About Scott LaFee

Scott LaFee

Scott LaFee

Scott LaFee is a viviparous, omnivorous, longitudinally symmetrical carbon-based male biped and staff member of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Since 1992, he has been the chief writer for Quest, the paper's award-winning weekly science section, where he covers all manner of scientific news and features, from the inner workings of the brain to the physical nature of "nothingness" -- the stuff between stuff.

LaFee has written two syndicated columns for Creators. Archives of Eureka! can be found here. Or read Wellnews  - new releases weekly.  

He is married with two young sons, whom he coaches in soccer and swimming when not explaining why dead spiders' legs curl up (failed hydraulics) or how 8 feet of DNA can be squeezed into every cell (very carefully).

LaFee lives in La Mesa, Calif., with his hominid family and their several nonhuman pets: two tortoises, three fire-bellied toads, a rat, a rabbit and a dog named Dave.

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Lasting Pain Mar 25, 2026

Generally speaking, chronic pain lasts longer for women than it does for men. New research suggests differences in hormone-regulated immune cells called monocytes may explain why. Some monocytes release a molecule that switches off pain. These cells ... Read More

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Chemicals All Around Mar 18, 2026

In a new survey of more than 5,300 people by the Pew Charitable Trusts, more than 70% of adults said they were at least somewhat concerned about harmful chemicals in food and drinking water. Almost 85% said the government needs to do more "to identif... Read More

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Food for Naught Mar 11, 2026

Cochrane Reviews are high-standard, independent systematic reviews of health care research. The latest to be published looks at whether intermittent fasting — a practice of limiting eating to only a few hours each day — is an effective wa... Read More

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Craving Fast Food Mar 04, 2026

Researchers at the University of Michigan, Harvard and Duke argue in a new study that ultraprocessed foods, from packaged snacks to sugary beverages to ready-to-eat meals, aren't simply junk food or bad nutritional choices. They're industrially engin... Read More