Science

The lab at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah failed to completely kill live samples of anthrax before sending it around the world.

Live Samples Of Anthrax Were Sent Worldwide In May Due To Ineffective Procedure

6:33pm July 23, 2015

by Lucy Perkins

NPR's Geoff Brumfiel reports that the samples of anthrax the Pentagon thought were dead, were still alive. The Pentagon says the public was never at risk.

Science

Looking For Earth-Like Planets Provides Clues For Finding 'Life Like Ours'

6:14pm July 23, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel interviews Katie Mack, an astrophysicist at the University of Melbourne, about NASA's discovery of an Earth-like planet, and why humankind is so fascinated with twin-earths.

Queue Listen Now

Giedre (left) and Tal Cohen in March 2013, while Giedre was still healthy. Since then, she's begun having symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. In Giedre's case, the illness is tied to a rare genetic mutation she inherited.

Younger Adults With Alzheimer's Are Key To Drug Search

4:42pm July 23, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

A very rare genetic mutation causes some people to develop Alzheimer's in their 30s. It also makes these people the ideal candidates for tests of potential Alzheimer's drugs.

Queue Listen Now

Artist's concept compares Earth (left) to the new planet, called Kepler-452b, which is about 60 percent larger in diameter.

Kepler Telescope Introduces Earth To A Very Distant Cousin

4:24pm July 23, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The spacecraft has detected the nearest thing to Earth yet discovered — a planet that's a bit bigger and squarely inside the "habitable zone" for life.

Queue Listen Now

Lee Perry-Gal measures chicken long bones at the zooarchaeology lab, Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa.

The Ancient City Where People Decided To Eat Chickens

1:51pm July 23, 2015

by Dan Charles

Chicken bones unearthed in Israel may mark a turning point in human cuisine: They could be the earliest evidence of people raising chickens for food, rather than cockfighting or use in ceremonies.

Queue Listen Now

The hard part of making an egg replacement product is coming up with a substitute for the protein in egg whites.

Science

Eggs Go AWOL, And Bakers Scramble For High-Tech Substitutes

9:11am July 23, 2015

by Dan Charles

The national egg shortage is hitting bakers hard. Some are replacing eggs with highly engineered ingredients that promise to work just as well.

Queue Listen Now

Women with mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to Alzheimer's, tend to decline faster than men.

Women's Brains Appear More Vulnerable To Alzheimer's Than Men's

6:05am July 23, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Researchers at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference say there's growing evidence that women are more likely than men of the same age to develop Alzheimer's disease.

Queue Listen Now

Amid Stark Realities, How Do Climate Scientists 'Stay Positive?'

7:27pm July 22, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with John H. Richardson about his recent Esquire piece, "When the End of Human Civilization Is Your Day Job."

Queue Listen Now

'New Yorker' Article Sparks Upsurge In Earthquake Survival Kit Sales

6:33pm July 22, 2015

After a frightening article a few weeks ago in The New Yorker magazine about a potentially devastating earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, there's been a run on survival supplies there. NPR talks to the maker of survival kits about his business.

Queue Listen Now

The area around the confluence of the Silverthrone and Klinaklini glaciers in southwestern British Columbia provides a glimpse into how the terrain traveled by Native Americans in Pleistocene times may have appeared.

2 Gene Studies Suggest First Migrants To Americas A Complex Mix

2:42pm July 22, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

Scientists assume a wave of people from what's now Siberia crossed into North America via Alaska, maybe 23,000 years ago. Genetics support that, but may also suggest another wave from Australasia.

Queue Listen Now