Originally, I wanted to write an article about parabiosis since it was a hot topic in the news. But, it turns out what the company Ambrosia is doing isn’t exactly parabiosis. It’s more akin to expensive blood transfusions. Parabiosis involves … Continue reading
Heather Zeiger
I’ve written critically on how social media and the gaming industry uses psychological hacks to get people hooked, but is there a positive side to hacking our brains? Gamification is using gaming techniques to motivate users to do things they … Continue reading
In this second article on technology addiction at MercatorNet, I look at the data from Adam Alter’s book Irresistible: The rise of addictive technologies and the business of keeping us hooked. … Continue reading
This first of two articles I review Sharon Begley’s book Can’t Just Stop: An Investigation into Compulsions. Begley says that our need to check our cell phone every five minutes is not an addiction, but a compulsion. Begley is a … Continue reading
I have a new article at MercatorNet on embargoes on scientific reporting and how they can go wrong. When journalists report on breaking science news, they actually receive the journal article information and press release a week before the research … Continue reading
It has been a little while since I have posted a new article largely because I have been working on other projects lately. One of those larger projects is on time and technology. My newest article in MercatorNet is a … Continue reading
I have a new article at MercatorNet on Facebook’s Trending feature and the controversy that just won’t go away. First Facebook came under fire for allegedly removing conservative outlets from their Trending news list. Then people were surprised to learn … Continue reading
I have a new article in Salvo Magazine on Euthanasia. This is my second Casualty Report for Salvo and this time I provide the latest numbers on how many people have died as a result of euthanasia, where it is … Continue reading
American female runner Abbey D’Agostino and Nikki Hamblin from New Zealand collided during a 5,000m semi-final after Hamblin tripped to avoid the person in front of her causing D’Agostino to run into her. D’Agostino was first to get up and … Continue reading
I have a new article at MercatorNet called “Blind Faith in DNA.” This article is cross-published at The Stream as “Be Wary of the Magical, Hyped-Up Claims About DNA” I wrote this article after Harvard’s George Church and several others … Continue reading
Salvo Magazine has a section called “Casualty Report” where they will report on current trends and statistics. I wrote this quarter’s report on sex trafficking. While the report is factual in tone, it was a difficult topic to research. I … Continue reading
I have a new article at MecatorNet on the rise of ransomware and hacking hospital networks. When I pitched this idea, I was thinking that this would be a medical data privacy issue, but as I was doing the research, … Continue reading
I have a new article in Quartz, an online publication that hits a wide audience and is geared toward the global business community. Find my article here, “Pigs with human hearts, and other wild tales from the future of organ … Continue reading
I have a new article at a new venue for me. MercatorNet is an international online publication that is dedicated to re-framing ethical and policy debates in terms of human dignity. My article is on bodyhackers, people who take a … Continue reading
I have a new article in Christian Research Journal (by subscription only) that discusses the ethics of altruistic and commercial surrogacy. I look at Jennifer Lahl’s documentary, Breeders: A sub-class of women, where she interviews former surrogates. For this piece, … Continue reading
In grad school I wrote a paper about Asimov’s three laws of robotics and whether they were analogous to an ethical system called divine command theory. I thought I was being clever since robots are programmed to do certain things, … Continue reading
I have a new article at The Stream on the U.S.’s Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that the FDA approve mitochondrial transfer, or what is being called “three-parent IVF” in the media. Read about it here. … Continue reading
The recent issue of Scientific American has an article by Carl Erik Fisher, a psychiatrist and bioethics professor at Columbia University, in which he explores whether behavioral addictions are mental illnesses or just bad habits. His article, “Food, sex, gambling, … Continue reading
Check out my latest post at Salvo’s blog, Signs of the Times. I look at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics report on how the words “natural,” “unnatural,” and “nature” are used in the media, journals, and in other venues. In … Continue reading
As I enter into my fifth year of trying my hand at this wild ride called freelance science writing, I’ve decided to make some changes to my business. Some of this is behind-the-scenes and some will be pretty apparent. I … Continue reading