U.S., European heat waves 'virtually impossible' without climate change, study finds
Punishing heat waves have gripped America, Asia and Europe this July. A new study finds human-caused climate change is a major reason why.
Science
Affirmative action for rich kids: It's more than just legacy admissions
A blockbuster new study finds that America's elite private colleges are systematically giving huge advantages to rich kids over their equally bright, yet less privileged peers.
An ultra-processed diet made this doctor sick. Now he's studying why
A diet composed of 80% ultra-processed foods led one British doctor to gain weight and feel unwell. Now he's trying to nail down the health effects of this type of diet, which many Americans eat.
Young men making quartz countertops are facing lung damage. One state is taking action
Countertops made of the engineered stone "quartz" are incredibly popular, but public health experts say cutting this material unsafely can expose workers to deadly dust.
Look up! The Perseid meteor shower is back
The Perseid meteor shower is here, and through late August people in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to see 60 to 80 meteors every hour at its peak. No special equipment needed, just a dark sky!
New study finds a genetic variant may explain why some get COVID but have no symptoms
NPR's Leila Fadel talks with Dr. Jill Hollenbach, a professor of neurology and epidemiology at UC San Francisco who organized a study of genes linked to asymptomatic COVID-19.
Agriculture industry takes steps to reduce methane, a potent greenhouse gas
The biggest source of climate-warming methane in the U.S. is animal agriculture. America's biggest cattle feedlot operator is funding new research, with motives beyond reducing greenhouse gases.
Mosquitoes spread malaria. These researchers want them to fight it instead
Scientists have used a gene-editing technique to make mosquitos allies in the fight against malaria. Environmentalists are troubled by the idea of genetically modifying wild animals.
An 11-year-old boy caught a fish with 'human-like teeth' in an Oklahoma pond
A boy in Oklahoma reeled in an alarmingly weird catch this past weekend: a pacu, the South American fish that's a cousin of the piranha — and whose humanlike teeth have long struck fear in swimmers.
As seas get hotter, South Florida gets slammed by an ocean heat wave
A dramatic increase in ocean temperatures around South Florida in early July caught scientists off-guard. They're now rushing to help struggling coral on the only inshore reef in the continental U.S.