Science

Fetal Cells May Protect Mom From Disease Long After The Baby's Born

8:11am October 26, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

In 1893, a German scientist made a striking discovery: Cells from a fetus hide out in a mother's body after birth. Scientists say these cells alter the risk of breast cancer and autoimmune diseases.

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Could Depression Be Caused By An Infection?

8:23am October 25, 2015

by Bret Stetka

Infection and autoimmune activity result in inflammation. And psychiatric researchers now suspect that inflammation may play a role in some cases of depression and other mental illnesses.

Residents of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, hauled sandbags on Friday as part of disaster preparations for Hurricane Patricia.

Hurricane Patricia Makes Landfall, Threatens Catastrophic Damage In Mexico

8:28pm October 23, 2015

by Russell Lewis

What was the most powerful storm ever recorded in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic basin has slammed into Mexico's central Pacific coast. The storm is now a bit weaker but still a powerful Category 5.

Science

Why Hurricane Patricia Can't Be Blamed On Climate Change

7:58pm October 23, 2015

by Geoff Brumfiel

Hurricane Patricia's record-breaking winds come as a powerful El Niño heats the Pacific Ocean. But researchers say that's not enough to blame climate change for the storm's rapid strengthening.

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Beachside Resort In Sayulita, Mexico, Prepares For Hurricane Patricia

4:30pm October 23, 2015

NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Norma Adams, general manager of Villa Amor in Sayulita, Mexico. Adams, a native of Sayulita, talks about how she and other staff started in the middle of the night Thursday to evacuate an entire wedding party from the resort on the water.

Neuroscientist Takashi Kitamura works in the lab of Nobel laureate Susumu Tonegawa at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of their recent projects helped identify a brain circuit involved in processing the "where" and "when" of memory. "Ocean

30,000 Brain Researchers Meld Minds At Science's Hottest Hangout

11:49am October 23, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Once an obscure hub of specialists, the yearly gathering of the Society for Neuroscience now draws some of the biggest and brightest from other fields too, seeking answers to brain and body secrets.

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David Lang explains how he built his underwater explorer at TED.

Science

How Can We Open Source Exploring Our Oceans?

9:42am October 23, 2015

by NPR/TED Staff

David Lang became an amateur oceanographer by getting a network of ocean lovers to team up and build open source, low-cost underwater explorers.

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Science

Do E-Signatures Change How People Think Of Documents?

5:43am October 22, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

New research finds that e-signatures can potentially make people behave in more dishonest ways. It turns out people are less willing to lie and cheat when they handwrite and sign their full names instead of using an e-signature, computer generated user code or other form of identity verification.

Imagine a bar without the booze. Delegates wrangling in Bonn, Germany, this week have to figure out soon how to cover the world's climate bill.

How U.N. Climate Negotiations Are Like Splitting A Bar Tab

7:07pm October 21, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Nearly 200 countries have delegates in Bonn, Germany, this week, trying to figure out how to fight global warming. They're at a difficult point — what the nations have pledged so far isn't enough.

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A woman's health history and tolerance for different kinds of risks should have a legitimate role in determining the timing of when she starts and stops getting screening mammograms, some leading doctors say.

Why Is Mammogram Advice Still Such A Tangle? Ask Your Doctor

4:43pm October 21, 2015

by Patti Neighmond

Leading physicians' groups don't agree about when and how often women with an average risk for breast cancer should get a screening mammogram. But your history can help guide you and your doctor.

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