Science

As Millions Of People Fast For Ramadan, Does The Economy Suffer?

2:19pm July 24, 2014

by Shankar Vedantam

New research examines the effects of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month during which millions of people around the world go without food all day. Does religious practice affect economic growth?

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Will it rain or not? How you interpret the forecast could mean the difference between getting soaked or staying safe.

Pop Quiz: 20 Percent Chance Of Rain. Do You Need An Umbrella?

5:04pm July 23, 2014

by NPR Staff

What does a 20 percent chance of rain or snow actually mean? Interpreting probabilities in forecasts can be hard even for mathematicians and meteorologists — never mind the average person.

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In Tracking Bats, It Helps To Find Them Adorable

11:45am July 19, 2014

by Daniel Potter

Julia Hoeh is a bat tracker. For $350 a week plus basic housing in rural Tennessee, she stays up long after midnight to affix radio trackers to bats and collect samples of their DNA.

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Science

When It Comes To Thinking, 2 Fish Heads Are Better Than 1

11:52am July 18, 2014

by Shankar Vedantam

Maybe we can learn from fish — they don't call a group of them a school for nothing. Researchers found that when 2 fish swim together, they make better decisions than when 2 fish are swimming alone.

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The decline of honeybees has been attributed to a variety of causes, from nasty parasites to the stress of being transported from state to state to feed on various crops in need of pollination.

Biologist Says Promoting Diversity Is Key To 'Keeping The Bees'

3:32pm July 09, 2014

Laurence Packer says humans need to appreciate both domestic bees and the some 20,000 species of wild bees. His book Keeping The Bees explores all types, including some that feed on tears.

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Science

In A Lab Store Room, An Unsettling Surprise: Lost Vials Of Smallpox

6:13pm July 08, 2014

by Geoff Brumfiel

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health made an unpleasant discovery as they cleaned out an old laboratory: The lab contained vials of the smallpox virus, previously unknown to authorities.

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Science

Some Parole Requirements Could Be Increasing The Crime Rate

9:57am July 08, 2014

by Shankar Vedantam

Prisoners who are released invariably make it back to the areas where they came from. Does this have a positive or negative effect on crime? Research triggered by Hurricane Katrina offers insight.

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Breeding Battle Threatens Key Source Of California Strawberries

11:48pm July 06, 2014

by Dan Charles

The University of California, Davis is the source of most commercial strawberries. Now, the university's strawberry breeders are going into business for themselves, and farmers are worried.

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Study: Surge In Okla. Quakes Can Be Traced To Drilling Operations

6:26pm July 03, 2014

by Joe Wertz

StateImpact Oklahoma's Joe Wertz reports on a new study that links a "swarm" of earthquakes to four specific, high-volume oil and gas industry disposal wells. It's one of several reports that show oil and gas activity could be causing a rise in earthquake activity.

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The barbecue sauce concocted with the help of Watson contains a dozen ingredients.

Science

IBM's Watson Is Out With Its Own Barbecue Sauce

11:12am July 03, 2014

by NPR Staff

The supercomputer first showed off its intellectual prowess on Jeopardy. Now after analyzing a massive number of recipes, Watson has come up with its own sauce.

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