research

Rat at the Columbus Circle Subway Station in New York City

A 'golden age' of rat research may be here. What the often unwanted companions can teach us about us

7:23am September 20, 2024

Rat and human lives have long intersected, but there's relatively little research about them. Thanks to advances in genomics and paleoarcheology, a lot more study may be on the horizon.

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Celebrating science that's off the beaten track

8:43am September 14, 2024

From pension fraud to plastic plants, this year's Ig Nobel prizes recognize science that can be lighthearted, surprising or unusual.

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Each person depicted in the poster wears a necklace of beads meant to represent DNA they share with others in the study.

If you donate DNA, what should scientists give in return? A 'pathbreaking' new model

7:12pm January 22, 2024

by Nurith Aizenman

That's how a prominent medical ethicist describes a researcher's innovative plan to share study results with participants in Kenya.

Mendoza hopes his experiment contributes to further research on the topic.

Science

Can we grow veggies on Mars? Fly larvae and synthetic soil may hold the answer

10:18am November 22, 2023

by Mallory Yu

A Texas undergrad is investigating how to grow vegetables on Mars — and has cultivated test samples of English peas in simulated Martian soil, with fertilizer from fly larvae.

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About a decade ago, Dr. Edwin Asturias looked out at a dirt parking lot in rural western Guatemala and envisioned a clinic and thriving research center.

A kid in Guatemala had a dream. Today she's a disease detective

8:02am February 19, 2023

by Ari Daniel

Neudy Rojop made a girlhood pledge. When family members fell ill, she says she decided to become a nurse "so I could change my community for good."

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Health & Safety

$36M awarded to WFIRM to study the effects of viruses on humans

2:43pm June 29, 2022

by Eddie Garcia

Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (

Downtown Wilmington, N.C., after Hurricane Florence made landfall in 2018. Storms like Florence, with both heavy rain and very high tides, are projected to get more common as the Earth gets hotter.

Science

A new study predicts a huge increase in catastrophic hurricanes for the northeastern U.S.

5:44pm February 03, 2022

by Rebecca Hersher

When hurricanes cause both extreme high tides and heavy rains, devastating floods ensue. Such storms will get much more frequent by the end of the century, according to a new study.

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Employees of Nomi Health check in a long line of people seeking COVID-19 tests Tuesday in North Miami, Fla. The omicron variant has unleashed a fresh round of fear and uncertainty for travelers, shoppers and partygoers across the U.S.

Omicron will cause more infections but lower hospital rates, analysis shows

5:07pm December 22, 2021

by Rob Stein

University of Washington research predicts the omicron wave will infect more than 400,000 people a day in the U.S. when it crests in about six weeks.

Scientists Say The Rush To Do COVID Research Led To A Whole Lot Of Waste

1:55pm April 23, 2021

by Joanne Silberner

That's the perspective in new papers in Lancet Global Health that assess the nearly a quarter of a million studies on treatments for COVID-19.

Recruiting patients for medical studies has been challenging during the pandemic, especially older people who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.

A Big Alzheimer's Drug Study Is Proceeding Cautiously Despite The Pandemic

4:15pm October 20, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

Researchers launched a major study of an experimental Alzheimer's drug this summer. They also learned a lot about how to protect participants who must make frequent visits to a medical center.

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