Science

Science

Million-Year-Old DNA Samples Pulled From Mammoth Teeth

4:07pm February 17, 2021

Scientists were able to recover DNA more than a million years old from the teeth of Siberian mammoths. A genetic analysis gives clues to the subsequent rise of mammoths in North America.

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Long-Term COVID-19 Vaccine Studies Hampered As Placebo Recipients Get Real Shot

4:07pm February 17, 2021

by Richard Harris

Scientists are trying to learn more about COVID-19 vaccines from original study participants. That quest is hampered because many people who received a placebo shot have now opted to get the vaccine.

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Marion Koopmans was part of a WHO team that traveled to Wuhan to investigate the start of the coronavirus pandemic. She tells NPR that the Wuhan seafood market was "not the whole story."

Virologist: WHO Team Found No 'Credible Link' Between Wuhan Labs, COVID-19

6:18pm February 16, 2021

by Steve Inskeep

Virologist Marion Koopmans was part of a WHO team that reconstructed the early coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. She talked with NPR about her team's investigation.

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Nurse Keith Grant got his second dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on schedule from registered nurse Valerie Massaro in January at the Hartford Convention Center — 21 days after his first immunization.

COVID-19 Vaccine: Don't Miss 2nd Dose Because Of Scheduling Glitches

3:07pm February 16, 2021

by Allison Aubrey

After getting one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, some people are having trouble getting their second shot. Here's how to maximize the likelihood you'll get both doses, to be fully immunized.

A skeleton of an Allosaurus on display at Drouot auction house in Paris in October. A new theory says the dinosaurs were killed by a comet fragment that originally came from the edge of the solar system.

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Dinosaur-Killing Impact Came From Edge Of Solar System, New Theory Suggests

8:05am February 16, 2021

by Matthew S. Schwartz

Harvard researchers say a comet from deep space — not an asteroid from the belt past Mars — was responsible for the mass extinction. Others are skeptical.

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Tracking New Coronavirus Variants In The U.S.

5:20pm February 15, 2021

Scientists have identified new coronavirus variants popping up around the U.S. Ailsa Chang speaks with Vaughn Cooper about how well the U.S. is equipped to track the emergence of these new strains.

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A Look At The New U.S. Coronavirus Variants

5:20pm February 15, 2021

by Rhitu Chatterjee

In recent months, we've learned about several new variants of the coronavirus that have popped up in the U.S. Scientists recently reported seven new and distinct variants.

Deforested land on Indonesia's Borneo Island. Activists are using satellites to monitor deforestation, but cloud cover sometimes hides it from view.

Pillagers Of Tropical Forests Can't Hide Behind Clouds Anymore

2:33pm February 15, 2021

by Dan Charles

Environmental watchdogs now can detect deforestation even when it's hidden from sight by rain and clouds. They're using data from radar on a European satellite.

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'Perseverance' Mission Will Put NASA Wheels Back On Mars

8:01am February 14, 2021

by Joe Palca

Another six-wheeled rover is about to land on Mars. NASA Perseverance's mission is headed to Jezero Crater, which once may have been a lake. It's carrying two new items: a microphone and a helicopter.

Lots of manufacturers offer a rainbow of ink colors. People can even go online and order a bottle. The Food and Drug Administration has not regulated the pigments in tattoo inks so far, but agency officials will investigate and recall tattoo inks if they

As Scientists Study Tattoo Ink Safety, Europe Bans Two Widely Used Pigments

9:50am February 13, 2021

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Tattoo artists are unhappy about a new ban on blue and green pigments in Europe, while scientists say the basic science of tattoo ink is still fairly mysterious.