Science

Science

3-D Scanning Sonar Brings Light To Deep Ocean Shipwrecks

3:56pm January 04, 2015

In San Francisco Bay, researchers are using new technology to investigate shipwrecks. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with James Delgado, director of Maritime Heritage at NOAA, about what they've found.

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Dr. Michael Poshkus treats inmates with hepatitis C at the John J. Moran Medium Security facility in Cranston, R.I. Some 12 to 35 percent of inmates nationwide are afflicted with the chronic liver disease.

Costly Hepatitis C Drugs Threaten To Bust Prison Budgets

3:45pm January 04, 2015

by Kristin Gourlay

Inmates in the U.S. have a high rate of infection with chronic hepatitis C — up to 35 percent or more by some estimates. New drugs introduced this year can cure the disease quickly, but at a cost.

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Science

Taking On Racial Profiling With Data

3:21pm January 04, 2015

A year ago, Phillip Atiba Goff, president of UCLA's Center for Policing Equity, started working with police departments to build a database on racial profiling. NPR's Arun Rath talks with him about its progress.

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To Stop Teen Drinking Parties, Fine The Parents

3:18pm January 04, 2015

by Patti Neighmond

For some teenagers, parties with alcohol are almost a rite of passage. Surveys show the vast majority of parents in these homes know the alcohol is flowing. Cities are now cracking down on the adults.

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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.

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

3:08pm January 04, 2015

by Rebecca Hersher

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.

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Science

Study Shows Riding The Quiet Car Is Crushing Your Spirit

2:59pm January 04, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

An experiment in Chicago randomly assigned train and bus riders to either talk to the stranger next to them or commute quietly. The result? Even for introverts, silence leaves you sadder.

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Stephen Hawking Gets A Voice Upgrade

2:58pm January 04, 2015

The theoretical physicist has been using the same communication system for more than 20 years, until now. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Horst Haussecker of Intel about the new and faster technology.

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A Drug Might Heal Spinal Injuries By Sparking Nerve Growth

2:56pm January 04, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

A neurologist's unorthodox thinking led to an experimental drug that allows trapped nerve fibers to grow again. And that growth helps amplify signals that restored movement in laboratory rats.

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Science

Faith And Aquarium Pumps: The Stuff Of Science In 2014

12:20pm January 04, 2015

It may seem scientists are aloof geniuses who churn out discoveries. Joe Palca's NPR series, Joe's Big Idea, shows us how science really works. He reviews 2014 highlights with NPR's Rachel Martin.

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Science

Despite Last Year's Failures, Many Still Make Resolutions

12:20pm January 04, 2015

Did you make a New Year's resolution? If you did, our data expert Mona Chalabi says you're in the 44 percent of Americans who did. She tells NPR's Rachel Martin that keeping to them is another story.

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