Kevin Wheeler

Reporter, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences

@kdub_333

Kevin Wheeler, based in Peekskill, NY, covers Life Sciences and Physical Sciences for The Academic Times. Prior to that, Kevin wrote for Audubon Magazine, USA Today and KUT Public Media in Austin, Texas. He won the William J. Rowley Award for journalistic writing at the University at Albany. He graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in 2018.

Late-life depression can be linked to higher levels of cell-free mitochondrial DNA in the bloodstream. (Unsplash/Christian Langballe)
Late-life depression can be linked to higher levels of cell-free mitochondrial DNA in the bloodstream. (Unsplash/Christian Langballe) Canadian researchers have discovered an elusive marker that links late-life depression to oxidative stress, the same stress that can occur from a range of influences, from smoking or alcohol intake to a major depressive episode.

Stress can passed down through sperm, altering the behavorial responses in offspring. (Shutterstock)
Stress can passed down through sperm, altering the behavorial responses in offspring. (Shutterstock) Male mice that are more easily stressed than others appear to produce offspring that are similarly vulnerable to stressful situations due to genetic alterations in their sperm, according to researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Researchers can improve car safety by using human fat tissue rather than crash test dummies. (Pixabay/cfarnsworth)
Researchers can improve car safety by using human fat tissue rather than crash test dummies. (Pixabay/cfarnsworth) For the first time, researchers from the University of Virginia and Toyota have described how human fat tissue behaves under forces typical of motor-vehicle crashes, closing a vulnerable gap in car safety research while offering a valuable resource for manufacturers seeking to make safer vehicles.

Ninety-nine million years ago, a snail had some babies and they all got preserved in a unique amber fossil, shedding light on the evolutionary behavior of these gastropods. (Pixabay/Kathy Büscher)
Ninety-nine million years ago, a snail had some babies and they all got preserved in a unique amber fossil, shedding light on the evolutionary behavior of these gastropods. (Pixabay/Kathy Büscher) Ninety-nine million years ago, in the tropical forest of what is now Myanmar, a snail gave birth to five children near the site of what could have been their first meal. Except the possible food source, tree resin, ended up swallowing them all, leaving behind a unique amber fossil that captures not only a snail, still soft inside, but a rare glimpse into its life history.

Puppies have human-like social skills and respond to eye contact just like humans do. (Emily Bray)
Puppies have human-like social skills and respond to eye contact just like humans do. (Emily Bray) Puppies don't learn how to communicate with humans; rather, it's likely they are born knowing how to respond to our gestures and vocal cues after years of advantageous genetic selection during the domestication process, according to a new study published Thursday.

Coral reef restoration can reduce coastal flooding. (Unsplash/Hiroko Yoshii)
Coral reef restoration can reduce coastal flooding. (Unsplash/Hiroko Yoshii) Coral reefs can reduce coastal flooding by as much as 30% if restorers focus on building up specific reef locations that sap waves of their destructive power, which could help protect millions in coastal communities worldwide.

Your THC-free CBD gummies may, in fact, contain THC. (Pixabay/Hans Braxmeier)
Your THC-free CBD gummies may, in fact, contain THC. (Pixabay/Hans Braxmeier) An Indiana researcher has developed a new type of test that can determine concentrations of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, rather than its presence alone, potentially introducing a more convenient means for manufacturers to protect consumers from unwanted and potentially illegal amounts of THC in legal CBD products.

An international team of 40 researchers sharing bird-breeding data from their respective countries discovered that seabird reproductive success has plummeted in the Northern Hemisphere, where birds feel the effects of climate change and human impacts more acutely than in the Southern Hemisphere.

Drug resistance is a significant hurdle for prostate cancer, and researchers may have found a way to prevent it. (Shutterstock)
Drug resistance is a significant hurdle for prostate cancer, and researchers may have found a way to prevent it. (Shutterstock) Researchers have discovered a new target to treat drug-resistant prostate cancer and shown that they can effectively slow tumor growth in mice, potentially opening up new avenues for better treatment of the common and deadly disease.

Talking about sex is good for your relationship health. (Pexels/Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas)
Talking about sex is good for your relationship health. (Pexels/Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas) Researchers have discovered a strong correlation between positive sexual communication and baseline levels of oxytocin, a product of the endocrine system commonly known as the "love hormone."

A giant panda's favorite snack gives a clue to its history. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
A giant panda's favorite snack gives a clue to its history. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Ecologists have improved scientific understanding of how giant pandas moved from humid, low-altitude environments to drier, cooler and more elevated habitats by using a novel approach that the researchers say will be able to better predict the iconic animal's future distribution as climate changes.

An international team of researchers has published the most comprehensive study on the changing ecological communities of tropical glaciers, revealing that a number of species uniquely adapted to glacial habitats will be threatened by opportunistic species moving upward as glaciers melt.