Science

Science

In 'Biohacked' podcast, at-home genetics tests rewrite family history

5:14pm March 26, 2022

NPR's Danielle Kutrzleben speaks with T.J. Raphael and Amber Van Moessner, the team behind the podcast Biohacked: Family Secrets, which puts a spotlight on the donor conception industry.

Epidemiologist answers questions about the infectious omicron BA.2 variant

5:14pm March 26, 2022

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben speaks with Harvard epidemiologist Bill Hanage about the BA.2 COVID-19 variant and how people should be thinking about yet another new phase of the pandemic.

Keris Myrick, right, who has schizophrenia, with her father, Dr. Howard Myrick.

COVID and schizophrenia: Why this deadly mix can deepen understanding of the brain

1:26pm March 25, 2022

by April Dembosky

People with schizophrenia are three times as likely to die from the virus, giving scientists an opportunity to study the potential relationship between the immune system and mental illness.

Steven Johnson speaks at TEDMonterey on August 3, 2021. TEDMonterey: The Case for Optimism. August 1-4, 2021, Monterey, California. Photo: Bret Hartman / TED

Steven Johnson: The Past, Present, and Future of the Human Life Span

8:34am March 25, 2022

In the last century, human life expectancy has doubled. This hour, we talk with writer Steven Johnson on the many breakthroughs that made this possible — and where we go from here.

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A boa constrictor feeds on a lizard in Tijuca Forest National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Science

This trick keeps snakes from suffocating as they squeeze and swallow their prey

6:08pm March 24, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

How do boa constrictors breathe while constricting their victims? A new study finds that snakes can switch which set of ribs they use to draw in air as they crush their meal before devouring it.

Reseach is showing that people who are vaccinated, even with just one dose, tend to have lower rates of long COVID-19 after catching the virus than those who are unvaccinated.

Evidence grows that vaccines lower the risk of getting long COVID

12:53pm March 24, 2022

by Will Stone

Though findings are preliminary, many studies suggest that vaccinated people have good protection against the condition, although just how much is still up for debate.

When 2 coronavirus variants meet inside 1 person, a Frankenstein hybrid can be born

4:34pm March 23, 2022

by Michaeleen Doucleff

That's how the so-called "deltacron" variant — a mashup of delta and omicron — came to be. This process of recombining tells us a lot about the possible past and future of SARS-CoV-2.

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A procedure room at Planned Parenthood in Meridian, Idaho, one of the few clinics in the state to offer abortions. Access to abortion is about to become even less available in the state as a six-week ban became law.

Idaho prepares to ban most abortions in the state as governor signs Texas-style law

4:08pm March 23, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

Barring legal challenges, Idaho's law is scheduled to take effect in about a month. It bans most abortions after about six weeks and allows health care providers to be sued.

A Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is prepared during a pop-up vaccine clinic at Cristo Rey Church in East Austin on July 24, 2021.

Moderna wants the FDA to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 6

11:20am March 23, 2022

by Ayana Archie

No deaths were reported in tests, and there were no signs of myocarditis, or heart inflammation, as a side effect.

Traditionally, pizza dough is made by allowing yeast to ferment the flour and water until air bubbles form in the dough. But scientists in Naples are developing a new approach – one that doesn't rely on yeast.

Italian scientists hacked pizza physics to make dough without yeast

7:45pm March 22, 2022

by Ari Daniel

Bread geeks, take note! The new technique, developed in a lab in Naples, involves the smart application of materials science and physics to make airy, bubbly dough without fermentation.

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