Scientific research

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Researchers say they've found the surprising source of a key piece of Stonehenge

12:21pm August 15, 2024

Researchers may have solved a Stonehenge mystery — and raised another. They say its central Altar Stone somehow got to England from Scotland, hundreds of miles farther away than originally thought.

For decades, all research in federally funded laboratories had to use only marijuana grown at a single facility located in Oxford, Mississippi.

Scientists welcome new rules on marijuana, but research will still face obstacles

4:59pm May 06, 2024

by Rhitu Chatterjee

When marijuana becomes a Schedule III instead of a Schedule I substance under federal rules, researchers will face fewer barriers to studying it. But there will still be some roadblocks for science.

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins is stepping down by the end of the year.

As he steps down as the head of NIH, he has a warning about future pandemics

6:17pm October 05, 2021

Francis Collins has served longer than any other director of the National Institutes of Health since 1971. He tells NPR he did not anticipate the culture wars taking over scientific fact.

A study of mice that hear imaginary sounds could help explain human disorders like schizophrenia, which produce hallucinations.

Mice That Hear Imaginary Sounds May Help Explain Hallucinations In People

5:01pm April 01, 2021

by Jon Hamilton

An experiment that induced imaginary sounds in both people and mice could help explain how brain disorders like schizophrenia cause hallucinations.

A researcher at Peking University's Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics conducts tests on May 14. Scientists are confronting their biases and learning to engage with science from places they're unfamiliar with.

The Pandemic Is Pushing Scientists To Rethink How They Read Research Papers

12:04pm July 07, 2020

by Richard Harris

Faced with a glut of pandemic research from around the world, scientists are confronting their biases and learning to engage with science conducted at institutions they're unfamiliar with.

He Jiankui, a Chinese researcher shown here at a conference last year in Hong Kong, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Chinese Researcher Who Created Gene-Edited Babies Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison

2:22pm December 30, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

He Jiankui announced in November 2018 that he had created the world's first gene-edited babies. Scientists are concerned about unintended side effects that could be passed down to future generations.

Trust In Scientists Is Rising, Poll Finds

4:22pm August 02, 2019

by Richard Harris

The proportion of people who say they have a "great deal" of confidence in scientists to act in the public interest increased from 21% in 2016 to 35% in 2019, according to the Pew Research Center.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a celebration for scientists and engineers who contributed to the nation's latest nuclear test.

Open Scientific Collaboration May Be Helping North Korea Cheat Nuclear Sanctions

11:26am December 19, 2018

New research shared exclusively with NPR suggests that Pyongyang is refining its weapons technology through open scientific research. China leads the way in scientific collaboration with North Korea.

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Tianjin, in northern China, is home to Tianjin University, an international research center that recently hired an American to lead its school of pharmaceutical science and technology. He recruits students from all over the world, he says, and the program

China Expands Research Funding, Luring U.S. Scientists And Students

1:23pm November 27, 2018

by Joe Palca

In a quest to rapidly advance its scientific depth and breadth, China is recruiting scientists from around the world. Some from the U.S. say the greater funding for school and research is freeing.

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Stories of outright misconduct are rare in science. But the pressures on researchers manifest in many more subtle ways, say social scientists studying the problem.

How A Budget Squeeze Can Lead To Sloppy Science And Even Cheating

6:44pm April 14, 2017

by Richard Harris

The hypercompetitive world of biomedical research occasionally drives scientists to cheat. More often, scientists make decisions that undercut their results. That can lead colleagues astray.

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