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Veronique Greenwood

Contributing Writer

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Latest Articles

Video of a hydra moving against a dark background.
sleep

Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof.

By Veronique Greenwood
May 18, 2021
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Studies of sleep are usually neurological. But some of nature’s simplest animals suggest that sleep evolved for metabolic reasons, long before brains even existed.

Illustration of an extremely tired person, surrounded by empty coffee cups.
sleep

Why Sleep Deprivation Kills

By Veronique Greenwood
June 4, 2020
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Going without sleep for too long kills animals but scientists haven’t known why. Newly published work suggests that the answer lies in an unexpected part of the body.

A brain full of “explosive” activity may lead to an earlier death than one with steadier “candles” of activity.
aging

Longevity Linked to Proteins That Calm Overexcited Neurons

By Veronique Greenwood
November 26, 2019
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New research makes a molecular connection between the brain and aging — and shows that overactive neurons can shorten life span.

Art for "The Body’s Clock Offers a Rhythmic Target to Viruses"
chronobiology

The Body’s Clock Offers a Rhythmic Target to Viruses

By Veronique Greenwood
May 30, 2019
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Viruses and other parasites may sync with their host’s biological clock — or reset it — to gain an advantage.

Art for "How Nature Defies Math in Keeping Ecosystems Stable"
ecology

How Nature Defies Math in Keeping Ecosystems Stable

By Veronique Greenwood
September 26, 2018
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Paradoxically, the abundance of tight interactions among living species usually leads to disasters in ecological models. New analyses hint at how nature seemingly defies the math.

Art for "You Are Getting Sleepy — Tagged Proteins May Point to Why"
neuroscience

You Are Getting Sleepy — Tagged Proteins May Point to Why

By Veronique Greenwood
August 21, 2018
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The identification of SNIPPs, a set of proteins found primarily at the brain’s synapses, brings science closer to understanding why we need to sleep.

Illustration for "Theory Suggests That All Genes Affect Every Complex Trait"
genomics

Theory Suggests That All Genes Affect Every Complex Trait

By Veronique Greenwood
June 20, 2018
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The more closely geneticists look at complex traits and diseases, the harder it gets to find active genes that don’t play some part in them.

Illustration for "How Many Genes Do Cells Need? Maybe Almost All of Them"
genomics

How Many Genes Do Cells Need? Maybe Almost All of Them

By Veronique Greenwood
April 19, 2018
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An ambitious study in yeast shows that the health of cells depends on the highly intertwined effects of many genes, few of which can be deleted together without consequence.

520px illustration for cell incubation time.
mathematical biology

Why Don’t Patients Get Sick in Sync? Modelers Find Statistical Clues.

By Veronique Greenwood
March 1, 2018
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The long, variable times that some diseases incubate after infection defies simple explanation. An idealized model of tumor growth offers a statistical solution.


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