RJ Mackenzie

RJ Mackenzie

Live Science Contributor

RJ Mackenzie is an award-nominated science and health journalist. He has degrees in neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Cambridge. He became a writer after deciding that the best way of contributing to science would be from behind a keyboard rather than a lab bench. He has reported on everything from brain-interface technology to shape-shifting materials science, and from the rise of predatory conferencing to the importance of newborn-screening programs. He is a former staff writer of Technology Networks.

Latest articles by RJ Mackenzie

Zapping the brain may help boost math skills, study hints

By RJ Mackenzie published

A study suggests that carefully controlled electrical stimulation of the brain may improve math skills, most significantly in people with weaker connections in a specific part of the brain.

Neuroscience
Laboratory technician preparing blood sample for medical testing in laboratory.

Scientists discover entirely new blood type — in just one woman from Guadeloupe

By RJ Mackenzie published

After years of study, scientists have discovered a new blood type in a woman from Guadeloupe. They're now searching for more people with the characteristic.

Health

Electronic face 'tattoos' could measure your mental strain at work

By RJ Mackenzie published

A disposable, electronic "tattoo" that measures mental workload could be used to enhance safety in high-pressure jobs, researchers say.

Neuroscience
a tired runner kneels on the ground after a race

Your brain starts eating itself during a marathon, study finds

By RJ Mackenzie published

Under extreme metabolic conditions, like a marathon, the brain may turn to cellular fat stores to maintain function, according to a new study.

Neuroscience
a digital illustration of three T cells, immune cells depicted in light green and blue

Rare 'stiff person syndrome' treated with reconfigured cancer therapy

By RJ Mackenzie published

A case study shows how a therapy typically used for cancer could be adapted to treat a disorder that Céline Dion recently disclosed she has.

Medicine & Drugs