
A former lab rat, Esther Landhuis is a California-based freelance journalist who writes about biomedicine and STEM diversity. Her stories have also appeared in Science News, Scientific American, NPR, Nature, Chemical & Engineering News and Undark.

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All Stories by Esther Landhuis
- Brain
A bit of stress may help young people build resilience
A comfortable life may sound fun but may not be so healthy in the long run. A study in monkeys shows there may be a ‘sweet spot’ when it comes to stress.
- Brain
Puberty may reboot the brain and behaviors
Facing adversity early in life can hurt how children learn to deal with stress. Puberty can sometimes offer a chance to reset how the body responds to stress, returning it to normal.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What is puberty?
Puberty isn’t just a time for zits, breasts and deeper voices. It also spurs brain development that helps teens handle emotions and deal with stress.
- Math
Lack of diversity in his field has troubled this mathematician
As a kid, Edray Goins didn’t like math. But he fell in love with the subject in college and is now training the next generation of minority mathematicians.
- Health & Medicine
This scientist wants to know how racial discrimination gets ‘under the skin’
Racism could have derailed Leticia Márquez-Magaña’s path to science. Now she studies the biological impact of stress faced by underrepresented groups.
- Health & Medicine
New success in treating allergies to peanuts and other foods
Nearly 8 million U.S. children have food allergies, about two per classroom. The good news: Better ways to treat them are emerging.
- Health & Medicine
Food allergies can trigger stress and anxiety
From peanut-free lunch tables to unsympathetic relatives, food allergies can cause considerable stress for a kid. As they transition toward independence, parents and counselors can help.
- Health & Medicine
Why can’t bugs be grub?
Insects are tasty and nutritious, and raising them is good for the planet. So how can Westerners be convinced to give insects a taste?
- Health & Medicine
Crickets for breakfast?
In a small trial, levels of beneficial gut bacteria rose in young adults who ate a breakfast that included crickets every day for two weeks.
- Materials Science
Cool Jobs: Drilling into the secrets of teeth
A bioengineer, a biologist and an archaeologist all study teeth to explore new materials, to grow better tissues and to learn more about prehistoric humans.
- Health & Medicine
Bullying hurts — but peer support really helps
Bullied kids face more mental illness as adults, new studies find. Other research suggests support from other kids can lessen the impacts.
- Tech
Implant traps cancer cells on the move
A device implanted under the skin extended the life of mice with breast cancer. It trapped injected cancer cells before they created tumors in organs throughout the body.