The Heroine of the FDA

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

One woman was all that stood between thalidomide and America. The president was beaming. The woman beside him — a brunette wearing proper gloves and hat — also smiled, shyly. She was tall, her dark hair lightly streaked with gray. This was the hero who saved the United States from the tragedy of thalidomide, a drug often prescribed to pregnant women that could result in serious birth defects such as short, flipper-like arms and legs. The year was 1962, and in a ceremony in the W ...read more

Degrees of Separation

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

5&8: Young kids are pretty good at respecting authority, but new research claims that by just age 5, they’re already standing up to the man, as it were. And by age 8, they’re rooting for the underdog when they realize the balance of power is off. 34%: Speaking of power, a seven-year study of people in their 60s found that stressful, high-demand jobs can be good for you if you have control over your workflow: Those with high-demand, high-control jobs saw a 34 percent decrease in t ...read more

The Secret Life of Fat

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

The full text of this article is available to Discover Magazine subscribers only. Subscribe and get 10 issues packed with: The latest news, theories and developments in the world of science Compelling stories and breakthroughs in health, medicine and the mind Environmental issues and their relevance to daily life Cutting-edge technology and its impact on our future ...read more