Science

The federal government is preparing to auction off Plum Island, a mostly undeveloped spot near some exceptionally pricy real estate. The catch? It was once used as a disease research lab.

In NPR's most recent poll, a majority of American adults say they played sports in their youth. Many say they encourage their kids to play, too, and see health benefits as well as lifelong lessons.

It can take more than just a keen ear to figure out what animals are saying. Sometimes, scientists are learning, you have to talk back to map the rich networks of conversation in a forest.

More than a quarter of parents in a recent poll say they hope their teens who play high school sports will become professional athletes. But sky-high parental expectations can have a dark side.

Scientists have found a fern whose parents are separated by some 60 million years of evolution. This story originally aired on February 24, 2015 on Morning Edition.

Hospital admissions caused by bike injuries have more than doubled in the past 15 years across the country. One doctor thinks the "Lance Armstrong effect" could be a reason for the jump.

An Australian bay has gotten a bit too crowded for the local octopuses, who have been fighting and bullying each other. They now appear to be hurling shells as weapons — and there's video evidence.

Earth is home to more than 3 trillion trees, a new map of forest density shows. That's more than anyone realized. But the total is also down about 46 percent since the first humans arrived.