NPR Health&Science
What Makes Rituals Special? Join Us For A Google+ Conversation
From savoring a morning coffee to lighting a candle each night, people employ rituals all over the world. NPR science correspondent Shankar Vedantam speaks with behavior scientist Francesca Gino and Slate columnist William Saletan about the role of rituals in human life.
To Rebuild NYC's Beaches, A Native Plant Savings And Loan
Last fall, Heather Liljengren was collecting the seeds of New York's native dune grasses. Within days, Hurricane Sandy wiped out the Rockaways' dunes and all their flora. Now, those seeds are growing plants likely to be used to restore the dunes and other natural environments around New York City.
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And The Winner Of The World Food Prize Is ... The Man From Monsanto
The prize is sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture." And this year's winners include Monsanto executive Robert Fraley, a pioneer in genetically engineered crops. If there's a single person who personifies the company's controversial role in American agriculture, it's probably Fraley.
Wanna Be A Rock Star? NASA Needs Help Tracking Asteroids
The White House and NASA want the public's help in hunting for asteroids that could potentially smash into Earth. They're also looking for a perfect space rock to capture so that astronauts could go there and study it.
The Love That Dared Not Speak Its Name, Of A Beetle For A Beer Bottle
What's that beetle doing to that beer bottle? The beetle dropped down from the sky, grabbed the bottle's bottom, keeps hugging and hugging it, even when being attacked by ants, and it won't — refuses to — let go. It can't be the beer it's after. The beer is at the other end. What's going on?
Animal CSI: Inside The Smithsonian's Feather Forensics Lab
A keen eye and extensive knowledge of feathers allows forensic ornithologist Carla Dove (yes, that's her name) figure out from feather and bone fragments which type of bird crashed into a plane or was eaten by a snake. But the expertise has an uncertain future.
Animal CSI: Inside The Smithsonian's Feather Forensics Lab
A keen eye and extensive knowledge of feathers allows forensic ornithologist Carla Dove (yes, that's her name) figure out from feather and bone fragments which type of bird crashed into a plane or was eaten by a snake. But the expertise has an uncertain future.
How To Make Museums More Inviting For Kids With Autism
A day at a museum promises fun for parents and kids alike. But for children who are on the autism spectrum, a seemingly simple museum exhibit may be too overwhelming to enjoy. Now, museums are coming up with ways to accommodate these visitors.
Isn't That King David? Nope, It's Just Dave
Take something old, familiar and classical, add denim, polyester and glasses, and watch what happens! Two French artists create a new form of time travel.
How Men's Choice Of Mates May Have Led To Menopause
Conventional wisdom holds that men prefer younger women as mates because they're more fertile than older women. But a mathematical analysis suggests that this preference may be the cause of menopause rather than a consequence of it.
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3-D Printer Brings Dexterity To Children With No Fingers
An enterprising carpenter and a creative puppeteer teamed up on a do-it-yourself project to build a mechanical hand for a little boy. They created an inexpensive prosthetic and published their designs on the Internet. So far, over 100 children have been outfitted.
The Human Voice May Not Spark Pleasure In Children With Autism
Scientists and parents have long been baffled by the fact that children with autism often don't pay attention to human voices. Researchers say that may be because speech doesn't activate a reward system in the brain for those children the way it does for typical children.
Why Men Die Younger Than Women: The 'Guys Are Fragile' Thesis
Death, it appears, prefers gentlemen to ladies. Women don't just outlive men, they consistently outlive men at every stage of life. More boys die in utero, in infancy, in adolescence, in middle age, at every stage. That's why nature makes more of them. But why? What's so fragile about guys?
Will The Court's Gene Ruling Stifle Bio Innovation?
Weekend Edition Saturday Host Scott Simon talks with bioethicist Arthur Caplan of New York University about Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that isolated human genes may not be patented — and the implications for that ruling.
Rule Would List All Chimps As Endangered, Even Lab Animals
Though the regulation proposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service would make it more difficult to use chimpanzees for research purposes, that may not be a problem, some scientists say. Scientific advances show the animals are less medically useful than previously thought.
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Archaeologists Discover Lost City In Cambodian Jungle
The Australian researchers found a jungle-covered metropolis that predates the country's famous Angkor Wat complex by some 350 years.
Looking Back, and Up, at a Seattle Icon
Seattle's Space Needle opened in 1962 as part of the World's Fair. Knute Berger, author of Space Needle: The Spirit of Seattle, discusses the history and engineering behind the tower, and explains why a symbol of "the future" from days gone by still has relevance today.
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Human Genes Not Patentable, Supreme Court Says
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that the mere act of isolating a DNA sequence does not make human genes patentable. Mary-Claire King, who helped discover the breast cancer gene at the center of the court dispute, discusses the ruling and its implications for genetics.
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Denis Hayes on Being Green
Since his days as head of the Solar Energy Research Institute under President Jimmy Carter, Denis Hayes has been pushing to add more renewable energy sources to the country's energy portfolio. Hayes discusses the current U.S. market for renewables such as solar and wind, and gives his take on where he sees America's energy future headed.
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With Climate Change, No Happy Clams
Carbon emissions are slowly acidifying ocean waters, forcing marine life to adapt. Oysters and other shellfish, for example, may have a harder time building their shells, according to NOAA's Richard Feely. At Quilcene, Washington's Taylor Shellfish Hatchery, research director Benoit Eudeline says he's already seeing those effects.
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