With Help From Extinct Humans, Tibetans Adapted To High Altitude
When it comes to living at extreme altitudes, Tibetans may have gotten a leg up from Denisovans, a species of archaic humans that lived about 50,000 years ago.
An Animal Makes A $10,000 Deposit, But Not At The Bank
NPR | July 23, 2014 9:03 a.m.
A Beverly Hills auction house has an unusual fossil for sale. It's not an ancient animal. It's something an ancient animal left behind — and it's very, very long.
Many Kids Who Are Obese Or Overweight Don't Know It
NPR | July 23, 2014 8:07 a.m.
A significant percentage of obese kids think their weight is just fine. But do they need to know the truth to get healthier?
Pop Quiz: 20 Percent Chance Of Rain. Do You Need An Umbrella?
NPR | July 22, 2014 5:17 p.m.
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.
Thousands Of Migrating Birds Take Their Layover In A Texas Parking Lot
NPR | July 22, 2014 5:17 p.m.
For one month every summer, hundreds of thousands of purple martins stop by an abandoned shopping mall parking lot in Austin, Texas, on their way to the Amazon Basin. Reporter Luke Quinton visited this year's roosting and offers a glimpse of the phenomenon.
Don't Pop That Bubble Wrap! Scientists Turn Trash Into Test Tubes
NPR | July 22, 2014 2:47 p.m.
Researchers have stumbled on an ingenious idea: Use bubble wrap as a cheap test tube and petri dish. They've even run tests on blood that's sitting inside the poppable packaging. So how does it work?
This Dirty Little Weed May Have Cleaned Up Ancient Teeth
NPR | July 22, 2014 2:35 p.m.
Turns out that for 7,000 years, snacking on nutsedge may have helped people avoid tooth decay. But at some point, the root it lost its charm. By the 1970s, it was branded "the world's worst weed."
Son's Mental Illness Prompts Billionaire's Big Donation To Psychiatric Research
NPR | July 22, 2014 1:43 p.m.
Ted Stanley is giving $650 million to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to find and treat the genetic underpinnings of mental illnesses. His son has bipolar disorder.
Young Scientists Say They're Sexually Abused In The Field
NPR | July 22, 2014 12:44 p.m.
Heading off to exotic locales to conduct research is one of the great joys of science. But many young scientists say they have been sexually harassed or assaulted by superiors while in the field.
What's Better Than A Total Eclipse Of The Sun? Check This
NPR | July 22, 2014 11:54 a.m.
This may be the most heart-rending, most beautiful eclipse in our solar system. But you can't travel to see it. Not yet.
Rosetta Spacecraft Readies For Rendezvous With Comet
NPR | July 22, 2014 10:13 a.m.
The Rosetta spacecraft hibernated for 31 months while its orbit took it too far away from the sun for its solar arrays to keep it operational. It's ready for a rendezvous with a comet Aug. 6.