Research News

To 'Keep Sharp' This Year, Keep Learning, Advises Neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta

1:50pm January 04, 2021

by Terry Gross

CNN's chief medical correspondent says it's never too late to develop new brain pathways. Even small changes, like switching up the hand you use to hold your fork, can help optimize brain health.

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Fear of having to go to the ER during a pandemic might have led kids with asthma to be more careful about regularly using their "controller" inhalers, researchers suspect. But that's likely only one factor in the decline in ER visits.

What Drove The Drop In Kids' Asthma ER Visits At A Boston Hospital During Lockdown?

10:36am January 04, 2021

by Kristen Kendrick

Boston Children's Hospital saw a precipitous drop in cases during the spring shutdown, and the trend continues. Researchers are asking why — and what it would take to keep up the change post-pandemic.

C.V. Vishveshwara in 2007 in Oak Park, Illinois.

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C.V. Vishveshwara's Revolutionary Black Hole Research Turns 50

11:44pm December 29, 2020

by Joe Palca

Before scientists were even sure black holes existed, an Indian astrophysicist did the math behind Einstein's predictions of what would happen if two black holes collided.

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How To Make A New Year's Resolution

6:31am December 29, 2020

by Greg Rosalsky

A new study looks at ways to make New Year's resolutions succeed.

Pandemic Advances Scientific Understanding Of Viruses' Air Transmission

3:45pm December 28, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, scientists this year made significant progress in understanding how respiratory viruses can be transmitted from one person to another through the air.

Inside of the Blue Ice Drill tent, drillers Tanner Kuhl (left) and Elizabeth Morton (right) work with graduate students Austin Carter, Jacob Morgan and postdoctoral fellow Sarah Shackleton in Antarctica in 2019.

Scientists Have Found Some Truly Ancient Ice, But Now They Want Ice That's Even Older

2:59pm December 26, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Ice is usually ephemeral; it doesn't last that long before melting. But some ice on our planet has stayed frozen for millions of years, according to scientists on a quest to find the oldest ice.

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Researches have learned a lot in 2020 about how the coronavirus spreads through the air.

For Scientists Who Study Virus Transmission, 2020 Was A Watershed Year

7:01am December 26, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The emergence of COVID-19 started scientists on a year-long, crash course to learn how this virus might travel through the air and how to stop it. They learned a lot, and quickly.

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WATCH: Octopuses Punch Fish, Sometimes For No Apparent Reason

6:27pm December 24, 2020

Researchers discovered that an octopus might punch a fish when both are hunting. Although some of the thrown punches can be explained, others remain a mystery.

A Hasidic man and medical workers cross paths near the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in November. When public health messaging comes from community leaders, it's much more likely to be adopted, research on diverse groups finds.

'Trusted Messengers, Trusted Messages': How To Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy

5:00am December 24, 2020

by Fran Kritz

As the first COVID-19 vaccines begin to be rolled out across the U.S., community leaders in diverse groups already are working hard to dispel misinformation and reach skeptics with truth.

How To Be An Elite Athlete, According To The Data

6:30am December 22, 2020

by Greg Rosalsky

A new book digs into the social science of athletic greatness and reveals patterns leading to glory.