Science

Health worker Jackie Carnegie delivers a rubella vaccine in Colorado in 1972.

Western Hemisphere Wipes Out Its Third Virus

11:39am May 04, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

It took 15 years and 250 million vaccines, but this week, health authorities officially declared North America and South America free of rubella — a virus that can cause severe birth defects.

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Heffernan photographs health care worker Martha Lyne Freeman.

An Artist's Brainstorm: Put Photos On Those Faceless Ebola Suits

8:38pm May 03, 2015

by Nurith Aizenman

Printers blew up. People took the photo stickers home. But in the end, art professor Mary Beth Heffernan succeeded in bringing a human face to the scary-looking protective gear.

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Sina Shahbazmohamadi places a 3-D printed copy of a recorder foot joint into a measuring device in a lab at the University of Connecticut's Center for Clean Energy Engineering.

3-D Printers Bring Historic Instruments Back To The Future

10:26am May 02, 2015

by Tom Verde

You just can't stick a modern mouthpiece on an antique saxophone and get the right sound. The answer could be in the lab.

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A Veteran Scientist Dreams Boldly Of 'Earth And Sky'

10:26am May 02, 2015

by NPR Staff

Famous — and occasionally controversial — physicist Freeman Dyson's new essay collection ranges from scientific history to today's hot-button issues like climate change and genetic engineering.

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Science

Does Reading Harry Potter Have An Effect On Your Behavior?

3:00pm May 01, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

New research suggests that school kids who read and identify with Harry Potter display more positive attitudes toward people from disadvantaged groups.

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Rod-shaped specimens of Yersinia pestis, the bacterial cause of plague, find a happy home here in the foregut of a flea. Fleas can transmit the infection to animals and people, who can get pneumonic plague and transmit the infection through a cough or kis

Small Plague Outbreak In People Tracked To Pit Bull

2:14pm May 01, 2015

by Richard Harris

A woman who caught pneumonic plague in Colorado last summer likely contracted it from her friend or his dog. Antibiotics limited the outbreak to four people and cured them.

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Science

Early Childhood Brain Development

12:28pm May 01, 2015

by Shawn Fitzmaurice

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Contact between cats and their owners may have exposed the animals to toxic levels of medication.

Humans' Use Of Pain-Relief Creams Proves Fatal To Felines

10:44am May 01, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

Three cats died after their owners used an anti-inflammatory cream used to treat arthritis. The Food and Drug Administration warns to keep drugs away from pets; a tiny bit can be toxic.

What's Mittens Thinking? Make 'Sense' Of Your Cat's Behavior

10:42am May 01, 2015

Kitties don't play — they hunt. And their aloof appearance has evolutionary roots. A new book explains cats' mysterious nature and how their relationship with humans has changed over the years.

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Could this cat be enjoying "Spook's Ditty"?

These Tunes Are Music To Your Cats' Furry Ears

10:42am May 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

Composer David Teie's most recent compositions are catered to our feline friends. His music mimics purring, and might be just the thing to perk your cat up.

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