Research News

Despite efforts to reduce pedestrian deaths, many cities have become more dangerous for walkers in recent years.

Walking In America Remains Dangerous — Especially In Florida

8:29pm January 10, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

Those who can least afford to get hurt often live in the most dangerous places to walk. A study sees a link between the hazards and median household income and whether people have health insurance.

This 52-million-year-old fossilized tomatillo was found in Patagonia, Argentina, shedding light on the origin of nightshade plants. In this specimen, the slender stalk is preserved, and the former papery and lobed husk is broken at top to reveal the large

Science

52 Million-Year-Old Tomatillo Fossils Rewrite Veggie History

5:57pm January 10, 2017

by Angus Chen

Potatoes, tomatoes and bell peppers belong to the nightshade family. Newly discovered fossils in Patagonia suggest that family started much earlier than believed, perhaps when dinosaurs roamed.

Dungeness crabs for sale at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. California's Dungeness crab season was shut down in 2015, when record high ocean temperatures and lingering toxic algae blooms raised the domoic acid in shellfish to unsafe levels. A new stud

Warming Oceans Could Boost Dangerous Toxin In Your Shellfish Dinner

12:54pm January 10, 2017

by Clare Leschin-Hoar

A new study finds a link between warming waters and a dangerous neurotoxin that builds up in species like Dungeness crabs, clams and mussels — and can be hazardous, even fatal in people who eat them.

Science

Humans Worry About Self-Driving Cars. Maybe It Should Be The Reverse

9:26am January 10, 2017

by Shankar Vedantam

Self-driving cars will perform rationally. For example: stop when someone is in their way. Research suggests humans will take advantage, and step into an intersection when they know they shouldn't.

Queue Listen Now

Scientists predict a star collision in the constellation Cygnus.

Science

Scientists Predict Star Collision Visible To The Naked Eye In 2022

5:56pm January 09, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

If it happens, it would be the first time such an event was predicted by scientists. They say two stars in the constellation Cygnus will eventually merge and explode.

I'm Fasting For Science: Will It Help Tame My Multiple Sclerosis?

6:00am January 08, 2017

by Brandie Jefferson

I like to eat, often and a lot. But when I heard about a medical study looking at whether fasting might tame the painful symptoms of MS, I was all in. Then I ate that 7 a.m. bagel.

Researchers Begin To Look At Gun Violence As Public Health Issue

6:19pm January 07, 2017

by NPR Staff

Researchers Andrew Papachristos and Gary Slutkin have started to look at gun violence as a public health epidemic, and how to take a holistic approach and reinterpret the problem.

Queue Listen Now

Why You Should Call Your Grandmother

8:08am January 07, 2017

Research about senior citizens by the University of California, San Francisco finds people who are lonely have a higher mortality rate. Companionship may be more important than income or health.

A child takes a facial recognition test in which he is asked to match the face on the top to one of the faces on the bottom.

Brain Area That Recognizes Faces Gets Busier And Better In Young Adults

6:38pm January 05, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

From birth through age 30 or so, our ability to recognize faces keeps improving, research shows. At first, kids discern adult faces better than other kids' mugs. Not so after adolescence.

Queue Listen Now

Scientists used the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array near Socorro, N.M., to detect fast radio bursts.

Mystery Radio Waves Are Coming From A (Dwarf) Galaxy Far, Far Away, Scientists Say

3:40pm January 05, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

The discovery provides our first "glimmer of understanding" about the unexplained, strong waves. Scientists don't think they're from aliens, but they're puzzled by what could be causing them.