Author: Emma Yasinski

Emma Yasinski

I am a freelance science and medical journalist, fascinated by how the scientific process leads to incredible discoveries, but also can lead to publication bias leaning toward positive findings and minimizing negatives. With a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Lafayette College and a Master’s in Science and Medical Journalism from Boston University, I’ve written about clinical trial transparency, organ donation, and basic molecular biology for publications like The Scientist, The Atlantic, Undark.org, Kaiser Health News, and more. At MedShadow, I research and write about the sometimes unexpected ways that medicines can affect us, and what we can do if and when it does.

Katie McCann has had more than one urinary tract infection (UTI), so when she felt a persistent urge to urinate, and felt a burning sensation when she did, she knew it was likely another UTI.  “While in the past, I might have considered at-home remedies or waited a bit longer before seeking medical intervention, the stakes felt higher,” she says, because this time she was pregnant. As a breastfeeding counselor, she was aware that untreated UTIs could raise the risk of her giving birth prematurely. Her doctor prescribed a course of antibiotics.  If you think you might have a UTI,…

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People on dialysis for kidney disease are 100 time more likely than others to get staph dangerous hospital- acquired infections in their blood. Nearly 15,000 dialysis patients got blood stream infections in 2020, a third of which were staph (infections of a bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus). While the number of infections has decreased since 2014, the risk remains, and disparities are prevalent. Black and Hispanic patients are more likely than their white counterparts on dialysis to get a staph in their bloodstream, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published February 6, 2023. You’ve been admitted…

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A now world-wide outbreak of hepatitis ‘that began in fall 2021 among young children, sickening hundreds, continues nearly eight months later, as of May 2022. The medical community is searching for its cause.  Some researchers believe it may have been triggered by COVID-19 infections or by colds or other viruses. The challenge is that the term hepatitis denotes an inflammation of the liver, but in order to treat it, a doctor needs to know what caused that inflammation. That’s problematic, because a doctor must know the cause to treat it effectively. Here’s what you need to know about the many…

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Shingles is not your average rash. The painful, itchy red stripe caused by shingles can last up to 10 days, while long-term nerve pain, a common complication, can persist for months or years. In the rare event that the outbreak appears on your face, it can even cause blindness. Luckily, there’s a two-dose vaccine, Shingrix (zoster vaccine recombinant, adjuvanted), that can prevent the disease. It’s recommended for people 50 years and older, even if you’ve already had shingles, and those 19 and older who are immunosuppressed. Shingles is a unique disease in that it’s not caused by a new infection.…

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