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.

Over the summer, I attended a three-day music festival near my home. Each day, I spent about eight or nine hours on my feet, mostly standing in one place in the crowd, facing the stage. Long before the shows ended, I started feeling intense pain in my feet, hips, and lower back. For my whole life, I’ve been athletic. I run half marathons, go for long bike rides and swims, and even practice yoga in between. “How could just standing in place cause me more pain than all those intense exercises?” I wondered. I’m not alone. More than 77% of…

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Usually, our immune systems protect us from all kinds of outside invaders like the bacteria that causes strep throat and the virus that causes COVID, but what happens when our immune system’s highly-specialized antibodies, white blood cells, and inflammatory molecules glitch and turn against us, attacking our body’s own tissues and organs? We get autoimmune diseases.  There are 80 types of autoimmune diseases, and they’re often difficult to diagnose. The symptoms of autoimmune diseases can vary widely based on the parts of the body that are affected. Often, the symptoms of autoimmune diseases, like painful swelling and inflammation, change from…

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Do you wake up with stiffness and joint pain? Have you been wondering whether you’re injured, you’re developing arthritis or if you just need a good stretch? Even if you do have arthritis, diet and exercise may go a long way toward mitigating your symptoms. MedShadow explains. What Is Arthritis? There are more than 100 types of arthritis, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but one thing they all have in common is that any arthritis damages the cartilage in your joints. In some cases, only a single joint will be affected, whereas for others, the…

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It took seven years for Madeline Shonka to be diagnosed with lupus. Unfortunately, her struggles didn’t end there.  The side effects of medications for lupus that her healthcare providers prescribed were often debilitating side effects, such as weight gain, rashes and even difficulty managing anger. Then, over time, her physicians tested different, better-suited treatments on Shonka. She found that certain new habits, like light exercise, made a big difference in her quality of life. She then founded Co-immunity, which hosts support groups for patients with chronic illnesses, so that they can share their experiences. What Is Lupus? Lupus is an…

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DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) got a bad reputation in the 1980s and 1990s when reports circulated suggesting that the active ingredient in many bug sprays caused seizures, brain swelling, and death. Since then, researchers have assured the public that the chemical is safe and lowers the risk of contracting insect-borne infections such as Lyme disease, West Nile Virus, and Zika. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reviewed case reports and clinical trials and state that, as long as it’s used according to the directions, DEET is both safe and effective. While DEET is one…

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