Research News

CRISPR gene-editing technology allows scientists to make highly precise modifications to DNA. The technology is now starting to be used in human trials to treat several diseases in the U.S.

First U.S. Patients Treated With CRISPR As Human Gene-Editing Trials Get Underway

7:27pm April 16, 2019

by Rob Stein

This could be a crucial year for the powerful gene-editing technique CRISPR as researchers start testing it in patients to treat diseases such as cancer, blindness and sickle cell disease.

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The trick, of course, is to find moments of deep relaxation wherever you are, not just on vacation. Laughing with friends can be another way to start breaking the cycle of chronic stress, and help keep your heart healthy, too.

High Stress Drives Up Your Risk Of A Heart Attack. Here's How To Chill Out

9:28pm April 14, 2019

by Allison Aubrey

A study of siblings finds those who have a stress-related disorder have a 60 percent higher risk of heart attack or other cardiovascular event, compared to their less-stressed brothers and sisters.

Do You Love Lying In Bed? Get Paid By NASA To Do It For Space Research

8:33pm April 14, 2019

Researchers are currently looking for candidates who will stay in bed 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 60 straight days for a study on how the body adapts to weightlessness.

Science

Should We Have Empathy For Those We Hate?

6:30am April 12, 2019

by Hanna Rosin

The latest episode of NPR's Podcast Invisibilia examines the history of empathy in American culture. In this era of political polarization, empathy has fallen out of fashion.

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The pronounced curve of this toe bone — the proximal phalanx — from a specimen of Homo luzonensis, an early human found in a Philippine cave, looks more like it came from tree-climbing Australopithecus than from a modern human, scientists say.

Ancient Bones And Teeth Found In A Philippine Cave May Rewrite Human History

11:33pm April 10, 2019

by Christopher Joyce

Islands in Southeast Asia were clearly important in the evolution of early humans, say scientists who have turned up 50,000-year-old remains of what they suspect is a previously unknown human species.

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The first-ever image of a black hole was released Wednesday by a consortium of researchers, showing the "black hole at the center of galaxy M87, outlined by emission from hot gas swirling around it under the influence of strong gravity near its event hori

Earth Sees First Image Of A Black Hole

3:49pm April 10, 2019

by Bill Chappell

Every image you've ever seen of a black hole has been a simulation. Until now. "We have seen what we thought was unseeable," said Event Horizon Telescope Director Shep Doeleman.

Are Plastic Bag Bans Garbage?

2:29pm April 09, 2019

by Greg Rosalsky

A national movement to ban plastic bags is gaining steam, but these restrictions may actually hurt the environment more than help it. Human nature, hard truths, and what kind of bag to use anyway?

The North American porcupine has a cute face, but it has upward of 30,000 menacing quills covering much of its body. The slow-moving herbivore uses them as a last-resort defense against predators.

Porcupine Barbs For Better Wound Healing

11:42am April 09, 2019

Surgeons would love to find a replacement for surgical staples — one that doesn't aggravate wounds on the way in and out. Bioengineers think they've found the right model — a porcupine's quill.

One World Trade Center (WTC) stands in the lower Manhattan skyline as birds fly over the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Feb. 8, 2019.

Science

Big Cities, Bright Lights And Up To 1 Billion Bird Collisions

7:45pm April 07, 2019

by Lindsey Feingold

When birds migrate, they can become attracted to and disoriented by artificial lights. The result: they end up colliding with skyscrapers and other buildings.

Recent isotopic analysis of pig remains from several ceremonial sites in the Stonehenge area show that the swine and celebrants sometimes came from as far as what is now Scotland and Wales.

Opinion: Can Stonehenge Offer A Lesson For Brexit?

4:44pm April 06, 2019

by Scott Simon

As the U.K. continues to debate the state of Brexit, NPR's Scott Simon looks at how a new discovery at Stonehenge might offer a lesson in coming together.

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