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Richard Sima on Muck Rack

Richard Sima

Verified
(He/Him)
Baltimore
As seen in: The Washington Post, MSN, MSN Canada, The New York Times, The New York Times en Español, UOL, Yahoo Life, Estadão, Terra, The Independent (UK), Yahoo Canada and
Covers:  science, health, environment
Brain Matters columnist @washingtonpost | @CarterFellows for Mental Health Journalism ‘23-24 | @dcswa Pres Emeritus | 🧠@hopkinsMedicine + @harvard | stardust

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Richard Sima’s Biography

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Neuroscientist turned science writer

Richard Sima’s Journalist Portfolio

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A catatonic woman awakened after 20 years. Her story may change psychiatry.

A catatonic woman awakened after 20 years. Her story may change psychiatry.

New research suggests that a subset of patients with psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia may actually h…

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This Optical Illusion Has a Revelation About Your Brain and Eyes

This Optical Illusion Has a Revelation About Your Brain and Eyes

Your pupils may be dilating when you see images like this one as your brain tries to anticipate the near futu…

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A Plant That 'Cannot Die' Reveals Its Genetic Secrets

A Plant That 'Cannot Die' Reveals Its Genetic Secrets

Events in the genome of Welwitschia have given it the ability to survive in an unforgiving desert for thousan…

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Indoor Air Pollution in the Time of Coronavirus - Eos

Indoor Air Pollution in the Time of Coronavirus - Eos

Knowing that an invisible, infectious virus may be lingering in the air of a stuffy room is an unsettling thi…

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Elephant Trunks: Is There Anything They Can't Do?

Elephant Trunks: Is There Anything They Can't Do?

A new study highlights the impressive biomechanics and suction power of an elephant's most defining appendage…

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At Mating Time, These Ants Carry Their Young Queen to a Neighbor's Nest

At Mating Time, These Ants Carry Their Young Queen to a Neighbor's Nest

The royal matchmaking service may help these insects avoid inbreeding. We humans have Tinder, Hinge, eHarmony…

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Articles

Books are good for your brain. But fiction has a surprising added benefit

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By Richard Sima Verified
| Flipboard
4 hours ago UP ON COVE MOUNTAIN: Adventure, Tragedy, and a Quest for Meaning on the Appalachian Trail, by Earl Swift Late one night in the summer of 1990, Earl Swift was startled awake at his campsite in the White Mountains of New Hampshire by the loudest noise he’d ever heard. He was in his early 30s and only a …
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3 things about the brain that actually get better with age

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By Richard Sima Verified
| The Philadelphia Inquirer Verified
When people think about getting older, many picture an inevitable decline in health. But that isn’t always the case. You can improve with age, both mentally and physically. This mindset may even be beneficial; having negative ideas about aging is linked to worse health outcomes, almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Books are good for your brain. But fiction has a surprising added benefit.

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By Richard Sima Verified
| Anchorage Daily News Verified
A customer shops at the Green Hand Bookstore in Portland, Maine, on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Curling up with a good book isn’t just enjoyable. It’s also good for your brain. Reading in general - newspapers, magazines, nonfiction books - has been linked to slower rates of cognitive decline in older adults and even longer lives. But reading fiction may have unique benefits.
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Interview

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What's your favorite social network?

Reddit

Why did you become a journalist?

To seek truth and inform people.

Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?

Yes, I worked as the Editor-in-Chief of the East Side. Very proud of my work and time there.