Science

Tea Tuesdays: The Chemis-Tea Of Pouring The Perfect English-Style Cuppa

11:06am June 10, 2015

by Alison Bruzek

The British are very specific about how they take their tea: black, with milk and sugar. But steeping the optimal cup requires a surprising amount of chemistry. Here's a guide to the science.

Science

Smoking Pot Interferes With Math Skills, Study Finds

8:09am June 10, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

Researchers studying the effects of marijuana faced an obstacle: they couldn't create an exact control group. But a change in drug laws in the Netherlands offered a perfect laboratory.

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Science

Retailers Use Time To Their Advantage; More Impulse Products Sold

8:01am June 10, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

Retailers have learned that the more time consumers spend in a store, the more likely they'll make impulse purchases. Stores are adapting the "shopping experience" accordingly.

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Do Creativity And Schizophrenia Share A Small Genetic Link? Maybe

5:31pm June 09, 2015

by Angus Chen

The notion goes back to the ancients — that minds given to flights of fancy are on the healthy side of a spectrum that includes what we today call psychosis. An Icelandic gene study offers new clues.

Central Illinois corn and soybean farmer Tim Seifert loads his field planter with Syngenta insecticide while planting seed corn in 2011. Monsanto has made a bid to buy Syngenta for its pesticide business.

Monsanto, Angling For Global Pesticide Dominance, Woos Syngenta

5:18pm June 09, 2015

by Dan Charles

The world's biggest seed company wants to buy the world's biggest pesticide company. Syngenta is playing hard to get, but a veteran industry executive says the deal may happen.

To Beat Insomnia, Try Therapy For The Underlying Cause Instead Of Pills

2:47pm June 09, 2015

by Maanvi Singh

A review of the medical evidence finds that therapy can break the cycle of chronic sleeplessness by addressing the anxieties that cause many people to stay awake.

An image from NASA shows its Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator after launch Monday.

NASA's 'Flying Saucer' Test For Advanced Parachute Appears To Fail

7:35am June 09, 2015

by Bill Chappell

A giant balloon carried the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator to an altitude of 120,000 feet to test the device, which could be used on Mars missions. It seemed to deploy correctly, then tear apart.

Patient one: A businessman brought the Middle East respiratory syndrome to South Korea in early May. Since then, he has likely spread the virus to more than 20 other people. Several of those have passed the virus onto others.

Viral Superspreader? How One Man Triggered A Deadly MERS Outbreak

10:02pm June 08, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

In the past week, cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome have more than tripled in South Korea. Researchers now have a clue to why the outbreak has grown so large, so quickly.

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Both Sides Claim Victory Over EPA Fracking Study

7:28pm June 08, 2015

The Environmental Protection Agency has found no evidence that fracking has let to widespread, systemic pollution of water. Correspondent Jeff Brady tells NPR's Rachel Martin what the report means.

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A fully loaded container ship sails along the coast. Historically, ships have taken most of the sea measurements that go into the estimate of Earth's average surface temperature.

Scientists Cast Doubt On An Apparent 'Hiatus' In Global Warming

7:03pm June 08, 2015

by Geoff Brumfiel

Though past measurements have suggested global warming all but stopped in the late 1990s, newly refined figures show Earth's warming has continued unabated.

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