An expert panel convened by the FDA says the drug Makena should be withdrawn from the market because a review of its effectiveness shows it doesn't work. But OB-GYNS who prescribe the drug disagree.
The U.S. government this week is pondering how much the public needs to know about funding decisions for studies and experiments that involve tinkering with already dangerous viruses.
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Lynn McMurdie, a University of Washington professor and principal investigator for IMPACTS, NASA's new project to more accurately predict snowstorms.
Drugs to treat multiple sclerosis can run $70,000 a year or more. Patients hoped competition from a generic version of one of the most popular brands would spur relief, but prices went up. Here's why.
Birds change the shape of their wings far more than planes. The complexities of bird flight have posed a major design challenge for scientists trying to translate the way birds fly into robots.
Forty mice spent more than a month in orbit to test two approaches to strengthening muscle and bone in microgravity conditions. The results could help people with muscle and bone diseases.
Aiming to find a cheaper, easier way than IVF to ensure human embryos are healthy before implantation, researchers paid women to be inseminated, then flushed the embryos from their wombs for analysis.
Researchers found that African grey parrots voluntarily helped a partner get a food reward by giving the other bird a valuable metal token that could be exchanged for a walnut.
According to TheNew England Journal of Medicine, more people are choosing to die at home rather than in a hospital. It's a trend that's shifting how we think about care at the end of life.
People with sickle cell disease aren't fueling the opioid crisis, research shows. Yet some ER doctors still treat patients seeking relief for agonizing sickle cell crises as potential addicts.
A recent study found students may inadvertently choose their college major, in part, based on how tired they were in the subject's introductory course — especially if it was an early morning class.
Joy can be cultivated. Hostility often masks depression. As one year ends and another begins, these six insights and tips from psychologists offer hope for a good new year.
NPR tells the exclusive, behind-the-scenes story of the first person with a genetic disorder to be treated in the United States with the revolutionary gene-editing technique CRISPR.
The Fraser fir is found in a lot of homes around Christmas. But its wild cousins have been in decline for almost a century because of a small invasive pest.
In some historical Nativity scenes, the shepherds have grossly enlarged thyroid glands — also known today as goiter. It's an apparent symbol of their poverty and iodine-deficient diet.
The number of men who use tobacco has declined for the first time since the World Health Organization started tracking it. The shift is significant because 80 percent of smokers are men.
The spate of more than 2,500 acute vaping-related lung injuries tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the decline, epidemiologists say, and the number of deaths has slowed.
Delivery service could make it easier to access fresh, healthy food in these areas, a study finds. It lends support to a pilot program that lets people pay for these groceries with food stamps.
NPR got an early look at data showing vastly different opportunities for children of different races across the U.S. living just neighborhoods apart. Albany, N.Y., has some of the biggest inequities.
Among the findings are a gold pendant with the image of an Egyptian goddess, suggesting wider interaction between ancient Greece and Egypt than previously known.
Scientists say that for the first time, they've managed to extract an entire ancient human genome from anything other than human bones or teeth. It told them a lot about the person chewing the gum.
A new study suggests the use of e-cigarettes can increase smokers' and nonsmokers' risk of developing chronic lung disease, including conditions such as COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema or asthma.
