Siblings Sofia Oliveira, 18, and Andre Oliveira, 15, pose for a picture at the beach in Costa da Caparica, south of Lisbon, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. Ana Brigida/AP hide caption
Science
The itchy sensation alerts our bodies to potential threats on our skin, but in some cases, itch can become a chronic condition. Warumpha Pojchananaphasiri/Getty Images hide caption
Can't stop scratching? Here's what could be behind that itch that won't go away
Dried Psilocybe mushrooms on a glass plate. James MacDonald/Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption
As psychedelic-assisted therapy grows, so does interest from a new group: chaplains
The sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. Keegan Barber/NASA hide caption
NASA asteroid sample lands safely in Utah before being whisked away by helicopter
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
Theoretical physicist and YouTuber Sabine Hossenfelder, shown in a photo taken in December at the University of Oxford in England, turned to YouTube "to keep my sanity" during the dark days of the pandemic. Anthony Sajdler hide caption
Clarence DeMar in 1932. Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection hide caption
A study of this champion's heart helped prove the benefits of exercise
New Hampshire Public Radio
A study of this champion's heart helped prove the benefits of exercise
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
New analysis has found a source of carbon within Europa, Jupiter's moon that is believed to hold massive amounts of liquid water. This view of the moon was created from images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption
Last month team members practiced retrieving the sample return capsule, using a replica, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. NASA/Keegan Barber hide caption
NASA effort to bring home asteroid rocks will end this weekend in triumph or a crash
To woo a cockatoo, scientists find having your own drumsticks and rhythm is key
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
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
A diver in the Revillagigedo Archipelago interacts with giant mantas as part of a citizen science cruise led by Dr. Alfredo Giron. Alfredo Giron hide caption
A study of nearly 300,000 people in the U.K. found that people who maintained at least five of seven healthy habits cut their risk of depression by 57%. Maria Stavreva/Getty Images hide caption
We've heard we need more fiber in our diets. Here are 8 easy tips for getting there
Since its launch, the James Webb Space Telescope has sent back detailed images and spectra of galaxies from when the universe was just 900 million years old. NASA, ESA, CSA, Simon Lilly (ETH Zurich), Daichi Kashino (Nagoya University), Jorryt Matthee (ETH Zurich), Christina Eilers (MIT), Rongmon Bordoloi (NCSU), Ruari Mackenzie (ETH Zurich) hide caption
Why the earliest galaxies are sparking drama and controversy among astronomers
Saucer-like lenticular clouds appear over Turkiye's Bursa province in the early morning hours of January 19, 2023. Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption
Experts say the new COVID boosters are a much closer match to currently circulating variants than prior vaccines and boosters. Frederick J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The cover of Ben Goldfarb's latest book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping The Future of Our Planet Courtesy of W.W. Norton and Co. hide caption
From "massive squishings" to the insect apocalypse, roads are terrorizing nature
A person receives a COVID-19 vaccination dose, during a free distribution of COVID-19 rapid test kits for those who received vaccination shots or booster shots, at Union Station on January 7, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Gerhardt Boukes, chief scientist at Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, formulates mRNA for use in a vaccine against COVID-19. The company — based in Cape Town, South Africa — is the linchpin of a global project to enable low- and middle-income countries to make mRNA vaccines against all manner of diseases. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption