Gina Rich

Should You Let Your Kids Watch Scary Movies?

The Value of Body Neutrality

Ecotherapy for Mental Health

What I Wish I’d Known About Mammogram Callbacks

Holiday traditions aren’t all cheery. Some are weird or a bit scary.

Watching a parade of hairy, horned monsters, eating dinner in the middle of the night and trying to talk with a family pet might seem like strange ways to celebrate the holidays. But these activities are popular traditions in other parts of the…

There’s Nothing Wrong With Having a Mom Meltdown

From the Sidelines: Parents and Youth Sports

Do spiders hear? Some can use their webs to detect sound.

Imagine a tasty bug landing on the web of a hungry spider. How does the spider detect its prey? Spiders don’t have ears like we do, and many have poor eyesight. But they can sense vibrations, like those that happen when an unlucky insect touches…

To protect the ocean, some ships harness renewable energy

In the Dolomites, South Tyrol is a treasure worth exploring

My first trip to South Tyrol, a mostly autonomous province in Northern Italy, was decades ago. I was an exchange student in Austria and my host mother, who was born in South Tyrol, invited me to join her family for a visit. During the roughly…

Some birds are laying eggs earlier. Scientists are paying attention.

During a birdwatching stroll last spring, John Bates spotted a newly hatched killdeer chick. Common in North America, the long-legged birds often dart across the ground hunting for insects. Bates noted the date: April 30. Killdeer eggs take about 24…

Tiny wasps could help save trees under attack

The metallic green beetles entered the United States from northeast Asia in the 1990s, likely hitching a ride on wood-packing materials. By the time researchers identified them in 2002, the insects were widespread. They’ve destroyed millions of ash…

Studying sharks’ immune systems could lead to powerful human medicines

Aaron LeBeau regularly visits a local grocery store’s seafood department to stock up on tuna, salmon and octopus. But LeBeau isn’t shopping for himself: He has hungry sharks to feed at his laboratory. Though they might look mean, “sharks are, to put…

Online Gaming Is the New Therapist’s Office

Woolly bear caterpillars use clever tricks to survive

If you see a banded woolly bear caterpillar inching along, winter is probably around the corner. Also called woolly worms, the fuzzy-looking insects are a familiar autumn sight — and their unique color variations have long sparked curiosity. Young…

What I Wish I’d Known About Mammogram Callbacks

How a focus on nature is changing therapy for kids

My family went to Germany five days after travel restrictions were lifted. Here’s what we learned.

Just as our family was about to cancel a long-awaited trip to Germany this summer, we learned that the country would lift travel restrictions for U.S. residents — only five days before our scheduled flight. When we arrived in Frankfurt the morning of…

Fifth-grader is on a race to spread kindness

When Orion Jean’s parents entered him in a national speech contest with less than 24 hours to prepare, they had no idea the experience would lead to something so much bigger. Orion worked quickly to record a video for the 2020 competition, held by…

Portable door locks can give travelers extra comfort and protection. Here’s how to choose one.