Science

The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing by Merve Emre.

How The Myers-Briggs Personality Test Began In A Mother's Living Room Lab

5:26pm September 22, 2018

by Melissa Block

"The language of type can be immensely clarifying," says author Merve Emre. In The Personality Brokers she describes how a mother-daughter duo started a multi-million dollar "people sorting" industry.

Study: Since The 1970s, Drug Overdoses Have Grown Exponentially

7:56am September 22, 2018

by Rhitu Chatterjee

The research suggests that the ongoing opioid crisis may be part of a larger epidemic going back decades. The study also shows more users take multiple drugs — many of which are more potent.

Walter Mischel, a psychologist who devised the marshmallow test, explained what it really means.

Remembrance For Walter Mischel, Psychologist Who Devised The Marshmallow Test

11:44am September 21, 2018

by Julie Carli

Walter Mischel had an idea that became a pop culture touchstone. He wanted to see if preschoolers seated in front of a marshmallow could delay their gratification. What did the experiment really mean?

Drinking water samples from homes in southwestern Puerto Rico are tested at Interamerican University of Puerto Rico in San German.

Puerto Rico's Tap Water Often Goes Untested, Raising Fears About Lead Contamination

8:19pm September 20, 2018

by Rebecca Hersher

People in Puerto Rico don't trust the water supply, and with good reason. Local systems aren't adequately tested for contaminants, including lead.

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The fix was in for this rhesus macaque drinking juice on the Ganges River in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India. No gambling was required to get the reward.

In Lab Turned Casino, Gambling Monkeys Help Scientists Find Risk-Taking Brain Area

6:10pm September 20, 2018

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have identified a brain region in monkeys that influences their desire to take big risks. When this area is inactivated, the monkeys tend to hedge their bets.

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Immature human eggs (pink) were created by Japanese researchers using stem cells that were derived from blood cells.

Scientists Create Immature Human Eggs From Stem Cells

4:36pm September 20, 2018

by Rob Stein

A Japanese research team made immature human eggs from stem cells that were derived from human blood. The technique brings scientists a step closer to being able to mass-produce human eggs.

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Friend or foe? A California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) gives observers the eye at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

Octopuses Get Strangely Cuddly On The Mood Drug Ecstasy

1:08pm September 20, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The drug makes the usually antisocial creatures much more interested in friendly contact with other octopuses. It's one more sign that the chemistry of social behavior has deep evolutionary roots.

Assessing The Contamination Brought By Flooding

5:28am September 20, 2018

Aerial views of parts of North Carolina show whole buildings, including industrial livestock farms, inundated. Steve Inskeep talks with Kemp Burdette of Cape Fear River Watch.

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A Swiss study tracking the health of a group of children conceived via assisted reproductive technology found that a surprising number developed premature aging of their blood vessels. Now in their teens, 15 percent have hypertension.

Do IVF And Other Infertility Tech Lead To Health Risks For The Baby? Maybe

5:02pm September 19, 2018

by Mara Gordon

A small study of teens who were conceived via assisted reproductive technology finds a significant number already have hypertension and premature "age-related changes" in their blood vessels.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers display ivory seized from poachers around the country. KWS has played a critical role in carrying out operations against poachers.

DNA Test Helps Conservationists Track Down Ivory Smugglers

4:57pm September 19, 2018

by Christopher Joyce

The cartels that run the ivory trade try to cover their tracks — among other things, they smuggle tusks from the same elephant separately. But DNA testing can help find patterns.

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