Why do people and animals need to breathe? A biologist explains why you need a constant source of oxygen

Inhaling air is how you get the oxygen your body needs to turn your food into energy. Other living things use different strategies.

Christina S. Baer, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University, State University of New York • conversation
Feb. 5, 2024 • ~6 min

Pain and anxiety are linked to breathing in mouse brains – suggesting a potential target to prevent opioid overdose deaths

Opioids can cause death by slowing breathing to dangerously low levels, or stopping it altogether. Examining one area of the brain may eventually lead to safer painkillers.

Shijia Liu, PhD Candidate in Neurobiology at Salk Institute for Biological Studies, University of California San Diego • conversation
Jan. 20, 2022 • ~7 min

Urban oil wells linked to asthma and other health problems in Los Angeles

Photos from the early 1900s show LA's forests of oil derricks. Hundreds of wells are still pumping, and new research finds people living nearby are suffering the consequences.

Bhavna Shamasunder, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, Occidental College • conversation
June 2, 2021 • ~9 min

Cigarette smoke can reprogram cells in your airways, causing COPD to hang on after smoking ends

A new discovery offers hope for ways to treat a debilitating disease that has become a leading cause of death in the US..

Bradley Richmond, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt University • conversation
Oct. 28, 2020 • ~8 min

Aerosols are a bigger coronavirus threat than WHO guidelines suggest – here's what you need to know

More than 200 scientists wrote to the WHO, warning about aerosol transmission of the coronavirus. The WHO has since acknowledged the evidence but hasn't change its advice yet.

Goodarz Ahmadi, Professor of mechanical engineering, Clarkson University • conversation
July 9, 2020 • ~9 min

The right way to breathe during the coronavirus pandemic

The body has many natural defenses against viruses and other pathogens. One antiviral molecule produced in the body is nitric oxide and it is created when we breathe in through the nose.

Louis J. Ignarro, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles • conversation
June 19, 2020 • ~7 min

Coronavirus: how physiotherapists are helping patients recover

Physiotherapists can help patients during and after coronavirus infections.

Catherine L. Granger, Associate Professor of Physiotherapy, University of Melbourne • conversation
May 5, 2020 • ~8 min

How does a baby 'breathe' while inside its mom?

A fetus needs oxygen long before its lungs work and it's exposed to the air. Some ingenious biochemistry explains how the mother's blood delivers it.

Julie Pollock, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Richmond • conversation
May 5, 2020 • ~6 min

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