Research News

The squiggly blue lines visible in the neurons are an Alzheimer's biomarker called tau. The brownish clumps are amyloid plaques.

New Markers For Alzheimer's Disease Could Aid Diagnosis And Speed Up Drug Development

5:18am July 04, 2019

by Jon Hamilton

Researchers are using brain scans, blood and spinal fluid to detect early signs of Alzheimer's disease. These "biomarkers" may also offer a quicker way to test new Alzheimer's drugs.

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Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris was founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco before becoming California's surgeon general this year.

California's 1st Surgeon General Spotlights Health Risks Of Childhood Adversity

10:08am July 02, 2019

by Erika Stallings

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris has spent much of her career alerting the medical community to health damage that adverse childhood experiences can wreak. Now she aims to protect and heal California's kids.

Using embryonic stem cells, researchers created a structure that mimics the earliest stages of human development in the womb. This image shows the structure breaking the symmetry of the sphere, which starts the development of more complex structures that

Scientists Make Model Embryos From Stem Cells To Study Key Steps In Human Development

10:35pm July 01, 2019

by Rob Stein

Researchers hope these "embryoids" could provide crucial new insights into how to treat infertility and prevent miscarriages, birth defects and many diseases. But they stir ethical concerns.

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Cocoa producers of the Yakasse-Attobrou Agricultural Cooperative gather cocoa pods in a certified Fair Trade-label cocoa plantation in Adzope, Ivory Coast.

Fair Trade Helps Farmers, But Not Their Hired Workers

3:29pm July 01, 2019

by Dan Charles

According to a new study of cocoa-producing cooperatives, Fair Trade certification boosts the income of small farmers, but those benefits aren't shared with their hired workers.

There's More Evidence That Too Much Sitting Can Be Very Unhealthy

5:03am July 01, 2019

by Patti Neighmond

A study from Columbia University finds that sitting for long periods in front of the television is more dangerous than sitting at work.

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Science

Hidden Brain: How Private Prisons Affect Sentencing

6:03am June 28, 2019

by Shankar Vedantam

In many states, convicted criminals are being housed in private prisons. New research finds that when a private prison opens, the length of criminal sentences modestly increases.

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An artist has reconstructed what ancient crocodile ancestors looked like, including some that very likely ate plants.

Science

Veggie Surprise: Teeth Of Ancient Crocs Reveal That Some Very Likely Ate Plants

8:14pm June 27, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

What do you imagine an ancient croc snacking on? Maybe a fish or a bird? For some relatives of modern crocodiles, a safer guess would be a big bunch of flowers.

Chris Marshall has organized pop-up Sans Bars in New York, Washington, D.C., and Anchorage, Alaska. And he has expanded into permanent spaces in Kansas City, Mo., and western Massachusetts.

Breaking The Booze Habit, Even Briefly, Has Its Benefits

11:17pm June 23, 2019

Tens of thousands of Instagram followers can't be wrong: Curiosity about the sober life is trending. Scientists say cutting out alcohol can improve your sleep and blood pressure, and help your liver.

Researchers trained Zola the seal to "sing" the Star Wars theme song.

Science

A New Hope: Seal Learns To Sing Star Wars Theme

5:11pm June 23, 2019

by Daniella Cheslow

Researchers say teaching seals to copy melodies might help inform speech therapy for humans.

CRISPR technology already allows scientists to make very precise modifications to DNA, and it could revolutionize how doctors prevent and treat many diseases. But using it to create gene-edited babies is still widely considered unethical.

A Russian Biologist Wants To Create More Gene-Edited Babies

5:08am June 21, 2019

by Rob Stein

A Moscow scientist claims he has a safe way of editing genes in human embryos — a method that could protect resulting babies from being infected with HIV. Approval of the experiment seems unlikely.

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