Science

Science

Correction: Rosalind Franklin's crucial contribution to the discovery of DNA's structure

4:12pm March 01, 2023

A piece that aired on NPR this week about the discovery of DNA's structure neglected to mention the significant contribution of Rosalind Franklin to that scientific milestone.

A pioneering gender-affirming health institute opened in 1919 in Berlin

4:12pm March 01, 2023

The Institute for Sexual Research, founded in 1919, pioneered modern gender-affirming health care. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with medical historian Brandy Schillace on this piece of queer history.

Author Kate Zernike dissects the years-long fight for gender equality at MIT

4:12pm March 01, 2023

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with author Kate Zernike about her new book The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science.

Science

People who think they're attractive are less likely to wear masks, study says

6:13am March 01, 2023

A study published in the Frontiers of Psychology found that the higher a person's regard for their appearance — the more they thought that wearing a mask made them less attractive.

Science

You can still get health benefits, even if you don't have a lot of time to exercise

5:57am March 01, 2023

The British Journal of Sports Medicine says if we can just squeeze in 11 minutes of moderate exercise everyday to get the heart pumping, we'd cut our health risks by almost a quarter.

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Security guards stand in front of the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 11, 2020, after the market had been closed following an outbreak of COVID-19 there. Two studies document samples of SARS-CoV-2 from stalls where live animals were sold.

What does the science say about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic?

10:19pm February 28, 2023

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Two U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly support the lab leak theory — with low-to-moderate confidence. No evidence has been shared. Scientists have strong evidence of animal spillover at a market..

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In an appearance on Fox News, FBI Director Christopher Wray reiterates the agency's position about the origins of COVID and a potential lab leak. The assessment is not new, but it's far from universal.

Wray publicly comments on the FBI's position on COVID's origins, adding political fire

7:44pm February 28, 2023

by Washington Desk

On Fox News, the FBI director reiterated the agency's assessment that COVID was unleashed after a potential lab incident. That's not the consensus among intelligence and scientific communities.

70 years ago, two scientists changed the world by discovering DNA's structure

4:16pm February 28, 2023

by Joe Palca

On Feb. 28, 1953, two scientists named James Watson and Francis Crick had a flash of insight that changed the world. They discovered the double helix structure of DNA.

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IMPACTS mission researchers inside the research plane, monitoring weather data being collected by onboard instruments.

Scientists are flying into snowstorms to explore winter weather mysteries

5:01am February 27, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A plane loaded with scientists and their equipment has been flying through frozen skies this winter, sampling cloud particles to improve predictions of which storms will wreak havoc on the ground.

Science

Why did some dinosaurs grow so large? Researchers have new insights

8:11am February 26, 2023

by Eyder Peralta

Researchers think they understand how some dinosaurs grew so large. NPR's Eyder Peralta talks with Michael D'Emic, paleontologist at Adelphi University.