Science

Cypress trees line Reelfoot Lake, in northwestern Tennessee. Some of them show signs of damage from an herbicide that farmers sprayed on nearby soybean fields.

A Drifting Weedkiller Puts Prized Trees At Risk

6:05pm September 27, 2018

by Dan Charles

The EPA is deciding whether to let farmers keep using an herbicide called dicamba. The chemical is controversial because it can damage nearby crops. What's less well-known: It's hurting wildlife, too.

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World Leaders Pledge To Eradicate Tuberculosis

11:15am September 27, 2018

by Michaeleen Doucleff

For the first time, the U.N. General Assembly is holding a high-level meeting focused on tuberculosis — which is now the most deadly infectious disease. The hope is to end the epidemic by 2030.

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The contents of the naloxone kit inside an AED box located in the VA West Roxbury cafeteria.

VA Adding Opioid Antidote To Defibrillator Cabinets For Quicker Overdose Response

7:44am September 27, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

The overdose antidote naloxone could soon be available in more public places. The Veterans Administration is adding it to its automated defibrillator cabinets. Other institutions are following suit.

Brian Wansink demonstrates his "bottomless bowl of soup" — used to show that people eat more when served in a bowl secretly replenished from the inside — after he was awarded a 2007 Ig Nobel Prize in 2007 at Harvard University. Wansink made a name for

Cornell Food Researcher's Downfall Raises Larger Questions For Science

9:02pm September 26, 2018

by Brett Dahlberg

Brian Wansink made a name for himself producing pithy, palatable studies that connected people's eating habits with cues from their environment. His data manipulation now serves as a cautionary tale.

A different beluga whale swims under ice at the Arctic Circle dive center in northern Russia.

Beluga Charms British With Impromptu Visit

6:02pm September 26, 2018

by Ruben Kimmelman

People lined the River Thames east of London on Wednesday trying to catch a glimpse of a beluga whale swimming far out of its normal range.

A conservative think tank said that the Health and Human Services announcement doesn't go far enough and that Secretary Alex Azar "should redirect those funds to modern science and better alternatives."

Health And Human Services Says It's Reviewing Use Of Fetal Tissue For Research

4:17pm September 26, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

The audit has been called a political gesture to placate anti-abortion groups that oppose use of the tissue. Fetal tissue has played a part in developing vaccines and medical treatments.

Science

Food Regulation: "Only The Brave Dare Eat The Fare"

3:20pm September 26, 2018

Thanks to a group of men known as the Poison Squad, our food is a lot safer than it was a century ago. But how safe is it, really?

Fuel Efficiency And Smog In Arizona

5:14am September 26, 2018

by Will Stone

The EPA is holding hearings on a proposal to relax fuel efficiency standards. Arizona has come out in opposition — the state has a bad smog problem and was counting on the fuel rules to help fix it.

A new study from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that bees exposed to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, lose some of the beneficial bacteria in their guts and are more susceptible to infection and death.

Study: Roundup Weed Killer Could Be Linked To Widespread Bee Deaths

8:06pm September 25, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin posit that glyphosate destroys specialized gut bacteria in bees, leaving them more susceptible to infection and death from harmful bacteria.

The people-plaguing Asian tiger mosquito, or Aedes albopictus, typically lays its eggs in stagnant water.

Building A Better Mosquito Trap — One Scientist Thinks He's Done It

6:40pm September 25, 2018

by Joe Palca

A researcher in Australia has invented a low-tech, insecticide-free trap that might be able to reduce bites from a particularly pesky mosquito in some neighborhoods.

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