Why do you feel so awful at high altitudes?

Your chest heaves, lungs burning, but you can’t catch your breath. Your head pounds, vision blurring, but you feel like you’ll faint any second. You’re definitely fit enough to climb a flight of stairs without trouble — is this some sort of nightmare? Possibly, but if you’re up in the mountains, you’re more likely experiencing…

A high-flying health concern

Eric Wilson was flying an F18 fighter jet at 28,000 feet when he heard a loud bang, and everything went silent. The jet had lost all cabin pressure, immediately subjecting the U.S. Marine’s body to an onslaught of altitude induced issues. He only had about 60 seconds to descend below 10,000 feet or he would…

Some hard science on sexism in academia

“Academic science isn’t sexist,” claim two psychologists from Cornell University in a recent New York Times Sunday Review. To most women in academia, that’s absurd. I started reading this column in the paper, and abruptly stopped because that’s not what I, or any woman I know, experienced. I was relieved to see the blogosphere buzzing with…