Rob Stein Rob Stein is a Correspondent and Senior Editor on NPR's Science Desk.
Rob Stein, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC.
Stories By

Rob Stein

Mike Morgan/NPR
Rob Stein, photographed for NPR, 22 January 2020, in Washington DC.
Mike Morgan/NPR

Rob Stein

Correspondent and Senior Editor, Science Desk

Rob Stein is a correspondent and senior editor on NPR's science desk.

An award-winning science journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Stein mostly covers health and medicine. He tends to focus on stories that illustrate the intersection of science, health, politics, social trends, ethics, and federal science policy. He tracks genetics, stem cells, cancer research, women's health issues, and other science, medical, and health policy news.

Before NPR, Stein worked at The Washington Post for 16 years, first as the newspaper's science editor and then as a national health reporter. Earlier in his career, Stein spent about four years as an editor at NPR's science desk. Before that, he was a science reporter for United Press International (UPI) in Boston and the science editor of the international wire service in Washington.

Stein frequently represents NPR, speaking at universities, international meetings and other venues, including the University of Cambridge in Britain, the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea, and the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

Stein's work has been honored by many organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Association of Health Care Journalists. He was twice part of NPR teams that won Peabody Awards.

Stein is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He completed a journalism fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, a program in science and religion at the University of Cambridge, and a summer science writer's workshop at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

Story Archive

Friday

"I'm ecstatic. It's a blessing that they approved this therapy," said Victoria Gray, the first person in the U.S. to undergo CRISPR gene-editing for sickle cell, of the Food and Drug Administration's decision. Orlando Gili hide caption

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Orlando Gili

FDA approves first gene-editing treatment for human illness

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Wednesday

One of the scientists shows the petri dishes in which they grow cells at the department of Genome Biology, Graduate School of Medicine. Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, August 7th, 2003. Kosuke Okahara for NPR hide caption

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Kosuke Okahara for NPR

A look at the international race to create human eggs and sperm in the lab

In which we meet the pioneers of one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomedical research: in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG. The goal of IVG is to make unlimited supplies of what Hayashi calls "artificial" eggs and sperm from any cell in the human body. That could let anyone — older, infertile, single, gay, trans — have their own genetically related babies. As such, the field opens up a slew of ethical concerns.

A look at the international race to create human eggs and sperm in the lab

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Sunday

Preliminary results from a study show that gene-editing technology can be used to successfully treat a genetic disorder that increases the risk of heart disease. Gerardo Huitrón/Getty Images hide caption

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Gerardo Huitrón/Getty Images

For the first time, gene-editing provides hints for lowering cholesterol

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Tuesday

The FDA is closer to approving a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease

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"It's really life-changing," says Victoria Gray, when describing the gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease that she received as part of a clinical trial in 2019. Orlando Gili for NPR hide caption

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Orlando Gili for NPR

FDA advisers see no roadblocks for gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease

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Monday

Two scientists win Nobel Prize for research that led to COVID-19 vaccines

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Secretary-General of the Nobel Assembly Thomas Perlmann speaks in front of a picture of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on Monday. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

Nobel Prize goes to scientists who made mRNA COVID vaccines possible

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Friday

Americans are urged to get vaccinated against 3 major respiratory viruses

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Thursday

Developing mouse egg cells glow on the computerized display of a microscope. These were grown using stem cells in Katsuhiko Hayashi's lab at Osaka University. Kosuke Okahara for NPR hide caption

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Kosuke Okahara for NPR

Japanese scientists race to create human eggs and sperm in the lab

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Wednesday

A reproduction revolution is on the horizon: vitro gametogenesis or IVG

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Friday

Experts say the new COVID boosters are a much closer match to currently circulating variants than prior vaccines and boosters. JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Everything you need to know about the latest COVID booster

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Thursday

What to know about the new COVID-19 booster

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Wednesday

Experts say the new COVID boosters are a much closer match to currently circulating variants than prior vaccines and boosters. Frederick J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederick J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The new COVID boosters are coming: Here's what you need to know

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Tuesday

New COVID-19 vaccines received the backing of a panel of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday. The shots will be available across the country later this week. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

CDC advisers back broad rollout of new COVID boosters

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Monday

Another round of COVID-19 vaccines is on the way. The Food and Drug Administration approved vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that target an omicron subvariant called XBB.1.5. Vaccination campaigns, like this one in San Rafael, Calif., in 2022, could resume soon. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

New COVID vaccines get FDA approval

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The Food and Drug Administration is poised to approve new COVID boosters

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Wednesday

Lab data suggests new COVID booster will protect against worrisome variant

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Tuesday

Lab data suggests the new COVID-19 booster shots should protect against a variant that concerns scientists. The boosters should be widely available this fall at pharmacies, like the one seen in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn borough in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Lab data suggests new COVID booster will protect against worrisome variant

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Friday

The latest on COVID: Labor Day weekend, possible boosters and vaccines this fall

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Saturday

When people listen to the same song, their brain waves can synchronize. It's one way that music creates a sense of connection and wonder. BlackJack3D/Getty Images hide caption

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BlackJack3D/Getty Images

These scientists explain the power of music to spark awe

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Friday

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are ticking up. But even if illnesses keep rising, it appears unlikely that they will hit previous summer peaks. EMS-Forster-Productions/Getty Images hide caption

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EMS-Forster-Productions/Getty Images

Thursday

Yet another summer COVID wave may have started in the U.S., according to the CDC

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Tuesday

Saturday

Conception's chief scientific officer, Pablo Hurtado, examines very early primordial germ cells under a microscope in a company lab in Berkeley, California. Laura Morton for NPR hide caption

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Laura Morton for NPR

Startup aims to make lab-grown human eggs, transforming options for creating families

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