Research News

The slide on the right has been treated with a coating that repels blood.

Slippery When Coated: Helping Medical Devices Prevent Blood Clots

8:13am October 13, 2014

by Joe Palca

When blood flows over an artificial surface, whether it's an implanted pacemaker or tubing for a dialysis machine, there's an increased risk that a dangerous clot will form.

Emotions Linger After Forgotten Events In Alzheimer's Patients

1:14pm October 12, 2014

A new study suggests that people with Alzheimer's can hold on to happy or sad feelings, even if they forget what triggered them. NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with the study's author, Edmarie Guzman-Velez.

Queue Listen Now

A helmet and pads won't prevent every fracture — but they help.

Sloppy Splinting Can Make A Child's Broken Arm Much Worse

6:17pm October 10, 2014

by Deborah Franklin

A pediatrician who specializes in fixing broken bones in kids and teens says about 90 percent of the fractures he treats have been splinted improperly in a community ER or urgent care center first.

This scale shows the tiniest things you can see with a light microscope.

How To Take A Nobel Prize-Winning Picture

5:32pm October 10, 2014

by Alison Bruzek

This year's Nobel Prize in chemistry went to a team that came up with a way to take a closer look at the secret lives of living cells. It could make biomedical research a lot easier.

Insulin is produced by the green cells that are in clusters about the same size as the islets in the human pancreas. The red cells are producing another metabolic hormone, glucagon, that prevents low blood sugar.

Scientists Coax Human Embryonic Stem Cells Into Making Insulin

6:28pm October 09, 2014

by Rob Stein

Researchers have found a way to mass- produce the pancreatic cells that are insulin factories inside the body. The findings could eventually lead to treatments that would transform diabetes care.

Queue Listen Now

A stencil of an early human's hand in an Indonesian cave is estimated to be about 39,000 years old.

Indonesian Cave Paintings As Old As Europe's Ancient Art

9:58am October 09, 2014

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Figures found on the walls of a prehistoric cave in Indonesia are at least 35,400 years old or more, scientists say. That might mean the earliest art developed independently in different regions.

Queue Listen Now

Cindy Minnix waits for a bus in a flooded street on Oct. 18, 2012, in Miami Beach. A changing climate is making floods related to high tides more frequent, scientists say.

Climate Change Worsens Coastal Flooding From High Tides

9:58am October 09, 2014

by Christopher Joyce

Flooding from extreme tidal swings was once just a rare nuisance for coastal cities. But rising sea levels have increased the frequency of these nuisance floods as much as tenfold since the 1960s.

Queue Listen Now

Science

Research May Give Potential Homicide Victims A Heads Up

9:13am October 09, 2014

by Shankar Vedantam

New research in Chicago finds that homicide victims are concentrated among a tiny network. Tracing that network might lead to public health measures to protect would-be victims.

Queue Listen Now

Feeling blue? That may not be a great excuse to tuck into some mac and cheese.

Eating Comfort Foods May Not Be So Comforting After All

5:01pm October 08, 2014

by Maanvi Singh

It's tempting to seek out the mac and cheese or a pint of ice cream after a terrible, horrible, no good day. But fresh research suggests such comfort foods might not be mood boosters after all.

Science

Nobel Committee: 3 Scientists Win Chemistry Prize

12:22pm October 08, 2014

by Richard Harris

Americans Eric Betzig and William Moerner and German scientist Stefan Hell have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for "the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy."

Queue Listen Now