Nell Greenfieldboyce http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4494969&ft=1&f=4494969 Nell Greenfieldboyce is a NPR science correspondent. en Copyright 2013 NPR - For Personal Use Only NPR API RSS Generator 0.94 Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:11:00 -0400 http://media.npr.org/images/npr_news_123x20.gif Nell Greenfieldboyce http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4494969&ft=1&f=4494969 Sand From Fracking Could Pose Lung Disease Risk To Workers The sand is pumped underground along with water and other chemicals to extract oil and natural gas trapped deep in rock. But researchers found that air samples taken at some drilling sites contained high enough levels of very fine silica particles to be dangerous to workers. Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:11:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/29/175042708/Sand-From-Fracking-Operations-Poses-Silicosis-Risk?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/29/175042708/Sand-From-Fracking-Operations-Poses-Silicosis-Risk?ft=1&f=4494969 The sand is pumped underground along with water and other chemicals to extract oil and natural gas trapped deep in rock. But researchers found that air samples taken at some drilling sites contained high enough levels of very fine silica particles to be dangerous to workers.

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]]> NASA Says Ancient Mars Could Have Supported Life NASA's newest rover on Mars has just finished analyzing a sample of powder drilled from inside a rock, and has found evidence that the red planet once had conditions that could have supported microbial life. Wed, 13 Mar 2013 04:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2013/03/13/174174581/nasa-says-ancient-mars-could-have-supported-life?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/2013/03/13/174174581/nasa-says-ancient-mars-could-have-supported-life?ft=1&f=4494969 NASA's newest rover on Mars has just finished analyzing a sample of powder drilled from inside a rock, and has found evidence that the red planet once had conditions that could have supported microbial life.

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]]> First Space Tourist Sets Sights On A Mars Mission The 72-year-old businessman who flew to the International Space Station in 2001 now wants to take advantage of planetary alignment in January 2018 that would allow for people to fly to Mars, loop around the planet, and return to Earth. Dennis Tito says he won't go, but the plan is to send a man and a woman on the 501-day trip. Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:33:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2013/02/27/173056144/first-space-tourist-sets-sights-on-a-mars-mission?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/2013/02/27/173056144/first-space-tourist-sets-sights-on-a-mars-mission?ft=1&f=4494969 The 72-year-old businessman who flew to the International Space Station in 2001 now wants to take advantage of planetary alignment in January 2018 that would allow for people to fly to Mars, loop around the planet, and return to Earth. Dennis Tito says he won't go, but the plan is to send a man and a woman on the 501-day trip.

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]]> Feds Set New Rules For Controversial Bird Flu Research In early 2012, experiments that made H5N1 bird flu more contagious caused an uproar. People feared that mutant viruses could escape the lab and kill people. To prevent a repeat, the government has unveiled a policy describing how scientists should study dangerous pathogens and toxins. Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:13:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/22/172582712/to-keep-deadly-bird-flu-in-the-lab-feds-set-rules-for-scientists?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/22/172582712/to-keep-deadly-bird-flu-in-the-lab-feds-set-rules-for-scientists?ft=1&f=4494969 In early 2012, experiments that made H5N1 bird flu more contagious caused an uproar. People feared that mutant viruses could escape the lab and kill people. To prevent a repeat, the government has unveiled a policy describing how scientists should study dangerous pathogens and toxins.

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]]> Highly Anticipated Asteroid Upstaged, By A Meteor The much-anticipated close flyby of a large asteroid was upstaged Friday when a meteor unexpectedly streaked across the sky over Russia. The ensuing explosion sent window shards flying and injured hundreds of people. Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:00:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2013/02/15/172130156/highly-anticipated-asteroid-upstaged-by-a-meteor?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/2013/02/15/172130156/highly-anticipated-asteroid-upstaged-by-a-meteor?ft=1&f=4494969 The much-anticipated close flyby of a large asteroid was upstaged Friday when a meteor unexpectedly streaked across the sky over Russia. The ensuing explosion sent window shards flying and injured hundreds of people.

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]]> Close Shave: Asteroid To Buzz Earth Next Week At its closest approach, the office building-sized asteroid will be only about 17,200 miles above the surface of our planet. That's far nearer to us than the moon, and even closer than some weather and communications satellites. Some people think this near miss should serve as a wake-up call. Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:35:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2013/02/08/171412450/close-shave-asteroid-to-buzz-earth-next-week?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/2013/02/08/171412450/close-shave-asteroid-to-buzz-earth-next-week?ft=1&f=4494969 At its closest approach, the office building-sized asteroid will be only about 17,200 miles above the surface of our planet. That's far nearer to us than the moon, and even closer than some weather and communications satellites. Some people think this near miss should serve as a wake-up call.

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]]> Silica Rule Changes Delayed While Workers Face Health Risks Regulations to restrict the amount of silica dust that workers can inhale were set decades ago, and workplace safety experts say that limit needs to be cut in half. A proposal for new rules was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for a 90-day review, but almost two years later, it's still under review. Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:31:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/07/171182464/silica-rule-changes-delayed-while-workers-face-health-risks?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/07/171182464/silica-rule-changes-delayed-while-workers-face-health-risks?ft=1&f=4494969 Regulations to restrict the amount of silica dust that workers can inhale were set decades ago, and workplace safety experts say that limit needs to be cut in half. A proposal for new rules was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for a 90-day review, but almost two years later, it's still under review.

