Science

Starting this month, alert consumers may have noticed labels on some foods that say "bioengineered" or "derived from bioengineering," per new federal standards.

GMO is out, 'bioengineered' is in, as new U.S. food labeling rules take effect

4:36pm January 05, 2022

by Joe Hernandez

A new national standard is meant to give consumers clarity about how their food was produced, but critics say the rules will introduce more confusion and don't go far enough.

Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi of Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine have developed a COVID-19 vaccine that could prove beneficial to countries with fewer resources.

A Texas team comes up with a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer

3:52pm January 05, 2022

by Joe Palca

Peter Hotez and Maria Elena Bottazzi used an oldie-but- goodie technology to devise a vaccine that's easy to make — and relatively cheap. India has already ordered 300 million doses.

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On Tuesday, engineers successfully finished deploying the James Webb Space Telescope's sunshield, seen here during testing in December 2020 at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, Calif.

Science

Zero-gravity ballet: James Webb Space Telescope deploys sunshield and mirror

3:07pm January 05, 2022

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope successfully deployed its secondary mirror Wednesday after unfolding its enormous sunshield a day earlier.

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People wait in line for a COVID-19 test at a testing site in Los Angeles on Tuesday. California is starting to feel the full wrath of the omicron variant. Hospitalizations have jumped nearly 50% since Christmas and models show that in a month the state co

The CDC resists pushback and says a test to get out of COVID isolation is not needed

8:25pm January 04, 2022

Those who contracted COVID-19 can end their isolation after five days while continuing to wear a well-fitting mask for an additional five days, according to the agency.

People line up to get tested for COVID-19 in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. More than 1 million positive COVID-19 tests were recorded in the U.S. on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

More than 1 million Americans were diagnosed with COVID over the long holiday weekend

4:45pm January 04, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

The U.S. hit a new record high for infections in a single day on Monday, with 1,082,549 new cases recorded. Hospitalizations are also on the rise, but not at the same rate.

Richard Leakey, whose discoveries helped prove mankind began in Africa, is dead at 77

1:50pm January 04, 2022

by Jackie Northam

Famed Kenyan conservationist and fossil hunter Richard Leakey has died at age 77. His discoveries helped prove Africa was the cradle of civilization.

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What the numbers tell us, or don't tell us, about the omicron surge

4:57pm January 03, 2022

In the midst of record high COVID case numbers in the U.S., NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with biostatistician Natalie Dean about how to assess COVID metrics.

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Richard Leakey, Kenyan wildlife conservationist, places a rhino horn to be burned at the zoo in Dvur Kralove, Czech Republic, in 2017. Leakey, known for his fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, has died at 77.

Famed fossil hunter and conservationist Richard Leakey dies at 77

1:37pm January 03, 2022

by Scott Neuman

Leakey made important contributions to our understanding of human origins through his fossil finds. He later gained fame for taking on poachers who threatened to wipe out Kenya's elephants and rhinos.

A nurse practitioner fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Beaumont Health offices in Southfield, Mich., on Nov. 5.

The FDA authorizes a Pfizer booster shot for children ages 12 to 15

12:47pm January 03, 2022

by Scott Hensley

The authorization comes in the midst of an explosion of COVID-19 cases nationwide driven by the omicron variant — a surge that has brought a spike in pediatric hospitalizations.

A woman walks by a closed store in a shopping mall in Montreal, Sunday as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada. Some new measures put in place by the Quebec government, including the closure of stores, go into effect today.

Quebec begins retail store closures amid new COVID-19 wave

1:14am January 03, 2022

by The Associated Press

Quebec proceeded with the first of three planned closures of non-essential retail stores Sunday as the government tries to curb a new wave of COVID-19 driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant.