Welcome to the latest edition of “Research News: NPR” from Hawai Science Digest.

Views expressed in this science and technology news summary are those of the reporters and correspondents.

Content supplied by National Public Radio (NPR).

Accessed on 27 January 2020, 0510 UTC.

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https://www.npr.org/sections/research-news

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Research News

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SPACE

Astronauts Finish Spacewalk For Final Fix Of International Space Station Device

January 25, 2020 • Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station made their fourth foray outside the spacecraft to prolong the lifespan of a cosmic ray detector.

Drug To Prevent Premature Birth Divides Doctors, Insurers And FDA Experts

Luis Davilla/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Drug To Prevent Premature Birth Divides Doctors, Insurers And FDA Experts

KAISER HEALTH NEWS

January 24, 2020 • An expert panel convened by the FDA says the drug Makena should be withdrawn from the market because a review of its effectiveness shows it doesn’t work.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.

How Much Should The Public Be Told About Research Into Risky Viruses?

SPL/Dr. Klaus Boller/Science Source

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

How Much Should The Public Be Told About Research Into Risky Viruses?

January 21, 2020 • 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.

LISTEN· 3:53PLAYLIST

Nick Youngson/ImageCreator

PLANET MONEY

More Data On The Midlife Crisis

January 21, 2020 • An economist uses a broad range of data from 132 countries to understand why middle age is such a drag.

Se-Jin Lee/PLOS One

SHORT WAVE

Mighty Mice Return From Space

January 21, 2020 • Some very unusual mice with big muscles are back on Earth after a month on the International Space Station. NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton shares the story of the two researchers behind the experiment. What they learn could help people with disabling bone and muscle diseases and another group with muscle problems, astronauts. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

LISTEN· 11:25PLAYLIST

Warnings, Warnings Everywhere: Why We Sometimes Ignore Looming Disasters

Angela Hsieh

HIDDEN BRAIN

Warnings, Warnings Everywhere: Why We Sometimes Ignore Looming Disasters

January 20, 2020 • After a disaster happens, we want to know whether something could have been done to avoid it. Did anyone see this coming? Many times, the answer is yes. So why didn’t the warnings lead to action? This week, we revisit a favorite 2018 episode about the psychology of warnings. We visit a smelly Alaskan tunnel, hear about a gory (and fictional) murder plot, and even listen to some ABBA.

LISTEN· 35:14PLAYLIST

Patients Still Struggle To Balance High Costs Of MS Treatment, Despite Generic

Gary Waters/Ikon Images/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Patients Still Struggle To Balance High Costs Of MS Treatment, Despite Generic

January 20, 2020 • 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.

'PigeonBot' Brings Robots Closer To Birdlike Flight

Lentink Lab/Stanford University

SCIENCE

‘PigeonBot’ Brings Robots Closer To Birdlike Flight

January 16, 2020 • 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.

LISTEN· 2:05PLAYLIST

Scientists Sent Mighty Mice To Space To Improve Treatments Back On Earth

Se-Jin Lee/PLOS One

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Scientists Sent Mighty Mice To Space To Improve Treatments Back On Earth

January 16, 2020 • 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.

LISTEN· 5:14PLAYLIST

Embryo Research To Reduce Need For In Vitro Fertilization Raises Ethical Concerns

Science Photo Libra/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Embryo Research To Reduce Need For In Vitro Fertilization Raises Ethical Concerns

January 15, 2020 • 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.

LISTEN· 4:23PLAYLIST

Tell Me A Story: What Narratives Reveal About The Mind

Angela Hsieh /NPR

HIDDEN BRAIN

Tell Me A Story: What Narratives Reveal About The Mind

January 9, 2020 • We live in a world of stories. They’re in movies, books, and plays. They’re even in the things that we buy.

LISTEN· 50:29PLAYLIST

Polly Share A Cracker? Parrots Can Practice Acts Of Kindness, Study Finds

Henry Lok/EyeEm/Getty Images

SCIENCE

Polly Share A Cracker? Parrots Can Practice Acts Of Kindness, Study Finds

January 9, 2020 • 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.

LISTEN· 1:49PLAYLIST

On The Knife's Edge: Using Therapy To Address Violence Among Teens

Scott Olson/Getty Images

HIDDEN BRAIN

On The Knife’s Edge: Using Therapy To Address Violence Among Teens

January 6, 2020 • What would drive someone to take another person’s life? When researchers at the University of Chicago asked that question, the answer was a laundry list of slights: a stolen jacket, or a carelessly lobbed insult. It made them wonder whether crime rates could be driven down by teaching young men to pause, take a deep breath, and think before they act. In this 2017 episode, we go inside a program that teaches Chicago teens to do just that. We also explore what research has found about whether this approach actually works.

LISTEN· 27:28PLAYLIST

Effort To Control Opioids In An ER Leaves Some Sickle Cell Patients In Pain

Johnathon Kelso

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Effort To Control Opioids In An ER Leaves Some Sickle Cell Patients In Pain

WABE 90.1

January 2, 2020 • 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.

LISTEN· 4:41PLAYLIST

Start Fresh: 6 Tips For Emotional Well-Being In 2020

Michael Driver for NPR

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Start Fresh: 6 Tips For Emotional Well-Being In 2020

December 31, 2019 • 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.

A Young Mississippi Woman's Journey Through A Pioneering Gene-Editing Experiment

Meredith Rizzo/NPR

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

A Young Mississippi Woman’s Journey Through A Pioneering Gene-Editing Experiment

December 25, 2019 • 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.

LISTEN· 22:00PLAYLIST

A Christmas Tree Thrives On Farms, Struggles In The Wild

Irina Zhorov for WHYY

SCIENCE

A Christmas Tree Thrives On Farms, Struggles In The Wild

December 24, 2019 • 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.

LISTEN· 3:53PLAYLIST

Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats

Renzo Dionigi

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats

December 24, 2019 • 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.

LISTEN· 4:06PLAYLIST

CDC Confirms A THC Additive, Vitamin E Acetate, Is The Culprit In Most Vaping Deaths

Jelacic Valentina/EyeEm/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

CDC Confirms A THC Additive, Vitamin E Acetate, Is The Culprit In Most Vaping Deaths

December 20, 2019 • 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.

How Online Grocery Delivery Could Help Alleviate Food Deserts

svetikd/Getty Images

THE SALT

How Online Grocery Delivery Could Help Alleviate Food Deserts

December 19, 2019 • 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.

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Greek Royal Tombs Dating Back 3,500 Years

Greek Culture Ministry/AP

SCIENCE

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Greek Royal Tombs Dating Back 3,500 Years

December 17, 2019 • 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.

What Ancient 'Chewing Gum' Can Tell Us About Life 5,700 Years Ago

Theis Jensen/Nature Communications

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

What Ancient ‘Chewing Gum’ Can Tell Us About Life 5,700 Years Ago

December 17, 2019 • 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.

LISTEN· 2:58PLAYLIST

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