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]]> Scientists Put An End To Moratorium On Bird Flu Research After researchers created versions of the bird flu virus that could spread more easily, critics began to worry that the work could spawn a pandemic if a virus escaped from the lab. After halting their work for more than a year, scientists now say the benefits outweigh the risks, and they are set to restart their experiments. Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:35:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/23/170072436/scientists-put-an-end-to-moratorium-on-bird-flu-research?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/23/170072436/scientists-put-an-end-to-moratorium-on-bird-flu-research?ft=1&f=4494969 After researchers created versions of the bird flu virus that could spread more easily, critics began to worry that the work could spawn a pandemic if a virus escaped from the lab. After halting their work for more than a year, scientists now say the benefits outweigh the risks, and they are set to restart their experiments.

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]]> Rules Would Retire Most Research Chimps An NIH working group recommends that most of the agency's 360 research chimpanzees be sent to a sanctuary — a non-laboratory setting where chimps can live more natural lives. But even if the NIH accepts the recommendations, putting them into effect won't be easy. Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:39:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/23/169981977/rules-would-retire-most-research-chimps?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/23/169981977/rules-would-retire-most-research-chimps?ft=1&f=4494969 An NIH working group recommends that most of the agency's 360 research chimpanzees be sent to a sanctuary — a non-laboratory setting where chimps can live more natural lives. But even if the NIH accepts the recommendations, putting them into effect won't be easy.

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]]> Figuring How To Pay For (Chimp) Retirement The National Institutes of Health owns or supports almost 700 chimps. But the question of where they go when no longer needed for research is a thorny one: NIH money to support retired chimps in sanctuaries has been limited by Congress. Fri, 18 Jan 2013 03:36:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2013/01/18/169656920/figuring-how-to-pay-for-chimp-retirement?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/2013/01/18/169656920/figuring-how-to-pay-for-chimp-retirement?ft=1&f=4494969 The National Institutes of Health owns or supports almost 700 chimps. But the question of where they go when no longer needed for research is a thorny one: NIH money to support retired chimps in sanctuaries has been limited by Congress.

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]]> You Can't See It, But You'll Be A Different Person In 10 Years People generally fail to appreciate how much their personality and values will change in the years ahead — even though they recognize that they have changed in the past, according to fresh research. Thu, 03 Jan 2013 18:08:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/03/168567019/you-cant-see-it-but-youll-be-a-different-person-in-10-years?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/03/168567019/you-cant-see-it-but-youll-be-a-different-person-in-10-years?ft=1&f=4494969 People generally fail to appreciate how much their personality and values will change in the years ahead — even though they recognize that they have changed in the past, according to fresh research.

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]]> Research Moratoriums And Recipes For Superbugs: Bird Flu In 2012 When scientists figured out how to make the deadly H5N1 virus more contagious, a debate ignited about whether to publish the research and do more experiments. Over the past year, scientists published the contentious work, but they still can't agree on the field's future. Mon, 31 Dec 2012 03:30:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/31/167986224/research-moratoriums-and-recipes-for-superbugs-bird-flu-in-2012?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/31/167986224/research-moratoriums-and-recipes-for-superbugs-bird-flu-in-2012?ft=1&f=4494969 When scientists figured out how to make the deadly H5N1 virus more contagious, a debate ignited about whether to publish the research and do more experiments. Over the past year, scientists published the contentious work, but they still can't agree on the field's future.

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]]> Controversial Bird Flu Work To Resume Soon Scientists recently sparked controversy when they made dangerous new forms of bird flu. The National Institutes of Health is about to put in place a new system for reviewing this kind of work in the future. Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:44:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/19/167615500/nih-moving-to-revamp-funding-process-for-bird-flu-research?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/19/167615500/nih-moving-to-revamp-funding-process-for-bird-flu-research?ft=1&f=4494969 Scientists recently sparked controversy when they made dangerous new forms of bird flu. The National Institutes of Health is about to put in place a new system for reviewing this kind of work in the future.

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]]> NIH Revisits Debate On Controversial Bird Flu Research On Tuesday, the National Institutes of Health in Maryland is holding a second day of talks about whether and how to continue funding some controversial scientific experiments. Back in January, virologists agreed to temporarily stop research that was creating new forms of bird flu, because critics argued that the work was too dangerous. Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:18:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/18/167466251/nih-to-revisit-debate-on-controversial-bird-flu-research?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/18/167466251/nih-to-revisit-debate-on-controversial-bird-flu-research?ft=1&f=4494969 On Tuesday, the National Institutes of Health in Maryland is holding a second day of talks about whether and how to continue funding some controversial scientific experiments. Back in January, virologists agreed to temporarily stop research that was creating new forms of bird flu, because critics argued that the work was too dangerous.

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]]> 50 Years After First Interplanetary Probe, NASA Looks To Future Mariner 2's 1962 mission to Venus was the first time any spacecraft had gone to another planet. Before the mission, very little was known about the planets, and much of what was believed to be true turned out to be wrong. Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:26:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2012/12/14/167211913/50-years-after-first-interplanetary-probe-nasa-looks-to-future?ft=1&f=4494969 http://www.npr.org/2012/12/14/167211913/50-years-after-first-interplanetary-probe-nasa-looks-to-future?ft=1&f=4494969 Mariner 2's 1962 mission to Venus was the first time any spacecraft had gone to another planet. Before the mission, very little was known about the planets, and much of what was believed to be true turned out to be wrong.

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