Check out the latest additions to Teen Health & Wellness!

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Scientific American: Resource Articles

Teen Health & Wellness has partnered with Scientific American magazine to offer reviewed content about important research, health, technology, science, the environment, and society. These high-interest articles have been reviewed and selected by Rosen’s team of editors and provide additional and unique content regarding Teen Health & Wellness topics to further support health and science inquiry and instruction.

New Articles

• Artificial Intelligence discusses chatbots, mental-health and social companion apps, image and video generators, large language models, and other recent developments in the world of artificial intelligence, or “AI,” which allows digital technology to learn and adapt by simulating human decision-making and behaviors.


• Social Media Anxiety addresses information overload, FOMO (fear of missing out), self-esteem, and other mental health consequences of excessive use of social media.

Notable Article Updates

• The USDA’s MyPlate nutrition guide recently went the way of its earlier food pyramid with the release of the department’s latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The document features a new, inverted pyramid of the foods Americans should eat to maintain a healthy, balanced diet. Some of the revisions are potentially controversial and could lead to confusion, so we’ve broken them down in our updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans/Canada’s Food Guide article.


• College costs and the process of applying for financial aid have changed dramatically over the past few years, so we’ve updated our Paying for College article to reflect what’s new. Among the more encouraging developments is that top-tier U.S. universities like Harvard and Yale are waiving tuition fees for students whose families make less than $200,000 year.


• Generative artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, in ways that are undeniably beneficial but also potentially harmful. Our Creating Content Online article now includes a section that discusses the uses and misues of image- and video-generators such as Midjourney and OpenAI Sora, with an emphasis on remaining transparent, accountable, and ethical while having fun exploring these tools. We also provide concrete steps kids can take to keep their likenesses, and the likenesses of their friends and family, safe online.


• Buying a car is more fraught than ever, not to mention expensive: Automobile prices were at record highs in the U.S. in 2025, with the average new car costing over $50,000 and the average used car selling for around $26,000. The good news is that, despite fluctuating sales and manufacturer jitters, electric vehicles (EVs) are more popular—and more efficient—than ever. We provide buying details for interested teens in our updated First Car article, which also highlights revisions to the car information required to be displayed by dealerships.


• A study published last October in Nature revealed changes in how autism is perceived by the scientific community, essentially challanging the notion that it’s a single, unified condition. Instead, the international team of scientists that conducted the research found major genetic differences between those diagnosed with autism before age 6 and those diganosed after age 10. We’ve updated our Autism Spectrum Disorder article accordingly, including a discussion of the treatment implications of the study’s findings.


• Our Diet Drugs article has been updated to refelct the growing use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist drugs like Wegovy, Zepbound, and Saxenda for weight loss. These drugs, which were originally developed to help control type-2 diabetes, mimic a natural hormone to stimulate insulin production after meals, which leads to a feeling of fullness that can help with weight loss. While touted by some as “miracle drugs,” these new treatments warrant vigilance on the part of both doctors and patients.


• As detailed in our updated First Job article, summer work is getting harder to find. With fewer openings at places like restaurants, stores, and amusement parks, as well as competition from adults and more selective hiring practices, finding seasonal jobs isn’t as easy for teens as it once was. We offer tips on how they can boost their chances, from joining programs like the Boys & Girls Clubs and learning job-readiness skills online to handing out résumés in person and picking up babysitting gigs to earn money and gain real-world experience.


• College remains the most popular postsecondary option for teens, and is a good fit for many. But interest in nondegree pathways is growing. In an update to our College and Career Training article, we reference a 2025 survey by American Student Assistance that found only 45 percent of students in grades 7–12 expect to attend a two- or four-year college, down from 73 percent in 2018. Consequently, counselors stress the importance of exploring all available paths, reducing the stigma around nontraditional choices, and planning based on students’ individual strengths, goals, and interests.


• A new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) shows that most sunscreens on store shelves aren’t as safe or effective as they claim. We discuss the findings in updates to our Skin Cancer and Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers articles, including the fact that fewer than 500 out of over 2,200 products tested actually protect skin the way they should—and some even include ingredients that could alter hormones or increase health risks. The report also criticized the lack of updated federal regulations, pointing out that sunscreen rules haven’t changed much since 1999.


