Brain Candy

Myriam Sidibe: Would Fewer Children Die of Disease If They Just Washed Their Hands?

9:38am November 17, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Washing your hands with soap stops the spread of many lethal diseases. Yet most people don't wash their hands, even after using the bathroom. Dr. Myriam Sidibe wants to reverse this disturbing trend.

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Mileha Soneji: Can Simple Innovations Improve The Lives of Parkinson's Patients?

9:29am November 17, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

When designer Mileha Soneji's uncle got Parkinson's, his quality of life deteriorated rapidly. Mileha couldn't cure her uncle's disease, so she designed simple ways to improve his everyday life.

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A NASA visualization shows hurricanes in the Atlantic in 2017 through their impact on aerosols in the atmosphere.

Science

WATCH: The Hurricane Season, As Shown By Salt, Smoke And Dust

6:41pm November 15, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

A NASA visualization uses computer models to show how recent hurricanes shifted salt from the Atlantic, dust from the Sahara and smoke from fires in Portugal and the Pacific Northwest.

The search is on for opioid alternatives that can block pain without causing addiction.

Brain Scientists Look Beyond Opioids To Conquer Pain

6:52am November 13, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

The search is on for opioid alternatives that can block pain without causing addiction. One promising candidate: snail venom.

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NPR intern Kevin Garcia endures the sour taste of Warheads hard candy. Why are we tempted by candy that pretends to be made of hazardous chemicals, that threatens to nuke our taste buds, or that dares us to be disgusted?

Science
Arts

Toxic. Sour. Atomic. Why We Love To Hate Gross Candy

8:01pm October 30, 2017

by Nadia Berenstein

Candy is supposed to be sweet and delicious. So why are we tempted by candy that pretends to be made of hazardous chemicals, that threatens to nuke our tastebuds, or that dares us to be disgusted?

Researchers injected dye into this human neuron to reveal its shape.

Scientists And Surgeons Team Up To Create Virtual Human Brain Cells

4:37pm October 25, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

By rushing live brain cells from the operating room to the lab, scientists have been able to create three-dimensional reconstructions of cells that reveal their electrical behavior and shape.

NPR's Weekend in Washington session at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 31, 2015.

Predictably Unpredictable: Why We Don't Act Like We Should

9:57pm October 23, 2017

We don't always do what we're supposed to. We don't save enough for retirement. We order dessert when we're dieting. In other words we misbehave. Nobel Prize winning economist Richard Thaler asks why.

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According to the researchers, there are 10 to the power of 170 possible board configurations in Go — more than the number of atoms in the known universe.

Science

Computer Learns To Play Go At Superhuman Levels 'Without Human Knowledge'

4:49pm October 18, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

Researchers say they have constructed an AI program that can teach itself to play the ancient strategy game at a level far beyond humans.

The collision of two neutron stars, seen in an artist's rendering, created both gravitational waves and gamma rays. Researchers used those signals to locate the event with optical telescopes.

Astronomers Strike Gravitational Gold In Colliding Neutron Stars

4:44pm October 16, 2017

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

In an astonishing discovery, astronomers used gravitational waves to locate two neutron stars smashing together. The collision created 200 Earth masses of pure gold, along with other elements.

Elizabeth Loftus: How Can Our Memories Be Manipulated?

9:29am October 13, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Years of research have taught Elizabeth Loftus just how unreliable our memories are. From tweaking a real memory to planting a completely fabricated one, tampering with our minds is surprisingly easy.

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