Science

Why hikers on the Pacific Coast Trail are coming down with norovirus

4:59pm September 26, 2023

by Pien Huang

Hikers are getting sick with norovirus in the wilderness. A CDC investigation finds that poor hygiene along the Pacific Crest Trail — and other outdoor settings — is to blame.

An International Energy Agency report says countries are setting records building solar power projects like this one in Mona, Utah in 2022.

A new climate change report offers something unique: hope

3:49pm September 26, 2023

by Jeff Brady

Electric vehicles and solar power are growing quickly and offering hope the world could still meet climate change goals.

Science

After 7 years, NASA's Osiris-REx returns to earth... with souvenirs!

5:07pm September 25, 2023

NASA's Osiris-REx mission brought back asteroid samples untainted by Earth's atmosphere.

Queue Listen Now

Siblings Sofia Oliveira, 18, and Andre Oliveira, 15, pose for a picture at the beach in Costa da Caparica, south of Lisbon, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

Young climate activists challenging 32 governments will get their day in court

4:34am September 25, 2023

by The Associated Press

Six young activists are due Wednesday at the European Court of Human Rights, where they're accusing 32 governments of violating their human rights for failing to adequately address climate change.

The sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range.

Science

NASA asteroid sample lands safely in Utah before being whisked away by helicopter

8:10pm September 24, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA's Osiris-REx mission has successfully returned a pristine sample of asteroid back to Earth. This cupful-or-so of space rock could shed light on the solar system's origins.

Queue Listen Now

Dried Psilocybe mushrooms on a glass plate.

As psychedelic-assisted therapy grows, so does interest from a new group: chaplains

11:04am September 24, 2023

by Deena Prichep

Chaplains provide spiritual counsel at some of life's most raw moments. With psychedelic legalization spreading, some chaplains think this role should include facilitating psychedelic trips.

Queue Listen Now

Ekemeni Riley is the managing director of Aligning Science Across Parkinson's, a research initiative that worked on an effort to bring a more diverse population into a study on genes that carry a greater risk for the disease. A team that included scientists from Lagos, London and the U.S. found a previously unknown gene variant that can nearly quadruple the risk for people of African ancestry.

Risk factor for Parkinson's discovered in genes from people of African descent

9:54am September 24, 2023

by Jon Hamilton

An effort to diversify genetic studies has led to a discovery about Parkinson's disease in people of African descent.

Theoretical physicist and YouTuber Sabine Hossenfelder, shown in a photo taken in December at the University of Oxford in England, turned to YouTube "to keep my sanity" during the dark days of the pandemic.

Science

She got famous on YouTube. Now it helps fund her research in quantum gravity

8:01am September 23, 2023

by Scott Neuman

This theoretical physicist and mathematician drops a new video several times a month, dispensing her dry wit and pithy wisdom to a loyal fan base of nerds across the internet.

A study of this champion's heart helped prove the benefits of exercise

5:00am September 23, 2023

by Paul Cuno-Booth

More than a 100 years ago, doctors thought that too much running or other vigorous activity could harm us. Marathoner Clarence DeMar proved them wrong.

Queue Listen Now

This mosaic composed of images of the asteroid Bennu taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft shows its surprisingly rubble-strewn surface.

Science

NASA effort to bring home asteroid rocks will end this weekend in triumph or a crash

4:30pm September 22, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA's first effort to retrieve samples from an asteroid will send a capsule that contains extraterrestrial pebbles and dust plunging towards a Utah desert on Sunday.