Sam Walters

United States

Assistant Editor at Discover Magazine

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Articles

Turns Out, More People Use Illicit Fentanyl in the U.S. Than Previously Thought

5 days ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

The crisis of fentanyl and other opioids is far from over in the U.S., and a new study stresses that point, finding that the illicit use of these substances is much more prevalent than prior studies suggest. Published today in JAMA Health Forum , the research reveals that 7.5 percent of adults in the U.S. had used illicitly manufactured fentanyl at some point between June 2023 and June 2024 - a percentage that is more than 20 times higher than past reported rates.
What the Crypts of the Ca' Granda Hospital Can Tell Us About 17th-Century Medicine

1 week ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

Between 1637 and 1697, thousands of bodies were buried beneath a historic hospital in Milan. Designed to accommodate the dead as they decomposed, the crypt of the Ospedale Maggiore was used until the limited space and foul smells forced the hospital to find another place to deposit its dead. But the bodies beneath the Ospedale Maggiore , more commonly called the Ca' Granda hospital, haven't been forgotten, however.
Around 25 Percent of Your Mental Health Risk Is Tied to Your Personality

1 week ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

Psychopathology and personality are separate areas of psychology, but they aren't as separate as previously thought. In fact, a new study suggests that the two spheres are closely tied, with around a fourth of people's risk of mental health conditions, including their risk of depression, anxiety, and phobias, being attributable to their personality traits. For the most part, a person's personality and psychopathology are set apart in psychology research.
Humans Take Longer to Heal Than Other Primates, Likely Thanks to Our Lack of Fur

2 weeks ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

That scratch on your arm, that scrape on your knee - they're taking their sweet time to heal, and it's likely the fault of your fur, or, really, your lack thereof. Testing the speed of skin healing in an assortment of animals, a team of researchers has found that skin takes a lot longer to heal in humans than it does in other primates and mammals.
This Elephant Lived in Europe for 700,000 Years

2 weeks ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

Europe isn't known for its elephants. At least, the three species of elephant that traverse Earth today - the African elephants Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis and the Asian elephant Elephas maximus - aren't famous for wandering through Europe. But not too long ago, the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus lived throughout the continent, leaving a lasting trace on the European terrain.
The Fungus on Your Skin Can Stave Off An Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

2 weeks ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

Around 30 percent of people have Staphylococcus aureus bacteria - the primary bacterial culprit behind staphylococcal infections - somewhere on their skin or in their nose. In most cases, these spherically shaped bacteria stay out of trouble. But that's only in most cases. When presented with open wounds, scrapes, and scratches, S. aureus can invade and infect the body, and with serious consequences . In the skin, staph infections can cause boils, blisters, and inflammation.
Mice Forget Their Fears Thanks to the Flow of Dopamine Through Their Brains

2 weeks ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

Mice are experts at learning fears, and they're experts at unlearning them, too. But what allows these animals to push past their terror when something that was a threat isn't a threat anymore? According to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) , a dopamine circuit in the brain sends out the signals that initiate fear extinction in mice, enabling these animals to overcome their trepidations.
What's Going On Inside Your Brain When Your Mind Goes Blank?

3 weeks ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

There's a lot that goes on inside our brains. But there are times that our minds go... well... what's the word? Blank? Reviewing available research on mind blanking, a new article in Trends in Cognitive Sciences says that the moments in which we are "thinking about nothing" are actually a lot more complex than we might think, as they tend to correspond with physiological, neural, and cognitive changes in our brains and bodies.
We May Value Our Dogs More than Our Human Relationships

3 weeks ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

Dogs aren't just our pets. We also see them as our friends and family members. But do we get the same things out of our interactions with our dogs that we get out of our interactions with our human friends and family?
Smell Preferences Predict People's Friendship Potential

3 weeks ago | discovermagazine.com | Sam Walters

Many researchers have studied what happens in our minds - and in our olfactory systems - when we meet strangers. But this work is far from finished, as there's still a lot that we don't know about the role of olfaction in shaping our social interactions. For instance, while many scientists have studied how olfactory cues inform our interpersonal judgements in romantic situations, few have looked at how they influence us in platonic scenarios.