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Friday

Heroin in America: New Treatments

A relatively new drug, Buprenorphine, allows almost immediate and painless withdrawal from heroin. Doctors say the drug is especially helpful for people early on in addiction. It removes the craving for heroin, and the addict is then gradually taken off the drug. NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports in the conclusion to a five-part series on heroin in America.

Heroin in America: New Treatments

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Thursday

Heroin in America: Life with Methadone

North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann profiles two friends in northern New York who drive long distances to receive methadone treatment. Because methadone clinics are rare, especially in rural areas, many recovering heroin addicts are forced to commute hours each day just to get their medicine.

Heroin in America: Life with Methadone

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Hope for Hubble?

Last month, NASA shocked the astronomy world by canceling a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. That decision all but sealed the observatory's fate to a slow death in orbit. But as NPR's Richard Harris reports, astronomers aren't giving up yet.

Hope for Hubble?

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Wednesday

U.S., Vietnam to Study Unexploded Ordnance

In the latest sign of warming relations between the United States and Vietnam, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and the Vietnamese government agree to begin what may become the first nationwide survey of the bombs, mines and other munitions left over from the war. Ordnance from the conflict has killed an estimated 38,000 Vietnamese since 1975. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports.

U.S., Vietnam to Study Unexploded Ordnance

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Heroin in America: From Patient to Addict

Many drug addicts trace their problem back to work-related injuries. They got hooked on painkillers they received from their doctors, and turned to heroin when they couldn't get those prescriptions renewed. Susan Chisholm reports in the third of a five-part series on a growing addiction crisis.

Heroin in America: From Patient to Addict

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Tuesday

Heroin in America: Families Fight Back

Last year, the state of Massachusetts saw some 36,000 admissions into heroin treatment programs. In Boston, things have gotten so bad that a group of everyday people decided to take matters into their own hands by forming the South Boston Family Resource Center. NPR's Chris Arnold reports in the second of a five-part series on a growing addiction crisis.

Heroin in America: Families Fight Back

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Evangelicals Differ on Sex Education

An NPR-Kaiser-Kennedy School Poll finds that white and non-white evangelical Christians agree on moral issues having to do with sex, but they often disagree on what kind of sex education is best. NPR's Brenda Wilson reports.

Evangelicals Differ on Sex Education

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Monday

Senate Debates Medical Malpractice Caps

The Senate begins debate on a new bill that would cap some damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. The bill, like one the Senate debated last summer, isn't expected to pass. But both sides hope to use it to score political points. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Senate Debates Medical Malpractice Caps

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Heroin in America

In the 1970s, the average heroin user was 28 to 30 years old and an urban dweller. Today, the average addict is a white, middle-class teenager. As the profile of heroin users has changed, so has the drug, which is more potent than ever. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports on the new generation of users in the first of a five-part series on this growing addiction crisis.

Heroin in America

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Sunday

Genetic Testing, Part 1: Reading Genes for Disease

Each year, doctors are armed with more genetic tests that can tell which people are vulnerable to what diseases. But making the decision to take the test is complex. In Part 1 of a new series, NPR's Joe Palca talks with a woman who chose to undergo genetic testing for breast cancer.

Genetic Testing, Part 1: Reading Genes for Disease

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Thursday

Endangered Wolves Make a Comeback

The North American gray wolf, wiped out at Yellowstone National Park in the 1930s, is thriving once again after being reintroduced less than a decade ago. Now the government is moving to end federal protection for the wolf under the Endangered Species Act. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports. See photos of the wolves from Yellowstone.

Endangered Wolves Make a Comeback

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Tuesday

Unraveling Mad Cow Disease

Mad cow disease and related illness are thought to be spread by an infectious protein, not a germ. But some prominent scientists don't agree. NPR's Richard Harris travels to a National Institutes of Health lab in Montana, where a group of scientists have been trying for several decades to get to the bottom of brain-wasting diseases.

Unraveling Mad Cow Disease

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Monday

Democrats: Medicare Ads Are Political Spin

Public service advertisements are at the center of the latest battle over the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, which became law more than two months ago. Republicans say the ads are educational. Democrats call them taxpayer-financed propaganda that misrepresents how much seniors will save. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

Democrats: Medicare Ads Are Political Spin

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Sunday