Andrew Curry

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Tales from an Italian crypt, and the science behind ‘dad bods’

1 month ago | science.org | Sarah Crespi |Zakiya Whatley |Andrew Curry

First up on the podcast, Contributing Correspondent Andrew Curry talks with host Sarah Crespi about his visit to 17th century crypts under an old hospital in Italy. Researchers are examining tooth plaque, bone lesions, and mummified brains to learn more about the health, diet, and drug habits of Milan’s working poor 400 years ago. Next on the show, a mechanism for driving growth in fat stores with age. Or, the source of the “dad bod” trope.
ScienceAdviser: Having dark thoughts doesn’t mean you’re a bad mother

Mar 7, 2025 | science.org | Christie Wilcox |Sarah Crespi |Andrew Curry |David Malakoff

Today’s Deep Dive delves into the study of intrusive thoughts during and after pregnancy. But first, catch up on the latest science news, including bad news about America’s butterflies and what overweight dogs might be able to tell us about ourselves. Marine Science | News from Science Shining a light on the ocean’s deep, dark trenches The Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, deepest of the world’s ocean trenches, has long fascinated scientists and filmmakers alike.
Intrusive thoughts during pregnancy, paternity detectives, and updates from the Trump Tracker

Mar 6, 2025 | science.org | Sarah Crespi |Andrew Curry |David Malakoff

Skip to main content Main content starts here Tetra Images, LLC/Alamy Stock Photo First up this week, International News Editor David Malakoff joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss the most recent developments in U.S. science under Donald Trump’s second term, from the impact of tariffs on science to the rehiring of probationary employees at the National Science Foundation. Next, we tackle the question of extra-pair paternity in people—when marriage or birth records of parentage differ from...
Part of ancient Britain was a woman’s world, ancient burials reveal

Jan 15, 2025 | science.org | Andrew Curry

When the deeply patriarchal Romans first encountered Celtic tribes living in modern-day France and Great Britain in the first century B.C.E., their reaction to the roles of the sexes was one of surprise and dismay. The tasks of men and women “have been exchanged, in a manner opposite to what obtains among us,” wrote one Roman historian. New evidence from Celtic graves now confirms that at least one part of Britain was a woman’s world long before the Romans arrived—and for centuries afterward.
Syphilis microbe circulated in the Americas thousands of years before European contact

Dec 18, 2024 | science.org | Andrew Curry

The origins of syphilis are one of epidemiology’s most enduring mysteries. The first historical accounts date to 1494, when an outbreak of a disfiguring, sexually transmitted disease swept Europe. Given that timing, scientists have argued for centuries over whether syphilis was an import from the Americas or was already circulating in Europe before Christopher Columbus returned from his first voyage to the Caribbean. Now, new evidence may help close the case.
Surprising identities of Pompeii victims rewrite stories from the cataclysm

Nov 7, 2024 | science.org | Andrew Curry

When a volcano destroyed the city of Pompeii, Italy, in 79 C.E., hot ash covered the bodies of many victims and within a matter of minutes, cooled and hardened around them. Over the centuries, the bodies decomposed, leaving bones and empty space inside the ash. For more than 150 years, workers encountering these voids poured plaster into the empty spaces to form eerie casts containing skeletal remains. The casts—more than 80 in all—became some of the most recognizable artifacts from Pompeii.
‘Amazing’ method traces 18th century smokers-and finds English women puffed away

Oct 4, 2024 | science.org | Andrew Curry

In 18th century England, men of every social class indulged in pipefuls of tobacco each day, according to newspapers, memoirs, and other written documents. The market demanded massive imports from tobacco plantations and their enslaved workers in the Americas: In 1700, England imported more than 17 million kilograms of tobacco, enough for everyone in the country to smoke a pipeful a day. But in the archaeological record, tobacco use is hard to trace.
An army wielding fearsome weapons invaded the German northlands 3200 years ago

Sep 22, 2024 | science.org | Andrew Curry

At a shallow river crossing in northern Germany, reminders of a bloody conflict that played out some 3200 years ago are everywhere. Skeletons and scattered bones scored by gruesome injuries, stone and wooden weaponry, and dozens of sharp bronze and stone arrowheads litter the soil. For more than a decade, archaeologists have wondered who fought the ancient battle.
Plague felled European families long before the Black Death

Jul 10, 2024 | science.org | Andrew Curry

After farming was introduced to Europe 9000 years ago, societies on the continent blossomed. By 5000 years ago, for example, the people of southern Sweden were sophisticated farmers, raising pigs and cattle and using their manure to fertilize fields of wheat and barley. Communities came together by the hundreds to build monumental tombs out of limestone slabs with roof blocks weighing up to 20 tons. Then, around 2900 B.C.E., a crisis struck in Sweden and other parts of Europe.
Dreamlike pig-hunting scene is the world’s oldest figurative art

Jul 3, 2024 | science.org | Andrew Curry

More than 50,000 years ago, people living in lush valleys on the island of Sulawesi climbed up to cramped limestone caves high above their dwelling places. There, they painted fantastical scenes inspired by their lives—half-human, half-animal figures hunting pigs in hues of purple and red.