Science

The Food Industry's Influence In Nutrition Research

9:38am September 17, 2016

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Dr. Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest about the state of industry-sponsored research and how it might influence medical and policy advice.

The aim is to make clinical trial data available to volunteers and scientists, even if a drug or therapy being tested turns out to be a failure. That could help identify serious side effects.

HHS Issues New Rules To Open Up Data From Clinical Trials

6:41pm September 16, 2016

by Richard Harris

The aim is to make clinical trial data available to volunteers and scientists, even if a drug or therapy being tested turns out to be a failure. That could help identify serious side effects.

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Sure, you could get run over trying to catch that Zubat. But is it worth it? They're the worst.

Yes, People Really Are Driving While Playing Pokemon Go

3:27pm September 16, 2016

by Angus Chen

People are playing Pokemon Go while behind the wheel — and then tweeting about it. And causing crashes. Immersive games like this can be even more dangerous than texting, researchers say.

Eliminating disparities in cancer care requires more than just expanding Medicaid coverage, say cancer epidemiologists who found that patients with private insurance seemed to have a survival advantage.

Studies Link Cancer Patients' Survival Time To Insurance Status

1:17pm September 16, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Research on patients with testicular cancer and on others fighting a brain malignancy finds that people who are privately insured are more likely to be diagnosed earlier and survive longer.

Science

How Risk Affects The Way People Think About Their Health

7:55am September 16, 2016

by Shankar Vedantam

Researchers found by telling people the risk of HIV is lower than they thought, they get people to act in safer ways. But when people think the risk is very high, they sometimes act less responsibly.

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Military Bases Serve As Safe Haven For Endangered Species

6:26pm September 15, 2016

by Jay Price

Military bases turn out to be a haven for endangered species. A decision long ago by the military that working with conservationists was a better strategy than fighting them is one of the reasons why.

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Yes, It Is Possible To Get Your Flu Shot Too Soon

3:49pm September 15, 2016

by Julie Appleby

The vaccine is already showing up in drugstores, but maybe wait until Halloween to get the shot, doctors say, especially if you're over 65 and want to be protected against flu this winter.

Cattle had to be driven through the waters of a flooded road and then trucked to higher ground on Aug. 16 in Sorrento, La. About a third of the flooding in the state last month occurred outside the local flood plain.

Outdated FEMA Flood Maps Don't Account For Climate Change

3:45pm September 15, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

Flood managers suspect August's big rainstorms and floods in Louisiana are becoming more common there and elsewhere because of climate change. One clue: Much of the damage was beyond the flood plain.

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Fleas carry the bacteria that cause cat-scratch fever, so if your kitty is flea-free, you should be in the clear.

Don't Kiss That Kitty: Cat-Scratch Fever Is Making People Sicker

2:13pm September 15, 2016

by Erin Ross

Doctors have long thought that cat-scratch fever is no big deal, but an analysis finds that more people are getting sicker from it. Small children are especially at risk, as are people in the South.

Epic Climate Cartoon Goes Viral But It Has One Key Problem

7:33pm September 14, 2016

by Michaeleen Doucleff

People talk a lot about the warming of the Earth by a few degrees. Now a cartoon shows you what it looks like.