• Teens who have or are at risk for diabetes need to be diligent about their heart health, too, as an update to our Diabetes article reveals. According to a 2025 study published in the journal Diabetes Care, people between the ages of 17 and 24 who have high blood sugar are up to three times more at risk for developing a heart condition by young adulthood, even if they are otherwise healthy. The keys to avoiding cardiovascular disease at an early age remain unchanged: Eat a balanced diet, maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly, and keep diabetes under control.


• Just as electric vehicles (EVs) have gained in popularity and support across the United States and Canada over the past several years, the infrastructure required to make them a more viable option for consumers has grown as well. We’ve updated our Sustainable Transportation article with new data on the increase in charging stations available for EV drivers, with the U.S. more than doubling its number from around 29,000 to over 75,000 in just five years.


• An update to our Vaping and Smoking article shared positive news for teens and young adults trying to quit vaping. An April 2025 study from Mass General Brigham in Boston showed that people between the ages of 16 and 25 who took the prescription medication varenicline — ordinarily used to quit tobacco smoking — were three times more likely to stop vaping than with counseling or text support alone. Doctors say the drug is safe for young people to use and, even better, many of those who took it were still vape-free months later.


• For Earth Day 2025, we checked in with Soul Fire Farm, a community agricultural center in upstate New York we profiled in our Environmental Stewardship article back in 2022. Co-founder and farm director Leah Penniman continues to embody environmental stewardship by training people of color on the principles of sustainable farming, and has expanded the operation to deliver thousands of pounds of fresh produce to hundreds of individuals and organizations throughout the community.


• Academic anxiety can affect even the most prepared students, and the pressure is more potentially intense for student athletes, whose time, attention, and focus are further divided by their participation in extracurricular sports. We’ve updated our Academic Anxiety, Overscheduling and Stress, Peer Pressure, and Time Management articles to address the specific needs of teen athletes, with tips on and strategies for balancing the demands of homework, tests, and projects with practices, games, and workouts. With the right approach, and good, clear communication with teachers and coaches, being a student athlete doesn’t need to be like having two full-time jobs.


• We’ve updated our article on Ovarian Cancer to bring the news that in October 2024, researchers at the University of Oxford secured funding to create the world’s first vaccine designed to prevent ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among females in the United States, so this is big news. If their research proves successful, the next step will be to initiate clinical trials. The ultimate goal is to offer women a vaccine that could help prevent ovarian cancer before it occurs.


• Dyslexia and its related disabilities are far more common than many people assume. The International Dyslexia Association estimates that in 2024, one in five students, or 15–20 percent of the population, has a language-based learning disability. We’ve updated our article on Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia to highlight the often undetected nature of this disability, and we feature seven different personal stories from students facing the challenges that come with it.


• One person died and twenty-seven people were hospitalized during an E. coli outbreak in October, linked to fresh onions served on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders and other items. We don’t update our E. Coli article with every new development in this or other outbreaks of the foodborne illness, but our article does post a link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s own list of outbreaks.


• Young people are getting wise to the dangers of tobacco. As we note in our article on Tobacco and Nicotine, teen smoking and the use of other tobacco products in the U.S. have dropped to the lowest levels seen in 25 years, according to an October report from the CDC. The report highlights a 20 percent decrease in tobacco use among middle and high school students from 2023 to 2024. This includes traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and hookahs. The number of youth using at least one tobacco product fell from 2.8 million to 2.25 million, marking a significant decline.


• Even if you don’t know what “nomophobia” is, you’ve likely felt it. It’s short for “no-mobile-phone phobia”—the anxiety people get when they are away from their phone, lose their phone, lose cell coverage, or run out of battery life. Psychologists consider it a real anxiety disorder that can make it harder for people to disconnect from their over-stimulating digital lives. This fall, the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels to be added to social media apps to inform users about the risks of excessive social media use, similar to health warnings on cigarettes and alcohol. We’ve updated our article on Social Media Anxiety to reflect this latest news.


• Hurricane Helene is just the latest natural disaster to take hundreds of people’s lives and disrupt thousands of others. Our Natural Disasters article not only adds Helene to our ever-growing list of hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, tsunamis, and other traumatic events, but gives young people advice on preparedness, evacuation plans, and coping skills when disaster strikes, as well as resources they can contact to help them through a crisis.