Americans have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Researchers raced to create the much-needed drug and delivered one in […]

  An Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosis can be a frightening, tragic event for patients and families. The disease usually strikes people over 60 and gradually steals memories and mental faculties. Despite decades of research, there’s still no cure. Yet scientists are steadily moving closer to understanding what’s going on in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. That […]

The future of individualized medicine may depend on an army of one million volunteers. And scientists want you to get involved.  Researchers with the National Institutes of Health are recruiting citizen scientists to enlist in a study of unprecedented scope and depth. The program, called All of Us, promises to take personal data from a […]

All for Science, Science for All Guest post by Lauren Ramilo @dimisitque Biotechnology has advanced rapidly in the past decade. New discoveries and technological advances have made it easier to manipulate living organisms to make new antibiotics or improve agricultural production. The equipment and materials needed for rigorous biological engineering are more affordable than ever, […]

In this YouTube video, three scientists join the Associate Editor of Discover Magazine and the Managing Editor of SciStarter to provide step-by-step instructions to help you join their research projects from home. Good for all ages. You can also find this video and the three featured projects at SciStarter.org/COVID-19 .