Research News

Climate change and city lights are tricking trees into growing leaves too soon

4:51pm November 29, 2021

A study of trees in dozens of cities found that urban heat and light pollution are pushing urban trees to sprout leaves about a week earlier than trees in more rural settings.

Three generations, (from left to right) grandmother Genoveva Calloway, daughter Petra Gonzales, and granddaughter Vanesa Quintero, live next door to each other in San Pablo, Calif. Recently their extended family was hit with a second wave of COVID infecti

COVID hit 13 members of their family the first time. A year later it struck again

9:06am November 27, 2021

by Lesley McClurg

The second time Vanessa Quintero's family caught the virus, probably from her 8-year-old daughter, fewer people got sick. They and their doctors credit the protection of vaccination.

While a thermometer will tell you if oil is hot enough for frying, scientists say the sound a wet chopstick makes when dipped into the oil will, too.

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How do you know if your oil is hot enough to deep fry? Use your ears

11:00am November 17, 2021

Researchers in the field of fluid dynamics say understanding the sounds oil bubbles make at different temperatures has applications beyond the frying pan.

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After two student suicides over one October weekend, UNC students created a makeshift memorial on the Chapel Hill campus. To reduce the risk of suicide contagion, any memorial sites or activities should be limited, experts say, and should not glorify, vil

Colleges are turning to science to limit suicide contagion and help heal campuses

4:08pm November 16, 2021

by Aneri Pattani

The new strategy is called "postvention." It means having a plan built on truth, compassion and counseling that quickly addresses the mental health needs of friends and classmates after a suicide.

Conceptual paper illustration of human hands and coronavirus in a lab.

New clues to the biology of long COVID are starting to emerge

7:16pm November 12, 2021

by Rob Stein

Scientists have begun to find abnormalities in the immune systems of some long-COVID patients that might help explain the syndrome, at least in some people. But there is still much more to learn.

Medicare Advantage health plans have enrolled nearly 27 million members, or about 45% of people eligible for Medicare. A recent analysis finds Medicare overpaid the private health plans by more than $106 billion from 2010 through 2019 because of the way t

Medicare Advantage's cost to taxpayers has soared in recent years, research finds

5:00am November 11, 2021

by Fred Schulte

An alternative to original Medicare, the private plans are run mostly by major insurers. A recent analysis estimates Medicare overpaid these insurers by $106 billion from 2010 through 2019.

Researchers are studying athletes and military personnel to learn more about how a concussion can affect the brain's ability to understand sound.

After a concussion, the brain may no longer make sense of sounds

12:33pm November 05, 2021

by Jon Hamilton

A concussion can make it difficult to converse in a noisy room. Scientists say that's because the injury has impaired the brain's ability to process sounds.

Suicides dropped by 3% in 2020, according to new CDC data, continuing a downward trend that began in 2019 after nearly two decades of increases.

Science

Suicide rates fall again — but not for young adults and some people of color

7:06pm November 03, 2021

by Becky Sullivan

Despite lockdowns, historic job losses and COVID-19, new figures from the CDC show that death by suicide dropped for a second straight year in 2020.

Scientists investigate a humpback whale by boat and by drone in the surface waters near the west Antarctic Peninsula.

The biggest whales can eat the equivalent of 80,000 Big Macs in one day

5:22pm November 03, 2021

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have gotten the best estimates yet of exactly how much baleen whales, the largest animals on the planet, can consume in one day. Their caloric intake is mind-boggling.

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Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for young children is a lower-dose formulation of the companies' adult vaccine. It was found to be safe and nearly 91% effective at preventing COVID-19.

CDC recommends Pfizer's COVID vaccine for children ages 5 through 11

9:41pm November 02, 2021

Kids ages 5 to 11 will soon be able to get Pfizer's low-dose COVID vaccine. CDC director Rochelle Walensky agreed with a unanimous decision of a team of advisers that the benefits outweigh the risks.