Science
A still from video provided by researchers that shows glucose-averse German cockroaches avoiding a dab of jelly, which contains glucose, and favoring the peanut butter.
Evolution Saves Cockroaches From Taking The Bait
()A new study unravels the mystery of a peculiar transformation: sometime in the 1990s, the insects developed a sudden aversion to sweet-tasting poisons.
Special Series
Joe's Big Idea
How do ideas become inventions and innovations? An NPR experiment explores.
The Two-Way
Descending Into The Mariana Trench: James Cameron's Odyssey()
May 23, 2013 At nearly seven miles below the water's surface, the Mariana Trench is the deepest spot in Earth's oceans. And the site north of Guam is where director and explorer James Cameron fulfilled a longtime goal of reaching the bottom in a manned craft.
Shots - Health News
Why You Have To Scratch That Itch()
Itch can be a useful warning sign, or a maddening symptom with no cure. But the origins of itch have long been a mystery.Scientists think they've come closer to understanding the origins of itch in a molecule that makes mice scratch like mad.
The Two-Way
NOAA Predicts Above-Average Hurricane Season()
May 23, 2013 Forecasters predict as many as six major hurricanes in the Atlantic this year due in part to warmer-than-average ocean temperatures.
Shots - Health News
Researchers Find Bird Flu Is Contagious Among Ferrets()
May 23, 2013 The virus's ability to move between these mammals might not bode well for humans. So far, it appears that H7N9 doesn't pass easily between people, but it could mutate over time and pose more of a threat.
Shots - Health News
Errors In Stem-Cell Cloning Paper Raise Doubts()
May 23, 2013 Biologists said last week that they had overcome a major obstacle in stem-cell research by cloning human embryos. But several images in the published study were duplicated and labeled incorrectly, prompting questions about the authenticity of the results.
Shots - Health News
Scientific Tooth Fairies Investigate Neanderthal Breast-Feeding()
May 23, 2013 Our closest relatives, chimpanzees and gorillas, breast-feed their offspring for several years. Some baby orangutans nurse until they are 7 years old. Researchers found a way to test ancient teeth for clues about when humans cut nursing short.
The Salt
Could African Crops Be Improved With Private Biotech Data?()
May 22, 2013 A plant scientist at Mars Inc. has appealed to the world's biggest life sciences companies to help him — by sharing what they already know about 100 crops that could provide better nutrition in Africa. But can the kings of agricultural intellectual property get onboard with open source agricultural information for Africa?
The First Web Page, Amazingly, Is Lost()
May 22, 2013 Ironically, there's one piece of Web history that can't be found online: the very first page. Now, a team at the lab where the World Wide Web was born is on a hunt for old hard drives and floppy disks that might hold copies of the missing files.
Shots - Health News
Research Reveals Yeasty Beasts Living On Our Skin()
May 22, 2013 While studying microorganisms on humans is not new, tracking fungi is. In a census of sorts, scientists checked the skin of healthy volunteers. They found an expansive ecosystem of silent inhabitants.
Krulwich Wonders...
How Benjamin Franklin Invented A Weight Loss Program, Using Balloons ()
May 22, 2013 "Someone asked me," Benjamin Franklin once said, "what's the use of a balloon?" They don't do much. They just float. What are they good for? And Franklin replied, "What's the use of a new-born baby?" They just sit there. They don't do much. You have to imagine possibilities. This is Franklin, in the 1780s, thinking about balloons.




