Science

President Obama, seen here inspecting solar panels on the roof of the Department of Energy, has submitted a U.S. pledge to reduce greenhouse gases.

U.S. Promises To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions Up To 28 Percent By 2025

7:57pm March 31, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The new target was submitted to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Tuesday. It is part of a plan for a new international treaty to be hammered out in December in Paris.

Smart phones contain a silicon chip inside the camera that might be used to detect rare, high energy particles from outer space.

Want To Do A Little Astrophysics? This App Detects Cosmic Rays

11:40am March 31, 2015

by Joe Palca

Two physicists keen to detect a a very rare, high energy particle think you and I can help. The researchers are working on an app that would allow any smartphone to detect rare particles from space.

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After Snowden, The NSA Faces Recruitment Challenge

10:16am March 31, 2015

by Geoff Brumfiel

To keep its code-breaking prowess, the National Security Agency must recruit scores of the brightest students in math and computer science each year. The Snowden revelations are hurting those efforts.

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Johnny Reynolds ignored diabetes symptoms and put off going to the doctor for years when he didn't have health insurance. He was afraid he couldn't afford treatment.

States That Expand Medicaid Detect More Cases Of Diabetes

4:06pm March 30, 2015

by Anders Kelto

Researchers say their study suggests that more diabetes is being detected in particular states because, thanks to Medicaid, more poor people have access to screening and care.

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The male Asian subterranean termite (brown abdomen) and the female Formosan subterranean termite (orange abdomen) are surrounded by their hybrid offspring (eggs, larvae, workers, soldiers) in an eight-month-old colony.

'Super-Termite' Could Be Even More Destructive Than Parent Species

3:19pm March 30, 2015

by Greg Allen

In South Florida, the world's two most destructive termite species could be mating because of climate change. Researchers say if the hybrids colonize, they could pose an even greater economic threat.

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Dr. Shane Avery (right) and Kevin Collins, Scott County's coroner, say the prescription opioid problem in their community has led to an HIV outbreak that's still expanding.

Indiana's HIV Spike Prompts New Calls For Needle Exchanges Statewide

2:32pm March 30, 2015

by Jake Harper

Southeastern Indiana is battling an HIV outbreak. The new cases are mostly linked to injection drug use and have reignited a debate over needle exchanges, which are currently illegal in the state.

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Critic Faults Alcoholics Anonymous For Lack Of Evidence

9:34am March 30, 2015

by NPR Staff

Writer Gabrielle Glaser challenges the usefulness of Alcoholics Anonymous in April's issue of The Atlantic. The program's tenets aren't based in science, she says, and other options may work better.

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John Hargrove, a trainer who spent 14 years working with orcas, mostly at SeaWorld, eventually became disillusioned with the company's treatment of its killer whales.

Former Orca Trainer For SeaWorld Condemns Its Practices

9:12pm March 28, 2015

John Hargrove says he left SeaWorld after seeing "devastating effects of captivity" on orcas. His new book is Beneath The Surface. SeaWorld's Christopher Dold says such criticism is "unfounded."

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One possible result in the Mighty Mini Mammals division of 2015's Mammal March Madness tournament. If the species that's seeded highest always wins its bracket, the fennec fox will beat out the rest of the division and advance to the final four.

Science

Could A Quokka Beat A Numbat? Oddsmakers Say Yes

7:05pm March 28, 2015

by Adam Cole

In "Mammal March Madness," you win or die. No basketball in this tournament — it's a simulated survival-of-the-fittest game set up by evolutionary biologists. The battle cry? Mammals suck ... milk!

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Science

Birder Finds Panama Packed With Species, But No Harpy Eagles

10:56am March 28, 2015

There are more species of birds in Panama than all of North America. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Ray Brown, host of the radio program Talkin' Birds, who just returned from the country.

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