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Nov 23, 2020
A newly approved drug can extend the lives of children with progeria, a rare disorder that causes rapid aging. The drug is the result of one family's effort to help a child with the fatal condition.
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Nov 23, 2020
When the state of Kansas issued a mask mandate, 81 counties opted out. Researchers found coronavirus infection rates rose sharply in the opt-out counties, while falling in those that required masks.
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Nov 22, 2020
"Relationships with animals are simple," notes one researcher. In a year when life feels fraught, pets have been healers, helping human companions get exercise, quell anxiety and make new friends.
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Nov 21, 2020
The race to develop COVID-19 vaccines is moving swiftly, both nationally and internationally. But challenges remain when it comes to distributing vaccines around the world.
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Nov 20, 2020
In 2015, the mosquito-borne virus Zika exploded in South America. Health experts predicted it would erupt in Africa. But a major outbreak never happened. Now scientists think they understand why.
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Nov 20, 2020
In 2015, the mosquito-borne virus Zika exploded in South America. Health experts predicted it would erupt in Africa. But a major outbreak never happened. Now scientists think they understand why.
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Nov 18, 2020
Scientists have used a NASA probe way out in space, beyond Pluto, to measure visible light that's not connected to any known source like stars or galaxies.
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Nov 18, 2020
Scientists have used a NASA probe way out in space, beyond Pluto, to measure visible light that's not connected to any known source such as stars or galaxies.
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Nov 17, 2020
People who get more deep sleep appear less likely to develop Alzheimer's. That may be because this phase of sleep allows the brain clears out waste products.
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Nov 16, 2020
There's growing evidence that a lack of deep sleep increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Scientists say that's because during deep sleep, the brain removes toxins associated with Alzheimer's.
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Nov 12, 2020
Cicadas can stay totally dry in the pouring rain. One researcher is trying to figure out how they do that. This finding may lead to interesting new materials for humans.
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Nov 11, 2020
Harold McGee talks about how our sense of smell affects taste, why things smell the way they do and the ways different chemicals combine to create surprising (and sometimes distasteful) odors.
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Nov 09, 2020
Gen. Gustave Perna says as soon as the FDA deems a vaccine safe and effective, his team is ready to coordinate deployment of tens of millions of doses as early as next month.
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Nov 05, 2020
A team of independent advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a science-based outline for deploying a vaccine when it's ready. The goal is to stop deaths and viral spread fast.
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Nov 05, 2020
COVID-19 can cause symptoms that go well beyond the lungs, from strokes to organ failure. To explain these widespread injuries, researchers are studying how the virus affects the vascular system.
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Oct 31, 2020
Duke anthropologist Brian Hare argues that humans evolved in a way that left us more cooperative and friendlier than our now extinct human cousins, like Neanderthals and Denisovans.
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Oct 30, 2020
In advance of a COVID-19 vaccine being available, a group of independent medical advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weighed Friday who should get the vaccine first and how.
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Oct 29, 2020
Scientists have identified special cells in the human brain that organize movie-like memories, helping us to relive important experiences and events.
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Oct 29, 2020
Some of the first GMOs - corn and cotton plants that have been genetically modified to fend off insects - are running into problems. Bugs have become resistant to them because they've been overused.
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Oct 28, 2020
Many memories are like short movies. People relive experiences such as arriving for the first day of school or falling off a bike. Scientists have shown how the brain organizes these episodes.
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Oct 27, 2020
A general increase in mask-wearing has been encouraging, U.S. public health experts say. But too few young people, especially, are social distancing and taking other steps to slow coronavirus' spread.
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Oct 26, 2020
Most nursing homes are connected by shared staff to seven others. Instead of limiting workers to one facility to curb COVID-19 spread, advocates urge better pay and more PPE for nursing home staff.
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Oct 26, 2020
Most nursing homes are connected by shared staff to seven others. Instead of limiting workers to one facility to curb COVID-19 spread, advocates urge better pay and more PPE for nursing home staff.
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Oct 26, 2020
The breakthrough suggests that water, vital to life on Earth, could be distributed across more parts of the lunar surface than the ice that has previously been found in cold and dark places.
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Oct 20, 2020
Researchers launched a major study of an experimental Alzheimer's drug this summer. They also learned a lot about how to protect participants who must make frequent visits to a medical center.
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Oct 20, 2020
Researchers launched a major study of an experimental Alzheimer's drug this summer. They also learned a lot about how to protect participants who must make frequent visits to a medical center.
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Oct 19, 2020
NASA is getting ready to collect its first sample from an asteroid ever. The rocks and dust could help us understand potentially dangerous space rocks and the history of the solar system.
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Oct 19, 2020
NASA has collected and is returning its first sample from an asteroid. The rocks and dust could help us understand potentially dangerous space rocks and the history of the solar system.
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Oct 17, 2020
These days, there are hundreds of reasons to open your heart to others, but it's easy to get exhausted. Try these tips honed by social workers for staying healthy and empathetic.
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Oct 16, 2020
Over 30 million people in the U.S. have hearing loss. Neuroscientist Jim Hudspeth explains how the ear's thousands of hair cells function to amplify sound—and how they can be damaged but not repaired.
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Oct 15, 2020
Research published this week finds that home sales volume and prices have declined in coastal census tracts vulnerable to sea level rise, relative to coastal areas less threatened by climate change.
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Oct 15, 2020
Here's irony: tobacco plants may be key in preventing COVID-19. Two companies are using the plants to produce proteins for a vaccine. One candidate vaccine is already in a clinical trial.
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Oct 15, 2020
A Twinkie stored in a basement for eight years has been transformed by fungi, giving scientists something unusual to ponder and probe.
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Oct 14, 2020
Scientists have identified specialized brain cells that create two distinct kinds of thirst. Some cells respond to a need for water alone, while others produce a craving for water and salt.
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Oct 13, 2020
Mountains on Pluto look strikingly similar to white-capped peaks on Earth, but these cold, alien mountains got whitened in a completely different way.
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Oct 09, 2020
A new study showed that laughter is a better indicator in determining friendships than even speech. Volunteers were able to pinpoint groups of friends versus strangers by listening to their laughter.
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Oct 06, 2020
Early humans may have controlled fire temperature in tempering their stone tools, according to an analysis of 300,000-year-old artifacts found in a cave in Israel.
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Oct 05, 2020
The study compared drinking habits of adults age 30-80 with their habits a year earlier. The study found the increase is most pronounced among women, for whom days with heavy drinking spiked by 41%.
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Oct 05, 2020
Three scientists, Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles Rice, who all did their research in the United States, received the prize for discovering the Hepatitis C virus.
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Oct 05, 2020
The scientists' work led to a test to protect blood transfusion recipients from hepatitis C and drugs to treat the infection that have saved millions of lives, according to the Nobel Assembly.
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Oct 01, 2020
A massive study of coronavirus cases in India found that a significant number of virus transmissions originate from and happen between children.
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Sep 29, 2020
As college campuses grapple with outbreaks of coronavirus infections, research from the CDC suggests young adults are driving infection rates, putting older, more vulnerable people at risk.
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Sep 29, 2020
A survey of 17 cities found more than 50,000 pandemic-related eviction filings. Housing advocates worry that increased housing instability will lead to more COVID-19 and other illnesses.
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Sep 29, 2020
A survey of 17 cities found more than 50,000 pandemic-related eviction filings. Housing advocates worry that increased housing instability will lead to more COVID-19 and other illnesses.
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Sep 27, 2020
In the peer-reviewed journal article, University of Queensland physicists say time is essentially self-healing. Changes in the past wouldn't necessarily cause a universe-ending paradox. Phew.
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Sep 24, 2020
People of African ancestry have been excluded from many studies of brain disorders. In Baltimore, scientists, doctors and community leaders are working to make neuroscience research more diverse.
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Sep 24, 2020
People of African ancestry have been excluded from many studies of brain disorders. In Baltimore, scientists, doctors and community leaders are working to make neuroscience research more diverse.
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Sep 23, 2020
Volunteers getting the shot help determine if a candidate vaccine works. But what with social distancing and masks, scientists must discern if it's the shot or these other measures preventing illness.
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Sep 21, 2020
The CDC says the guidelines were posted to its website in error. The now-deleted updates were notable because so far the agency has stopped short of saying that the virus is airborne.
