Research News

Tyson tested every worker at about 20 of its plants, including this one in Logansport, Ind., after workers got sick. The company is now considering ongoing random testing to try to keep outbreaks from flaring.

How Widespread Coronavirus Testing Helped Meatpacking Plants Halt Outbreaks

4:05pm June 22, 2020

by Daniel Charles

Thousands of meatpacking workers have been infected with the coronavirus. Some of their employers now are rolling out large-scale testing, and their experience may offer lessons for other businesses.

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Early results of a new study from University of Oxford researchers show that dexamethasone improved survival in some patients with COVID-19.

Doctor Warns Of Risks In Rush To Embrace A COVID-19 Treatment

8:09am June 20, 2020

by Scott Simon

As researchers herald dexamethasone as a potential breakthrough treatment for critically ill patients, Dr. Kirsten Lyke says publicizing research that hasn't been rigorously vetted could erode trust.

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Dr. Nico Dosenbach decided to put his healthy arm in a cast to figure out more about how the brain deals with an immobilized limb.

A Scientist's Pink Cast Leads To Discovery About How The Brain Responds To Disability

3:02pm June 18, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

A neurologist who wanted to know how the brain changes in response to a physical disability put his arm in a pink cast for two weeks to find out.

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An artist's interpretation of a baby mosasaur hatching from an egg in the Antarctic sea.

Scientists Find The Biggest Soft-Shelled Egg Ever, Nicknamed 'The Thing'

5:36pm June 17, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A new study of dinosaur eggs, as well as a football-size egg from Antarctica, shows how some ancient creatures relied on soft shells rather than hard ones.

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Cows with genes from the human immune system make antibodies that may help people fight the coronavirus.

Cows Help With COVID-19 Treatment, No Bull

9:20am June 17, 2020

by Joe Palca

Cattle may turn out to be of help in the coronavirus pandemic. A South Dakota biotech company is using cows to create antibodies that could then be used for disease prevention or treatment.

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A COVID-19 patient is attached to a ventilator in April in the emergency room at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers, N.Y. A steroid treatment is showing promise in reducing mortality for patients on ventilators.

Early Results Show Benefit Of Steroid For Very Sick COVID-19 Patients

12:42pm June 16, 2020

by Joe Palca

A low-cost anti-inflammatory drug appears to reduce the risk of death in patients with COVID-19. The promising result comes from a large study of therapies being conducted in the U.K.

Health workers and others rallied in Seattle during a Doctors For Justice event on June 6, protesting police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death. Medical training needs a hard look too, doctors say: Students of color and LGBTQ people often bear

Racism, Hazing And Other Abuse Taints Medical Training, Students Say

5:00am June 16, 2020

by Mara Gordon

More than 35% of students surveyed experienced mistreatment in a U.S. medical school. "There's a direct link between this abuse and how some ... health care disparities play out," a black doctor says.

A bottle of hydroxychloroquine tablets in Texas City, Texas. The Food and Drug Administration has rescinded its emergency use authorization for the drug.

FDA Withdraws Emergency Use Authorization For Hydroxychloroquine

3:40pm June 15, 2020

by Joe Palca

Emergency use authorization makes it easier for doctors to use a drug in a manner not specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA granted these drugs this status in March.

Report: Trust In American Institutions Has Been Dropping For Decades

5:51pm June 14, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin discusses a new study, "Our Common Purpose: Reinventing America for the 21st Century," with two people who worked on it: professor Danielle Allen and Justice Wallace Jefferson.

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Study: TV Police Shows Affect Real-World Policing

7:25pm June 13, 2020

by Andrew Limbong

Some police procedurals are getting booted off television. One study reveals how TV portrays police and the criminal justice system can interfere with attempts at reform.

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