Connie Goldsmith

In December 2015, the Pentagon changed a rule to allow American women to serve for the first time ever in front-line ground combat troops. Women have fulfilled many military roles throughout history, including nursing; driving ambulances; handling administrative duties; working as mechanics; and serving in the WASPs, WACs, WAVES, and SPARS. More recently women are flying jets, conducting surveillance, commanding naval ships, and now fighting on the...

In the twenty-first century, military marine mammals detect lost equipment and underwater mines. Large rats are trained to find land mines in more than 80 countries. Military working dogs search for explosive devices and other weapons and are trained to take down enemy combatants. In earlier centuries, military fighters rode horses into battle, relied on elephants to haul supplies, and trained pigeons to carry messages. Even cats, goats, and chickens...

Stigma is everywhere, from mistrust of unhoused people to discrimination based on weight. Having and discussing mental health challenges has been stigmatized for years until recently when high-profile actors, athletes, and professionals started to share their experiences. Where do these ideas come from and how are they perpetuated in our society? Readers will learn how to stop the spread of stereotypes and prejudice. Informational text on how to identify...

Young adults need eight to ten hours of sleep each night, yet nearly half fail to get the sleep they need, and nearly a third have fallen asleep in school due to insufficient sleep. So many Americans-both teens and adults-lack quality sleep that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls sleep deprivation a public health epidemic. Chronic sleep deprivation leads to poor performance during the day and impacts stress levels, academic performance,...

Drug overdosing and death from prescription painkillers and heroin are at epidemic levels in the United States. How do people become addicted to opioids and other dangerous drugs, and why? Meet the experts who study the neurology of addiction. Hear stories of addicts in recovery, and of loved ones left behind by those who died from overdosing. Discover more about the social and economic costs of overdosing and learn about scientific research to decrease...

In a war zone, military working dogs and their handlers risk their lives for each other every day. Learn what these dogs do and how they are trained, and meet some who have served in military conflicts around the world.

An ordinary blue thermos holding blood samples from a sick nun in Zaire reached Belgium's Institute of Tropical Medicine in September 1976. From the samples, researchers discovered a new virus, which they named the Ebola virus after a river in Central Africa. The virus killed two hundred eighty people before it seemingly disappeared into the jungle. No one suspected the virus would erupt in West Africa nearly four decades later to cause an unprecedented...

Each year, more than one million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer, and it affects people of all ages. Indeed, a headline from USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, says, "Milder skin cancers are becoming more common among young people; consequences could lie ahead." An estimated 8,650 people die each year from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The good news is that the vast majority of skin cancers can be completely cured if...

How close are we to having another worldwide health crisis? Epidemiologists predict that another pandemic is coming-one that could kill hundreds of millions of people. Learn about factors that contribute to the spread of disease by examining past pandemics and epidemics. Examine case studies of potential pandemic diseases, and discover how scientists strive to contain and control the spread of disease both locally and globally. See how human activities...

"The silent killer." That's how a headline in USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, described hepatitis. This life-threatening liver disease can go undetected for decades because it often causes no symptoms until serious liver damage has occurred. The good news is that new medications and research bring "hope, treatment, even cures." Millions of people around the world are diagnosed each year with viral hepatitis. In this book, you'll read case...