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Sep 20, 2020
One thing that has improved a lot over the course of the pandemic is treatment of seriously ill COVID-19 patients in intensive care units. Here's one man's success story.
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Sep 18, 2020
Scientists discovered 120,000-year-old human footprints in Saudi Arabia along with those of horses and elephants — hinting the region was once more hospitable to people moving out of Africa.
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Sep 16, 2020
Researchers were able to mimic the mind-altering effects of the drug ketamine by inducing a particular rhythm in one area of the brain.
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Sep 16, 2020
The drug ketamine can cause an out-of-body experience. Scientists have been able to induce this altered state in a person without drugs. The ability to control dissociation could help many patients.
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Sep 16, 2020
An NPR poll finds 72% of Latino households in the United States are facing serious financial problems — double the share of whites who report this. Major health problems are mounting, too.
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Sep 16, 2020
According to data reported to the CDC, 121 children died from COVID-19 between February and July of this year. And 78% of the children who died were Hispanic, Black or Native American.
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Sep 14, 2020
If you've ever flown in economy class on a plane, you probably had to walk through the first class cabin to get to your seat. Maybe you noticed the extra leg room. The freshly-poured champagne. Maybe you were annoyed, or envious. Social psychologist Keith Payne says we tend to compare ourselves with those who have more than us, but rarely with those who have less. This week, we revisit our 2019 episode on the psychology of income inequality, and how perceptions of our own wealth shape our lives.
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Sep 14, 2020
Scientists have found a gas associated with living organisms in a region of Venus' atmosphere. They can't figure out how it got there if it didn't come from life.
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Sep 12, 2020
The company had placed its worldwide vaccine trials on hold for several days. It now says a safety review by regulators and reviewers is complete. No word on when studies in the U.S. might resume.
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Sep 12, 2020
As scientists race to develop a vaccine that proves "safe and effective," that doesn't mean it will prevent infection in everyone who gets it. Though it might eventually stop the pandemic. Here's how.
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Sep 11, 2020
Mangroves help protect coastal areas from flooding and sequester more carbon than tropical forests. But new studies suggest they may be wiped out by the rise of sea levels.
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Sep 11, 2020
Primatologists observed that different groups of bonobos have different dietary preferences — indicating a form of "culture" among the animals.
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Sep 11, 2020
Some pharmaceutical companies are well into the final phase of clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine. But efforts to recruit patients from minority groups are just beginning.
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Sep 10, 2020
There are dividing lines when it comes to how families are weathering the pandemic: Those living in big cities, those making less than $100,000 a year, and Latino and Black families are faring worst.
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Sep 10, 2020
There are dividing lines when it comes to how families are weathering the pandemic: Those living in big cities, those making less than $100,000 a year, and Latino and Black families are faring worst.
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Sep 10, 2020
There are dividing lines when it comes to how families are weathering the pandemic: Those living in big cities, those making less than $100,000 a year, and Latino and Black families are faring worst.
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Sep 08, 2020
A large study of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been put on hold after one of the volunteers became ill.
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Sep 08, 2020
A large study of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been put on hold after one of the volunteers became ill.
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Sep 08, 2020
AstraZeneca, which is working with the University of Oxford, hasn't said what the illness is. It will try to determine whether the illness is related to the vaccine, or just a chance event.
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Sep 08, 2020
Scientists and engineers in California are building a unique 3.2 billion pixel camera for a telescope under construction in Chile. The camera has taken its first test pictures — of broccoli.
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Sep 08, 2020
An experiment involving some "mighty mice" on the International Space Station could someday help astronauts maintain muscle and bone strength on interplanetary journeys.
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Sep 08, 2020
Eating disorders strike nearly 1 in 10 Americans, with the second-highest death rate of all psychiatric disorders. The pandemic's food insecurity, stockpiling and stress are triggering flare-ups.
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Sep 07, 2020
An experimental drug let mice spend a month in the International Space Station's near-zero gravity without losing mass. It could help people spend years in space without major health consequences.
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Sep 07, 2020
None of us are perfect, and sometimes the Hubble Space Telescope just flat-out points to the wrong spot in the sky. This has been happening more than ever in the last couple years.
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Sep 07, 2020
None of us is perfect, and sometimes the Hubble Space Telescope just flat-out points to the wrong spot in the sky. This has been happening more than ever in the last couple of years.
