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Ekemeni Riley is the managing director of Aligning Science Across Parkinson's, a research initiative that worked on an effort to bring a more diverse population into a study on genes that carry a greater risk for the disease. A team that included scientists from Lagos, London and the U.S. found a previously unknown gene variant that can nearly quadruple the risk for people of African ancestry. Anna Rose Layden for NPR hide caption

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Anna Rose Layden for NPR

EIS officer Arran Hamlet walks into the Government Meadows site to conduct environmental sampling for norovirus. Mia Catharine Mattioli/CDC hide caption

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Mia Catharine Mattioli/CDC

A photo of Jeffrey Ramirez is seen at his parents' home in Vista, California. He was diagnosed with cancer while in prison and died at age 41. Ariana Drehsler for NPR hide caption

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Ariana Drehsler for NPR

1 in 4 inmate deaths happens in the same federal prison. Why?

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Clarence DeMar in 1932. Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection hide caption

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Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection

A study of this champion's heart helped prove the benefits of exercise

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Advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended a new RSV vaccine to protect newborns by immunizing their moms late in pregnancy. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,/AP hide caption

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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,/AP

Jon Hetherington, 34, from Oregon, originally planned to attend the Seattle show of Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour, but couldn't fly because his wheelchair exceeded the plane's cargo dimensions. He posted about the saga on TikTok and a representative for Beyoncé arranged for him to attend her Dallas show. Jon Hetherington hide caption

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Jon Hetherington

Archaeologists dug into a riverbank in Zambia and uncovered what they call the earliest known wood construction by humans. The half-million year-old artifacts could change how we see Stone-Age people. Larry Barham and Geoff Duller/University of Liverpool hide caption

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Larry Barham and Geoff Duller/University of Liverpool

World's oldest wooden structure defies Stone-Age stereotypes

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To woo a cockatoo, scientists find having your own drumsticks and rhythm is key

Today on the show, All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly joins Regina G. Barber and Maria Godoy for our bi-weekly science roundup. They talk through some of the latest eye-catching science news, including the percussion-intensive mating life of cockatoos, what pink diamonds today tell us about the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Nuna and the latest on the Nipah outbreak in India.

To woo a cockatoo, scientists find having your own drumsticks and rhythm is key

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Health advocates and community members gathered in Washington D.C. in mid September to push the Biden administration to take additional action on medical debt in an event hosted by nonprofit Community Catalyst. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Community Catalyst hide caption

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Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Community Catalyst

Medical debt could soon be barred from ruining your credit score

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The world hopes to enact a pandemic treaty by May 2024. Will it succeed or flail?

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Ozempic, approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Type 2 diabetes, is racking up blockbuster sales because many people are taking it to lose weight. As more people try it, reports to the FDA about possible side effects are rising. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

As Ozempic use grows, so do reports of possible mental health side effects

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Anti-abortion demonstrators gather outside Planned Parenthood's Water Street Health Center in Milwaukee on Monday, Sept. 2023. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin began offering abortions at the clinic that day after not doing so for more than a year. Margaret Faust/ WPR hide caption

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Margaret Faust/ WPR

The California company iHealth is one of 12 U.S. manufacturers getting an investment from the federal government to provide free tests by mail to people ahead of the winter COVID season. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

About 12 million Americans qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, and they face relentless red tape accessing health care. A bipartisan fix that could help them is in the works. Getty Images hide caption

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Adam Kaye and his mother, Marti Kaye, spend every Sunday together. Adam normally plays some of her favorite songs on his guitar, with Marti whistling or humming along. But he recently had shoulder surgery and won't be able to strum a guitar for a while. Dustin Jones/NPR hide caption

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Dustin Jones/NPR

Still there: Alzheimer's has ravaged his mother's memory, but music brings her back

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Bulbul Aktar, a shasthya kormi, or community health worker, with the malaria elimination program in Bangladesh, goes door to door to treat malaria patients. "This is my job, my duty," says Aktar. "Every single home, I have to know about them and visit them." Fatima Tuj Johora for NPR hide caption

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Fatima Tuj Johora for NPR

Malaria is on the ropes in Bangladesh. But the parasite is punching back

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Smoky haze from wildfires in Canada obscures New York City's Empire State Building this year. The air in the U.S. has improved over the past 50 years, but smoke pollution from growing wildfires erodes much of that progress. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption

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David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Women, aged 40 and older, gathered in Chicago to jump Double Dutch during the club's annual playdate. Amiyah Dyer/40+ Double Dutch Club hide caption

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Amiyah Dyer/40+ Double Dutch Club

Jumping for joy and sisterhood, the 40+ Double Dutch Club holds a playdate for women

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