Science

Mchezaji "Che" Axum stands in a hoop house at the University of the District of Columbia's Muirkirk Research Farm, a resource for urban farmers in the city.

Urban Farmers Say It's Time They Got Their Own Research Farms

1:56pm May 19, 2015

by Whitney Pipkin

The University of the District of Columbia is the one land-grant university in the U.S. with an urban focus. It's leading research on growing food in raised beds, hoop houses and shipping containers.

Researchers meet participants: (from left) investigator Jose Luis Roca; Dr. Ernesto Ortiz; study participants Rainer Leon and his mother, Rina Leon Chanbilla; and nurse Jennifer Rampas.

They're Going Door To Door In The Amazon To See Why People Get Sick

10:14am May 19, 2015

by Jason Beaubien

In one of the most remote parts of the Peruvian Amazon, researchers are in the midst of an extensive health census. The study could be key to figuring out the impact of mercury used in illegal mining.

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In Arctic Drilling Debate, A Dispute Over Cleanup Preparedness

9:12pm May 18, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

Royal Dutch Shell can drill oil exploration wells this summer in the Chukchi Sea, if Shell shows it can prevent and clean up a potential spill. Environmentalists are skeptical; Shell says it's ready.

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Peter Mawson, director of animal health and research at the Perth Zoo in Australia, shows off a Western Swamp Tortoise in the zoo's breeding area (where visitors are not allowed). Like numbats, these tortoises are critically endangered and Mawson and his

How To Feed A Numbat: Zoo Cookery Aids Endangered Species

2:01pm May 18, 2015

by Sujata Gupta

Zoo nutritionists these days have to do more than try to keep displayed animals happy and healthy. Sometimes the goal is to bring endangered wildlife back from the brink.

The 200-inch Hale Telescope, a masterpiece of engineering at Caltech's Palomar Observatory, was the world's largest telescope until 1993.

Science

'Playing Around With Telescopes' To Explore Secrets Of The Universe

12:26pm May 18, 2015

by Joe Palca

For astrophysicist Shrinivas Kulkarni, "The sky is so much richer and so much more imaginative than the imagination."

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Science

How TV Show Finales Affect The Stock Market

9:00am May 18, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

An economist in the United Kingdom looked at how 150 TV series finales affected the U.S. stock market. He observed a decrease in stock returns on the following trading day.

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Worth a little pain? Back in 1990, a school boy got a measles shot in the U.K., and it turns out, he got more than protection against the measles.

Scientists Crack A 50-Year-Old Mystery About The Measles Vaccine

8:20pm May 17, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

When the U.S. introduced the measles vaccine, childhood deaths from all infections plummeted. Scientists think they might know why: Benefits of the measles vaccine go way beyond the measles.

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This aerial view shows the effects of gold mining on Peru's rain forest.

Who Did This To Peru's Jungle?

3:53pm May 17, 2015

by Jason Beaubien

When the price of gold skyrocketed, illegal miners flooded into the country's Amazon basin, eager to find even the tiniest bits of the precious metal. Trees and villagers have paid a price.

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Science

Learning To Live With A Void In Her Brain In 'Head Case'

10:44am May 17, 2015

Cole Cohen struggled with math, keeping time, getting lost. Eventually she found out she had a hole in her brain the size of a lemon. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Cole about her new memoir, Head Case.

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A Proton-M rocket shown in 2013. The same type of rocket malfunctioned in mid-flight on Saturday and crashed over Siberia carrying a Mexican communications satellite.

Unmanned Russian Rocket Burns Up Carrying Mexican Satellite

1:56pm May 16, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The launch is the latest in a string of failures for the Proton-M rocket, a workhorse for the International Launch Services, a joint Russia-American satellite carrier business.