Long COVID research goes private
Advocates say the federal government is no longer viewing long COVID with the urgency it deserves. Private donors are now funding research bringing an unprecedented level of collaboration.
Science
FDA move to ban formaldehyde in hair straighteners called too little, too late
The FDA will soon move to ban formaldehyde in hair-straightening products. It's more than a decade after research raised alarms about health risks and other worrying chemicals remain in the products.
As 'magic mushrooms' got more attention, drug busts of the psychedelic drug went up
Busts of psilocybin mushrooms went way up from 2017 to 2022, a new study finds, even as the psychedelic drug's potential benefits have been explored by scientists.
Science experiments and endless enthusiasm led a physics professor to TikTok stardom
Videos of Tatiana Erukhimova's enthusiastic teaching style have gone viral on social media. The secret to her success? It didn't happen overnight.
Homo sapiens and Neanderthals may have interbred, new research shows
NPR's Elissa Nadworny speaks with Elena Zavala of the University of California, Berkeley, about new research showing how homo sapiens and Neanderthals interacted and may have even interbred.
The truth about caffeine
Life Kit offers tips on how to better understand the effect caffeine has on our bodies, and make sure your relationship with your favorite caffeinated drink is a healthy one.
Are you happy? New film follows a Bhutan bureaucrat who asks 148 questions to find out
The new documentary Agent of Happiness explores Bhutan's efforts to measure its own "gross national happiness." The film follows one not-especially-happy agent who gathers the data.
Do your kids want a dog? Science may be on their side
Kids who have dogs get significantly more physical activity, compared to kids who don't. Researchers followed 600 children over three years, and found young girls got the biggest exercise boost.
Your appendix is not, in fact, useless. This anatomy professor explains
A sudden appendectomy as a child made Heather Smith curious about what the appendix is for and why it gets inflamed. Now as an anatomy researcher, she's finding answers.
Meet the 'chicken from hell' 2.0: a newly discovered dinosaur
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Kyle Atkins-Weltman, a PhD student of paleoecology at Oklahoma State University, about a newly discovered dinosaur dubbed the "chicken from hell".