Stephanie Pappas

3 weeks ago | scientificamerican.com | Stephanie Pappas

A forest fire that erupted in New Jersey yesterday morning was spurred by winds and dry weather, fulfilling a prediction by state officials that the state would see an active fire season this spring. The Jones Road Fire has burned 12,000 acres, more than the average area burned by wildfires in the state in an entire year.

3 weeks ago | livescience.com | Stephanie Pappas

A simple blood test could reveal who is at high risk of skin cancer recurrence after tumor-removal surgery. The test can detect fragments of tumor DNA with a simple blood draw to reveal the lingering presence of Stage III melanoma — a metastatic form of the deadliest form of skin cancer — that can't be seen with CT scans. Although the test isn't perfect, it could help flag patients who need aggressive treatment because their cancer is likely to come back.

3 weeks ago | msn.com | Stephanie Pappas

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.

3 weeks ago | livescience.com | Stephanie Pappas

Measles kills between 1 and 3 out of every 1,000 children infected with the viral disease. But even for those who survive the illness, the long-term consequences of measles can be serious. Long after a person recovers from their acute infection, their immune system is compromised — and in rare cases, the measles virus can hide out in the nervous system, roaring back to cause a fatal disease years later.

3 weeks ago | scientificamerican.com | Stephanie Pappas

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., head of the Department of Health and Human Services, struck an alarmist tone about new findings that one in 31 eight-year-olds in the U.S. have an autism diagnosis at a press conference today. Kennedy called autism a “tragedy” that “destroys families.” And his statements also included assertations that autism experts say are out of date, such as the idea that autistic kids “regress” around their second birthday.