President Trump Expected To Make Decision On Paris Climate Accord
President Trump is expected to make a decision regarding whether or not the U.S. will pull out of the Paris climate accord. NPR takes a look at the potential political and environmental impacts of leaving the agreement.
NASA Plans To Launch A Probe Next Year To 'Touch The Sun'
The small spacecraft is set to hurtle toward the sun at about 450,000 miles per hour. Scientists hope it will clear up some big mysteries, such as why the sun's atmosphere is hotter than its surface.
(Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)
Shareholders Push Exxon To Disclose Business Impact Of Fighting Climate Change
In a victory for environmental activists, investors have passed a non-binding proposal calling for Exxon Mobil to publicly examine how efforts to cut greenhouse gases would affect its bottom line.
(Image credit: Mark Humphrey/AP)
'Like Brain Boot Camp': Using Music To Ease Hearing Loss
Researchers in Toronto are studying whether singing in a choir and practicing pitch can help hearing-impaired people function better in noisy environments.
(Image credit: Andrea Hsu/NPR)
Trump Has Multiple Escape Routes From Paris Climate Accord
President Trump is nearing a decision on whether to pull out of the Paris climate agreement and has been meeting this week with competing voices in his Cabinet.
(Image credit: Ron Sach-Pool/Getty Images)
Total Failure: The World's Worst Video Game
In the late summer of 1982, one man worked around the clock to program the video game version of Steven Spielberg's E.T. in just five weeks. The result wasn't pretty.
(Image credit: Isabel Seliger for NPR)
Activists Build Human Rights Abuse Cases With Help From Cellphone Videos
A human rights group finds itself with an interesting problem — an overwhelming number of videos to catalogue as it builds legal cases. Computer scientists are creating tools to analyze the videos.
(Image credit: Meredith Rizzo/NPR)
College Art Professor Challenges Students To Build Insect Motels
A concerned University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee art instructor challenged her students to construct insect motels out of natural, untreated materials. Each motel must provide an appropriate habitat for a particular insect and attract human interest too, as each has a QR Code with information about why that bug or bee matters in nature and needs to be nurtured. Nearly 100 are installed in a state park overlooking Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee.
Are State Rules For Treating Sepsis Really Saving Lives?
Some states dictate how doctors must treat this life-threatening reaction to infection, and early intervention is helping. But scientific evidence may be changing too rapidly for the rules to keep up.
(Image credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Predicting A Hurricane's Intensity May Have Gotten Easier
Forecasters have had a great track record telling people about a hurricane's path. What continues to vex meteorologists is predicting how strong the storm will be — but that might be changing.
How A Theory Of Crime And Policing Was Born, And Went Terribly Wrong
Decades ago, researchers introduced a new theory of policing. It's called "broken windows" and is seen by many as a cure-all for crime. But the idea is often used in ways its creators never intended.
(Image credit: Image Source/Getty Images )
How An Interview With A Shark Researcher Wound Up Starring A Shark
Why have dozens of great sharks turned up around southern California beaches recently? Finding out the answer led to a close-up view of a baby great white shark — and the researcher who caught her.
(Image credit: Cal State Long Beach Shark Lab)
Handshake-Free Zones Target Spread Of Germs In The Hospital
Hospital-acquired infections can be life-threatening, and unwashed hands are often to blame. One hospital in California thinks banishing handshakes could help reduce infections.
(Image credit: Katherine Streeter for NPR)
From NFL Player To Neurosurgeon: 'Why Can't I Do Both?'
Myron Rolle talks about his long journey from playing football at Florida State University and joining the NFL to going to Harvard medical school to start his residency in neurosurgery.
NASA Spacecraft Finds Storms On Jupiter
Raging cyclones and an uneven magnetic field: NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to NASA scientist Jack Connerney about the surprising findings made by a spacecraft orbiting Jupiter.
In The Age Of Digital Medicine, The Humble Reflex Hammer Hangs On
Nearly 130 years since its inception, a modest knob of rubber with a metal handle is still invaluable in diagnosing disease and avoiding expensive testing. But its history is anything but simple.
(Image credit: Meredith Rizzo/NPR)
How A Gene Editing Tool Went From Labs To A Middle-School Classroom
Some compare the democratization of personal computing in the 1970s to the current changes in access to genetic engineering tools, in part thanks to the CRISPR gene editing tool.
(Image credit: Alan Yu/WHYY)
Two Scientists, Two Different Approaches To Saving Bees From Poison Dust
Two scientists agree that pesticide-laden dust from planting equipment kills bees. But they're proposing different solutions, because they disagree about whether the pesticides are useful to farmers.
(Image credit: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Market Forces May Impact Emissions More Than Climate Agreements
Today President Trump is at the G7 summit and high on the agenda is climate change. Many world leaders are imploring Trump stay in the global climate agreement, but emissions are going down already.
Richard Dawkins On Terrorism And Religion
Richard Dawkins, the scientist and outspoken atheist, speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about terrorism, and how the world has changed since he first began talking about his opposition to religion.
