Science

After a quick swipe and online registration, these test tubes were ready to ship back to the lab at the University of Colorado in Boulder for sequencing and analysis.

To Get To The Bottom Of Your Microbiome, Start With A Swab Of Poo

4:53pm December 16, 2014

by Katherine Harmon Courage

To find helpful patterns in personal microbe populations, scientists also need to gather a long list of information about the people who serve as homes for the microscopic critters.

More Than Just Cute, Sea Otters Are Superheroes Of The Marsh

11:28am December 15, 2014

by James Delahoussaye

Sea otters are furry and photogenic, but those aren't the only reasons to save them from extinction. Turns out that just by eating, they can preserve their entire estuarine ecosystems.

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Would it help you to know that your worries about the flu shot are unfounded? Perhaps not.

Debunking Vaccine Myths Can Have An Unintended Effect

7:35am December 15, 2014

by Tara Haelle

People concerned about potential flu vaccine side effects may be less likely to get the shot after learning that their worries are more misplaced than they were to start with.

Nations Agree To Deal To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

7:16am December 15, 2014

by Christopher Joyce

In Lima, Peru, almost all of the world's governments agreed on a document meant to galvanize efforts to curb climate change. While the outcome was modest, it did establish some important principles.

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A crab pot full of snow crabs, fished out of the Bering Sea.

Why The White House Wants To Go After Seafood Pirates

10:02pm December 14, 2014

by Christopher Joyce

Americans eat more seafood than just about anyone, but a big portion of imports are caught illegally. One expert calls this "the single greatest threat to sustainable fisheries in the world today."

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Manuel Pulgar-Vidal (center), Peru's environment minister, applauds on Saturday after delegates to the Lima climate conference agreed on a deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Nations Salvage Deal To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

3:07pm December 14, 2014

by Scott Neuman

The deal is the first-ever to require all nations to reduce emissions, but it doesn't include a mechanism to monitor compliance.

Farmers raise millions of goats, but little has been known about whether their ruminants are happy. Now we know better.

Science

How Can You Tell If Your Goat Is Happy? Now We Know!

2:28pm December 14, 2014

by Marc Silver

Farmers raise millions of goats. But little has been known about how to tell if a goat is doing OK — until now. A new study reveals the signs of a happy ruminant.

The Geminid meteor shower above Skopje, Macedonia, on Saturday.

Geminid Meteor Showers Light Up Both Hemispheres

11:24am December 14, 2014

by L. Carol Ritchie

Pieces of gravel and dust from a "rock comet" called 3200 Phaethon are still shooting across the sky, dazzling the Earthlings below.

Science

Scents Of The Season Speak Directly To Our Emotions

2:21pm December 13, 2014

Peppermint, evergreen, latkes on the griddle — all are signature smells of Christmas. NPR's Scott Simon talks with Mandy Aftel, author of Fragrant, about why we react so strongly to scents.

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Science

Electric Eels Jolt Their Prey By Remote Control

2:21pm December 13, 2014

The electric eel creates its own electricity, sure, but Vanderbilt University professor Ken Catania tells NPR's Scott Simon what's shocking is how the eel uses it to remotely control prey.

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