Accessibility links
Science The latest health and science news. Updates on medicine, healthy living, nutrition, drugs, diet, and advances in science and technology. Subscribe to the Health & Science podcast.

Science

Thursday

Got Radiation? Only Harmless Traces Found In U.S. Milk

Cows that consume feed, grass or water contaminated with radioactive iodine-131 can concentrate the element in their milk. Peter Elvidge/iStockphoto.com hide caption

toggle caption
Peter Elvidge/iStockphoto.com

Shots - Health News

Got Radiation? Only Harmless Traces Found In U.S. Milk

The FDA found a small amount of radioactive iodine in milk from Spokane, Wash., but experts and officials agree that the amount is far from dangerous. If anything, the news is just evidence that U.S. detection equipment is pretty darn sensitive, one expert says.

The Future Of Nuclear Energy In The U.S.

A view of the Three Mile Island power plant near Harrisburg, Pa., site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. In 1979, a reactor at the plant experienced a partial meltdown, but radioactive material never escaped containment. Bradley Bower/AP Photo hide caption

toggle caption
Bradley Bower/AP Photo

Energy

The Future Of Nuclear Energy In The U.S.

Fresh Air

Before the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power was being rebranded as a green form of energy. New York Times energy reporter Matt Wald explains how the situation in Japan is now raising questions about the safety and disposal of nuclear waste in the U.S.

The Future Of Nuclear Energy In The U.S.

Listen · 38:24
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134982512/135009027" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Bird's-Eye View Shows Vast Damage At Nuclear Plant

The facilities at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant were designed to withstand strong earthquakes and tsunamis, but not to the strength and size experienced on March 11. Air Photo Service/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Air Photo Service/AP

The Picture Show

Bird's-Eye View Shows Vast Damage At Nuclear Plant

Aerial photographs of the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan show just how badly the facility was damaged by the earthquake, tsunami, explosions and fires.

Wednesday

Tapping The Earth For Energy Savings Year-Round

Mike Barlow has been installing geothermal systems for 20 years. But he says a 30 percent federal tax credit is increasing the popularity of the systems for families with modest houses. Elizabeth Shogren/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Elizabeth Shogren/NPR

Energy

Tapping The Earth For Energy Savings Year-Round

Increasing numbers of homeowners are installing geothermal heat pumps, which take advantage of the constant temperature underground to provide more efficient heating and cooling. Initial costs are high, but a 30 percent federal tax credit can make the systems more affordable.

Tapping The Earth For Energy Savings Year-Round

Listen · 5:17
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134602533/134989266" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Japan Plant: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Tokyo Electric Power Co. Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata (second from right) and other executives bow prior to a press conference at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday. Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

Rebuilding Japan

Japan Plant: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Nearly three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on an aging nuclear power plant on Japan's Pacific coast, officials handling the crisis face multiplying hurdles, making the end goal of a stable facility with a functioning cooling system seem further from reach.

The Science Of Japan's Nuclear Crisis

Everyday Radiation Exposure Is A Tiny Health Risk

We've heard about radiation from the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan reaching U.S. shores. Professor Peter Caracappa, of the Rensselaer Polytenchic Institute, talks to Renee Montagne about different types of radiation people encounter and how to weigh the risks.

Everyday Radiation Exposure Is A Tiny Health Risk

Listen
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134974395/134974380" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
FDA Probes Link Between Food Dyes, Behavior

Red #40, Blue #1, Yellow #6 - a rainbow of food dyes. Josh Roulston/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption
Josh Roulston/Flickr

Health

FDA Probes Link Between Food Dyes, Behavior

The Food and Drug Administration is meeting Wednesday and Thursday to examine whether artificial food dyes cause hyperactivity in children. Recent studies have drawn this link, causing some experts to call on the FDA to ban the dyes — or at least require a warning label.

FDA Probes Link Between Food Dyes, Behavior

Listen · 4:00
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134962888/134974377" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

'Moby-Duck': When 28,800 Bath Toys Are Lost At Sea

In 1992, 28,800 rubber ducks were lost at sea. What happened to them is the subject of Donovan Hohn's book Moby-Duck. Jose Gil/iStockphoto.com hide caption

toggle caption
Jose Gil/iStockphoto.com

Opinion

Author Interviews

'Moby-Duck': When 28,800 Bath Toys Are Lost At Sea

Fresh Air

In 1992, a cargo ship container tumbled into the North Pacific, dumping 28,800 toys into the ocean. What happened to those toys led writer Donovan Hohn on a worldwide journey filled with beachcombers, oceanographers, ship captains and environmentalists.

'Moby-Duck': When 28,800 Bath Toys Are Lost At Sea

Listen · 32:48
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134923863/134930403" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Lessons Learned From Three Mile Island's Meltdown

A Pennsylvania state trooper and plant security guards stand outside the closed front gate to the Metropolitan Edison nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pa., in 1979. Paul Vathis, File Photo/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Paul Vathis, File Photo/AP

Energy

Lessons Learned From Three Mile Island's Meltdown

Monday is the anniversary of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. The partial core meltdown at Three Mile Island on March 28, 1979, was a major setback for nuclear power in the U.S. But the industry did learn some crucial lessons about safety and crisis management from the accident.

Lessons Learned From Three Mile Island's Meltdown

Listen · 3:46
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134914539/134916917" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Scientists Tune In To The 'Voices Of The Landscape'

Nighthawks are known for their repeated "peent" call as they hunt for flying insects. Bill Bouton/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption
Bill Bouton/Flickr

Environment

Scientists Tune In To The 'Voices Of The Landscape'

The new field of "soundscape ecology" eavesdrops on the sounds of the natural world — from the trumpeting of elephants to the chirping of ants — to monitor environmental health, species interactions and human impact.

Scientists Tune In To The 'Voices Of The Landscape'

Listen · 5:23
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134425597/134878553" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript