Biomedical

Records reveal gender-selective abortion taking place in Canada

(New Scientist, 13 April 2016)

Indian-born mothers have more sons than expected on their third birth, if the first two are girls. The pattern suggests that some mothers must be selectively aborting girls–but the problem is likely to solve itself within a generation.

The obesity bug

(New Scientist, 5 August 2000)

To my knowledge, this is the first feature-length presentation of the idea–now becoming widely accepted–that a virus related to the common cold virus can make people fat.

Deep impact: The bad news about banging your head

(New Scientist, 14 September 2011)

A look at what happens to the brain after a concussion, why it’s so hard to tell when someone has recovered, and what to do about long-term effects of this baffling injury.