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

Sunday

Saturday

NASA And SpaceX Launch 1st Astronauts To Orbit From U.S. Since 2011

A SpaceX Falcon 9, with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken in the Dragon crew capsule, lifts off from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Saturday. David J. Phillip/AP hide caption

toggle caption
David J. Phillip/AP

NASA And SpaceX Launch 1st Astronauts To Orbit From U.S. Since 2011

After an aborted launch attempt to the International Space Station on Wednesday, the weather cleared and the launch went ahead on Saturday.

NASA And SpaceX Launch 1st Astronauts To Orbit From U.S. Since 2011

Listen · 3:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/864514995/866119796" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Health

What Happened Today: Ex-Police Officer In Minneapolis Arrested, Pandemic Questions

NPR's Ari Shapiro and Michel Martin are joined by NPR's science correspondent Jon Hamilton to talk about the information about the coronavirus learned since the beginning of the pandemic.

What Happened Today: Ex-Police Officer In Minneapolis Arrested, Pandemic Questions

Listen · 11:18
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/865986523/866012358" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Health

Doctor Answers Listener Questions About The Latest Information On The Pandemic

Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, answers listener questions about immunity, the probability for another pandemic and the latest information on the coronavirus.

Doctor Answers Listener Questions About The Latest Information On The Pandemic

Listen · 8:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/865986541/866015403" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The Rural/Urban Divide; Safe Summer Activities

People ride their bikes on the Brooklyn Bridge, amid the coronavirus pandemic, on May 26 in New York City. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

The Rural/Urban Divide; Safe Summer Activities

Democrats want another coronavirus relief bill. A sticking point for Republicans is $600 a week in federal unemployment benefits — which means some workers have been able to collect more money on unemployment than they did in their previous jobs.

The Rural/Urban Divide; Safe Summer Activities

Listen · 12:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/864736840/1200113014" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

What Scientist Do And Don't Know About The Spread Of The Coronavirus

Scientists are trying to answer various questions about the coronavirus four months after the first confirmed case in the U.S.: why it spreads, who transmits it and where the spread is happening.

What Scientist Do And Don't Know About The Spread Of The Coronavirus

Listen · 7:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/865685791/865685792" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Climate Change And Deforestation Mean Earth's Trees Are Younger And Shorter

The ancient Gondwana Rainforests of Australia were damaged by recent wildfires. A new study finds the world lost roughly one-third of its old growth forest in the past century. Nathan Rott/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Nathan Rott/NPR

Environment And Energy Collaborative

Climate Change And Deforestation Mean Earth's Trees Are Younger And Shorter

A new study finds rising temperatures and climate-driven disasters are helping transform the very makeup of the world's forests. This has major implications for biodiversity and more warming.

What We Will ⁠— And Won't ⁠— Remember About The Pandemic
Miguel Navarro/Getty Images

Short Wave

What We Will ⁠— And Won't ⁠— Remember About The Pandemic

There's no doubt we're living through a Big Historic Event, but that doesn't necessarily mean we'll remember it all that well. Shayla Love, a senior staff writer for VICE, explains what memory research and events from the past say we will and won't remember about living through the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, why essential workers may remember this time differently from people who are staying home.

What We Will ⁠— And Won't ⁠— Remember About The Pandemic

Listen · 12:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/864474175/1200396784" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

National

What Happened Today: Boston Marathon Is Canceled, Vaccine Questions

NPR's science correspondent answers listener questions about the pace and process needed to develop a viable coronavirus vaccine.

What Happened Today: Boston Marathon Is Canceled, Vaccine Questions

Listen · 11:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/864605145/864622518" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Theory Vs. Reality: Why Our Economic Behavior Isn't Always Rational

Bilal Chaudhry, 16, picks up a dozen eggs to give to a person in a car during a free egg distribution in Cumru Township, PA. The distribution was held to help people during the COVID-19 outbreak. MediaNews Group via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
MediaNews Group via Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

Theory Vs. Reality: Why Our Economic Behavior Isn't Always Rational

We don't always behave the way economic models say we will. We don't save enough for retirement. We give money to charity. This week, why we act in ways that go against our "rational" self-interest.

Theory Vs. Reality: Why Our Economic Behavior Isn't Always Rational

Listen · 50:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/864335677/864547892" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Why Are Some Countries Doing Better Than Others?

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern briefs the media about the COVIS-19 coronavirus at the Parliament House in Wellington on April 27. Ardern claimed New Zealand had scored a significant victory against the spread of the coronavirus, as the country began a phased exit from lockdown. Mark Mitchell/POOL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mark Mitchell/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

Why Are Some Countries Doing Better Than Others?

A new study suggests the coronavirus is both more common and less deadly than it first appeared, NPR's Jon Hamilton reports.

Why Are Some Countries Doing Better Than Others?

Listen · 13:17
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/863621626/1200113018" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Pennsylvania Democrats Say They Weren't Told When GOP Member Tested Positive

Protesters demonstrate during a rally against Pennsylvania's stay-at-home order at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, May 15. While the public is temporarily banned from the capitol due to the coronavirus outbreak, lawmakers, including one who recently tested positive, are allowed to enter the building. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Matt Rourke/AP

Coronavirus Updates

Pennsylvania Democrats Say They Weren't Told When GOP Member Tested Positive

WITF

Democrats in Pennsylvania's House say they were kept in the dark for a week when a Republican colleague, who had been working in the State Capitol, tested positive for the coronavirus.

More Patients Seek Abortion Pills Online During Pandemic, But Face Restrictions

In this photo illustration, a person looks at an abortion pill (RU-486) for unintended pregnancy from Mifepristone displayed on a smartphone on May 8, 2020, in Arlington, Va. Under federal law, even in states where telemedicine abortion is legal, there are strict rules surrounding how the pill is dispensed. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

More Patients Seek Abortion Pills Online During Pandemic, But Face Restrictions

As more healthcare moves to online and telemedicine, some patients seeking abortions using pills are running into obstacles.

More Patients Seek Abortion Pills Online During Pandemic, But Face Restrictions

Listen · 3:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/863512837/869282877" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Pandemic Cut Down Car Traffic. Why Not Air Pollution?

A mostly empty highway through downtown Los Angeles on April 7. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

The Pandemic Cut Down Car Traffic. Why Not Air Pollution?

An NPR analysis of a key air pollutant showed levels have not changed dramatically since the pandemic curbed car traffic in the U.S. NPR science reporter Rebecca Hersher and NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer explain why — and what really makes our air dirty.

The Pandemic Cut Down Car Traffic. Why Not Air Pollution?

Listen · 14:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/862920439/1200396788" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript