Accessibility links
Science The latest health and science news. Updates on medicine, healthy living, nutrition, drugs, diet, and advances in science and technology. Subscribe to the Health & Science podcast.

Science

Environment

Taking Stock Of America's Toxic Sites And The Millions Living Near Them

A National Geographic article looks at toxic waste sites in the U.S. and the more than 49 million Americans who live near them. NPR's Eric Westervelt talks with writer Paul Voosen about his piece.

Taking Stock Of America's Toxic Sites And The Millions Living Near Them

Listen · 3:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/367600017/367600018" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Millennials Might Be 'Generation Twin.' Is That A Bad Thing?

Mike (left) and Matt (right) Gragnani are 25-year-old identical twins. Together, they've been able to buy an apartment and start a business before many of their peers. Courtesy of Mike Gragnani hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Mike Gragnani

New Boom

Millennials Might Be 'Generation Twin.' Is That A Bad Thing?

Between 1981 and 2012, 1 million extra twins were born in the U.S. One economist says all of those twins could be hurting the economy — but another expert points out some perks of twinhood.

Millennials Might Be 'Generation Twin.' Is That A Bad Thing?

Listen · 4:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/362557764/367424806" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Books

The Mystery Of The Missing Brains

KUT 90.5

For decades, a rare collection of human remains sat in a basement closet at the University of Texas. A new book tells the story of that collection — and the enduring mysteries that surround it.

The Mystery Of The Missing Brains

Listen · 3:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/367362443/367362444" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How Dogs Understand What We Say

Do you want to go to the park? Mango Doucleff, of San Francisco, responds to her favorite command by perking up her ears and tilting her head. Michaeleen Doucleff/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Michaeleen Doucleff/NPR

Shots - Health News

How Dogs Understand What We Say

Dogs pay close attention to the emotion in our voices, but what about the meaning of words? A clever experiment with 250 canines shows that dogs understand more of our speech than previously thought.

How Dogs Understand What We Say

Listen · 3:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/367092004/367154378" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Can Breeders Cure What Ails Our Breast-Heavy Turkeys?

A 40-pound tom turkey flaps his wing as Chris Conley carries him to a pen at Raymond's Turkey Farm in Methuen, Mass., on Friday. The farm raises approximately 20,000 broad-breasted white turkeys per year. Elise Amendola/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Elise Amendola/AP

The Salt

Can Breeders Cure What Ails Our Breast-Heavy Turkeys?

The standard commercial American turkey is the product of decades of intense selective breeding. But breeding for efficiency and size has created new health problems scientists must grapple with.

Scientists Analyze Skeletal Remains From Vampire Graveyard

Lab scientists are trying to understand why some corpses buried in northwestern Poland were singled out for special anti-vampire treatments, such as putting a sickle around the neck.

Scientists Analyze Skeletal Remains From Vampire Graveyard

Listen · 3:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366956628/366956629" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Hidden Brain

Search For Political Common Ground Is Difficult, Research Shows

New research into the nature of intractable political conflicts might shed some light on how to address the perennial arguments that break out across Thanksgiving tables.

Search For Political Common Ground Is Difficult, Research Shows

Listen · 4:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366956600/366956601" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Environment

Shrinking Sea Ice Could Put Polar Bears In Grave Peril By 2100

A new study looks at the future of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and finds that by the end of this century, the region might be ice-free for 2 to 5 months, something that puts bears in grave peril.

Shrinking Sea Ice Could Put Polar Bears In Grave Peril By 2100

Listen · 3:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366851836/366851837" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Health

Colorectal Cancer Cases Are Dropping — Except Among Young Adults

The number of Americans getting and dying from colorectal cancer has been dropping steadily except for one group — younger adults.

Colorectal Cancer Cases Are Dropping — Except Among Young Adults

Listen · 3:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366851864/366851865" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Environment

Lower Ozone Standard Would Raise The Compliance Bar For Business

Public health groups say lower levels will benefit people who suffer from asthma or other respiratory illnesses. Business groups say it's another expensive hoop to jump through.

Lower Ozone Standard Would Raise The Compliance Bar For Business

Listen · 3:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366851829/366851830" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ebola Is Changing Course In Liberia. Will The U.S. Military Adapt?

A helicopter's eye view of a new ETU, funded by USAID and built by Save the Children. Kelly McEvers/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Kelly McEvers/NPR

Goats and Soda

Ebola Is Changing Course In Liberia. Will The U.S. Military Adapt?

The U.S. had planned to build 17 treatment units across Liberia, one in each county's major town. Now that more cases are appearing in remote areas, the Army may need to rethink its strategy.

Ebola Is Changing Course In Liberia. Will The U.S. Military Adapt?

Listen · 4:26
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366312454/366620597" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How Can Vultures Eat Rotten Roadkill And Survive?

A turkey vulture makes quick work of a dead rabbit at Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline park in Oakland, Calif. Sebastian Kennerknecht/Minden/Corbis hide caption

toggle caption
Sebastian Kennerknecht/Minden/Corbis

Shots - Health News

How Can Vultures Eat Rotten Roadkill And Survive?

Vultures consume toxic bacteria that would sicken or kill humans. Stouter immune systems, colonies of helpful microbes and potent stomach acid may help the carrion eaters gorge with abandon.

How Can Vultures Eat Rotten Roadkill And Survive?

Listen · 3:22
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366545524/366620573" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Animals

New Bird Species Sings Sweetly In Sulawesi

Birds are one of the most widely studied forms of life on the planet. And, there are still new species out there to discover — as one young researcher found recently in a forest in Indonesia.

New Bird Species Sings Sweetly In Sulawesi

Listen · 2:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366504669/366504670" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
As Ebola Pingpongs In Liberia, Cases Disappear Into The Jungle

A hand-drawn map on the wall of a rural clinic shows health workers where a woman with Ebola may be hiding. Kelly McEvers/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Kelly McEvers/NPR

Goats and Soda

As Ebola Pingpongs In Liberia, Cases Disappear Into The Jungle

A woman is thought to be spreading Ebola in a remote village. So health workers spend four hours trekking through the bush to track her down. By the time they make it, it's too late.

As Ebola Pingpongs In Liberia, Cases Disappear Into The Jungle

Listen · 7:17
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366381386/366504697" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

'Queen Of Carbon' Among Medal Of Freedom Honorees

Audie Cornish speaks with Mildred Dresselhaus about receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in physics. The 84-year-old is a professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at MIT.

'Queen Of Carbon' Among Medal Of Freedom Honorees

Listen · 3:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/366379355/366379356" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript