Science

Cage-free chickens in a barn near Hershey, Pa., get to roam and perch on steel rods (but they don't go outside). In September, McDonald's said it would buy only cage-free eggs, inspiring several other food companies to follow suit.

Science

The Year In Eggs: Everyone's Going Cage-Free, Except Supermarkets

5:21pm December 30, 2015

by Eliza Barclay

Egg producers who for years said they couldn't give up cages for egg-laying hens made the switch to cage-free in 2015. Big egg buyers, including McDonald's, Nestle and Subway, made commitments, too.

Science

VIDEO: Meet The Bots That Beat The Obstacles

5:00pm December 30, 2015

by Merrit Kennedy

A robot unveiled by Disney researchers can drive up vertical surfaces. Other machines pushing boundaries: a bot that can jump on water without sinking and a bot that flies like a bird.

To Conquer Fear, A Man Turns Rejection Into A Game

10:46am December 30, 2015

by Alix Spiegel

Jason Comely was terrified of being rejected. The only cure, he figured, was to get rejected on purpose, once a day. It started to hurt less and less. And then it actually started to become fun.

A 'Celtic Curse' Has Roots Stretching Back To The Bronze Age

8:28pm December 29, 2015

by Rae Ellen Bichell

In people with hemochromatosis, iron builds up and can overload the heart and other organs. Geneticists looking at 5,000-year-old human remains say the disorder may have had evolutionary advantages.

Science

How The Bias Known As Gambler's Fallacy Affects Our Lives

8:02pm December 29, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

The fallacy is that we are surprised when things that are supposed to vary a lot, come down one way a number of times. We feel the next case must break the pattern. In reality, there is no pattern.

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Life's Many Codas: Maya Shankar's Path From Juilliard To The White House

7:01pm December 29, 2015

by NPR Staff

Shankar was well on her way to an extraordinary career as a violinist when an injury closed that door. This week, we look at how she wound up at the top of another field: the social sciences.

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Two cars are submerged in floodwaters in a park in Kimmswick, Mo. Gov. Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency because of widespread flooding around the state, which has closed many roads.

Towns Along The Mississippi River Evacuate As Floodwaters Swell

6:37pm December 29, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon activated the National Guard as flooding closed interstate highways and forced people from their homes. The river is expected to crest Thursday at its highest level since 1993.

Medical workers surround 34-day-old Noubia, the last known patient to contract Ebola in Guinea, as she was released from a Doctors Without Borders treatment center in Conakry on Nov. 28.

A Cause For Cautious Celebration: Guinea Is Ebola-Free

5:38pm December 29, 2015

by Maanvi Singh

After two years and over 2,500 deaths, the country's epidemic has officially ended, the World Health Organization says. Health groups will be watching to ensure the virus doesn't re-emerge.

Science

A/B Testing Goes Mainstream: Used By Stores, Campaigns, Even Schools

5:47am December 29, 2015

by Steve Henn

As our world moves more and more into the digital realm, industries that used to be aligned with art and craft are becoming more scientific. Design in particular is increasingly done by the numbers.

Life's Many Codas: Maya Shankar's Path From Juilliard To The White House

12:00am December 29, 2015

by NPR Staff

Shankar was well on her way to an extraordinary career as a violinist when an injury closed that door. This week, we look at how she wound up at the top of another field: the social sciences.

Queue Listen Now