In the early 1900s, scientists were just beginning to understand the diversity and importance of steroids—a group of molecules made in the body that includes the sex hormones (progesterone, estrogens, and testosterone) and the hormones involved in promoting inflammation (cortisol). In addition to natural hormones, steroids can also be used as therapeutic drugs. But at the time, steroids had to be isolated from animal sources to be used as drugs, which was an expensive and low-yield process. During his career as a chemist, Percy Julian discovered a method for synthesizing these unique molecules from abundant plant sources, like soybeans, enabling…
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Welcome back to Science You Can Bring Home To Mom! This month, in honor of pride month, we are discussing the science behind gender and biological sex. Just like many other attributes of the human brain, our common understanding of gender is rife with oversimplification and misunderstanding. But digging a little deeper can help us learn to empathize with others and understand ourselves better. As a human attribute, gender is inherently biopsychosocial—it’s influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. And each of these paradigms is far more complex than it may seem on the surface. Next week, we’ll dissect some…
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