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Sep 07, 2020
There's increasing evidence that the coronavirus can linger and spread through the air in crowded indoor rooms. Researchers say infectious clouds can be dispersed with fresh air.
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Sep 05, 2020
NPR's Michel Martin explores how young voters may impact November's election with researcher Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg.
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Sep 03, 2020
There's a lot scientists don't know about how viral infections can interact. But researchers are eager to figure out how COVID-19 infections might affect flu infections and vice versa.
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Sep 03, 2020
NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Pat Garofalo of the American Economic Liberties Project, about the progressive group's study indicating Facebook and Google are harming local journalism.
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Sep 02, 2020
Multiple studies now confirm earlier research: Dexamethasone and hydrocortisone, drugs that reduce an immune system's overreaction, can help reduce deaths of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
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Sep 02, 2020
Scientists say new drugs are on the way for patients with ALS. The latest is a two-drug combo that appears to slow the progression of the fatal nerve disease with a modest but meaningful benefit.
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Sep 02, 2020
Mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been profound, researchers find. Nearly 25% of Americans are depressed, particularly those who have low incomes and have lost a job or a loved one.
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Sep 02, 2020
Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there's not much evidence, they say the science is on their side.
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Aug 31, 2020
Researchers say mother bats use baby talk to communicate with their pups. Experts say that it helps bats learn the language.
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Aug 29, 2020
What if your body could corral an infection instead of eliminating it? Immunologists who see this sort of "disease tolerance" in plants wonder what role it might play in asymptomatic human infections.
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Aug 28, 2020
A vaccine against the coronavirus needs to keep people from getting very sick and dying. But preventing the spread of the disease is also important, and vaccines delivered by nasal spray may do that.
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Aug 27, 2020
Scientists have long debated whether the Earth's water was here when the planet formed or whether it arrived later. A study suggests much of the water originated in rocks from which Earth is built.
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Aug 27, 2020
Some unusual meteorites suggest that Earth got its water at its start, rather than forming dry and being watered by comets later on.
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Aug 27, 2020
Some unusual meteorites suggest that Earth got its water at its start, rather than forming dry and being watered by comets later on.
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Aug 27, 2020
A century of U.S. statistics finds mortality rates and life expectancy were much worse for Black Americans during pre-pandemic years than they have been for white people during the COVID-19 crisis.
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Aug 25, 2020
The Food and Drug Administration's chief said Sunday the therapy reduces deaths among COVID-19 patients by 35%. On Monday he apologized, acknowledging that statistic greatly exaggerates any benefit.
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Aug 24, 2020
Researchers hope it can provide insight as to how COVID-19 spreads in large stadiums — and how to prevent it.
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Aug 24, 2020
Doctors are researching why some patients remain unconscious for days or weeks, even after sedating drugs are withdrawn. They also worry that these patients aren't being given time to recover.
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Aug 24, 2020
Doctors are researching why some patients remain unconscious for days or weeks, even after sedating drugs are withdrawn. They also worry that these patients aren't being given time to recover.
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Aug 21, 2020
The side-by-side tracks of two ancient animals have been called "by far the oldest vertebrate tracks in Grand Canyon."
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Aug 21, 2020
The coronavirus appears to transmit unevenly: A few people can infect many, while others don't pass the virus on at all. Researchers are working to understand the factors that drive superspreading.
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Aug 20, 2020
The stripes on zebras have been found to repel flies. But now researchers have found a black-and-white checkered pattern will, too — making them question the optical effect behind the phenomenon.
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Aug 18, 2020
New research suggests that penguins' ancestors originated not in frozen Antarctica but, instead, off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, adapting to new climes over 22 million years.
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Aug 18, 2020
To owners of bars and nightclubs, pandemic restrictions on the industry can feel punitive. But there are important differences, virus hunters say, between a bar and a restaurant that serves alcohol.
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Aug 17, 2020
A study out Monday found that Hispanic and nonwhite workers made up 73% of cases associated with workplace outbreaks in certain industries, despite representing 24% of the workforce in those sectors.
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Aug 13, 2020
Researchers at Yale University are seeking emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for a coronavirus saliva test. This streamlined test can offer results faster and easier.
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