American Scientist

In compiling a top-10 list of this year’s most popular blog posts on American Scientist's website, we decided to look at what you—our readers—have been reading the most. So here they are!

10. How Our Evolutionary Past Shapes Our Health Today

by Amanda Rossillo in collaboration with Science Communicators of North Carolina.

Humans burn far more calories than do other primates of similar body size. This capacity evolved to support not only activities such as hunting and gathering, but also traits such as bigger brains and longer lives.
(Science Culture — February 25, 2022)

9. A Template for Analyzing Racism in Health Care

by Jasmine Johnson

In the concluding chapter of Sickening, Anne Pollock explains how to analyze events in a way that provides insights into instances of social injustice.
(Science Culture — July 15, 2022)

8. It's Time to Stop Gatekeeping Medical Transition

by Henri Feola

Standards for gender-affirming medical interventions place transgender people under intense, potentially harmful scrutiny. Research supports informed consent models of care.
(Macroscope — February 18, 2022)

7. Science Curious through Science Fiction

by The Editors — a podcast by Jordan Anderson

Research suggests people who are science-curious are more likely to accept scientific reasoning, even for topics such as climate change where political party views differ widely.
(From the Staff — September 16, 2022)

6. Why Permanent Standard Time Is Best for our Bodies

by Erin Flynn-Evans and Cassie J. Hilditch

Sleep researchers have been advocating for years to abolish seasonal time changes. A bill recently passed in the U.S. Senate does just that. So why do sleep researchers overwhelmingly oppose it?
(Macroscope — April 29, 2022)

5. Tricks or Treats

by Kirsten Giesbrecht in collaboration with Science Communicators of North Carolina.

Barbara J. King, an expert on animal cognition and emotion, suggests steps we can take to begin living more harmoniously with our fellow creatures.
(From the Staff — October 25, 2022)

4. Human Evolution Belongs in the Science Classroom

by Glenn Branch

Svante Pääbo’s Nobel Prize–winning research on the Neanderthal genome is a timely reminder of the topic’s potential for engaging students.
(Macroscope — December 8, 2022)

3. Evolution's Empathetic Advocate

by Glenn Branch

When it came to creationism, the late E. O. Wilson hated the sin but loved the sinner.
(Science Culture — January 24, 2022)

2. Rank Injustice: What Your Favorite Music Says About Inequality in Science

by Adam Shapiro

Processes that compile all-time best lists show how systemic bias emerges from seemingly fair choices.
(Macroscope — January 18, 2022)

1. What We Lose If We Lose Science Twitter

by David Shiffman

A scientist eulogizes an online community he spent a decade helping to build—one that may be disappearing before our eyes.
(Macroscope — December 5, 2022)