Clues to the vaping sickness mystery (Vice)
by Troy Farah
Illness and deaths among vape-users have panicked some policymakers and parents, partly because no one really understands what’s happening. Research is beginning to shed light on what might actually be going on.

There’s something modern about “menopause” (The New York Times)
by Susan Mattern
Ancient Greek, Latin, and Chinese medical texts contain no mention of menopause as the cause of unpleasant symptoms. That suggests that its current incarnation may be less fixed than we tend to imagine.

The science and ethics of synthetic embryos (NPR)
by Rob Stein
Scientists are using stem cells to mass-produce synthetic partial human embryos. It’s a big advance for research on early human development that touches on some extremely sticky questions.

Women and politics in the west (High Country News)
by Jennifer Helton
The 2020 Democratic primary may mark a new high point for women’s involvement in national politics. The western U.S. states began setting the stage for this a century and a half ago.

Why squirrels eavesdrop (Scientific American)
by Christopher Intagliata
If we want to understand a possible threat in our neighborhood, we may find ourselves eavesdropping on our neighbors to get a sense of what they think. It turns out squirrels do the same thing, listening to what the birds are chattering about.

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