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Science

How Does Sunshine Affect The Lottery?

4:44pm March 03, 2016

by Shankar Vedantam

Social science research examines how the mood of gamblers can change the way they think about risk. New Yorkers buy more lottery tickets when the weather is good and when their sports teams win games.

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Sleep Munchies: Why It's Harder To Resist Snacks When We're Tired

7:52pm March 02, 2016

by Allison Aubrey

A new study finds that too little sleep boosts a signal in the body that may drive a stronger desire to eat. It's the latest evidence linking sleep deprivation to overeating and increased body weight.

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We know eating more produce is good for your heart. Now computer models suggest slashing the price by about a third could result in dramatically lower death rates from heart disease and stroke.

Slice The Price Of Fruits And Veggies, Save 200,000 Lives?

6:37pm March 02, 2016

by Clare Leschin-Hoar

We know eating more produce is good for your heart. Now computer models suggest slashing its price by about a third could result in dramatically lower death rates from heart disease and stroke.

Biologists hoping to bring endangered whooping cranes back from the brink started an experimental flock in 1967 at the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md.

To Make A Wild Comeback, Cranes Need More Than Flying Lessons

6:26pm March 02, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

The 15-year project wasn't a flight of fancy. Biologists used a plane to successfully teach many young, captive-bred whooping cranes to migrate cross-country. But the birds aren't reproducing well.

Our 'Golden Mole' Winner Used To Paint Wasps For A Living

2:00am March 02, 2016

by Adam Cole

NPR's Skunk Bear blog received 300 nominations for our Golden Mole Award for Accidental Brilliance. We have a winner: Elizabeth Tibbetts found her luck, and scientific insight, in tiny insect faces.

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Science

How Does Gender Affect One's Willingness To Compete?

6:48pm March 01, 2016

by Shankar Vedantam

New research looks at how gender shapes competitions. Multiple strands of social science research suggest highly competitive settings are likely to dissuade qualified women from tossing their hats in the ring. NPR explores the consequences, the implications and also the causes for this disparity in the willingness to compete.

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Noooo. But you can blame Mom and Dad for that gray hair, at least some of the time.

This Gene Could Turn Your Hair Gray

3:23pm March 01, 2016

by Nancy Shute

Is stress turning your hair gray? Your ancestors may have something to do with it, too. Scientists say they've found the first genetic variant associated with going gray.

Dr. Jessie Gaeta, chief medical officer of Health Care for the Homeless at Boston Medical Center, stands in a conference room that will soon be converted to a place where patients high on heroin or other drugs can be safely monitored.

Boston's Heroin Users Will Soon Get A Safer Place To Be High

9:58am March 01, 2016

by Martha Bebinger

Set to open within a few weeks, the room will not be a place to inject drugs or get high, say health providers. Instead, a nurse will monitor heroin users as they come down from the drug's effects.

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A team of Cleveland Clinic transplant surgeons and gynecological surgeons perform the nation's first uterus transplant during a nine-hour surgery in Cleveland.

Cleveland Clinic Performs First Successful Uterus Transplant In The U.S.

9:19pm February 26, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

It could be another path to parenthood besides surrogacy or adoption for U.S. women who do not have a uterus, or who have a uterus that does not function.

With CDC Help, Puerto Rico Aims To Get Ahead Of Zika

6:55pm February 26, 2016

So far, the U.S. territory has reported 117 Zika cases, including five pregnant women. But health officials say the real test will come when April and May rains bring more mosquitoes.

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