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Why Aduhelm, a new Alzheimer's treatment, isn't reaching many patients
Episode 521
Aduhelm, known generically as aducanumab, is the first drug to actually affect the underlying disease process associated with Alzheimer's. Yet sales have been limited, and the drug is reaching very f…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
Housing and COVID: Why helping people pay rent can help fight the pandemic
Episode 520
When people can't afford rent, they often end up in closer quarters. NPR health policy correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin shares two stories from her reporting and the research being done on housing…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
Planning for a space mission to last more than 50 years
Episode 519
In 1977, NASA sent out two Voyager probes to study Jupiter and Saturn. The spacecrafts were designed to last about five years, but they are still, to this day, collecting and sending back data from b…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
A new step toward ending 'the wrath of malaria'
Episode 518
Scientists have been trying to figure out how to eradicate malaria for decades. Globally, a child under the age of five dies from the disease every two minutes, and even for kids who do survive there…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
The history and future of mRNA vaccine technology (encore)
Episode 517
(Encore) The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are the first authorized vaccines in history to use mRNA technology. In light of the authorization for some children and teens now, we are …
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
The countries left behind in climate negotiations
Episode 516
NPR climate correspondents Lauren Sommer and Dan Charles join the show before the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland (COP26) starts on Sunday. Diplomats, business executives, climate e…
Published on 4 years, 2 months ago
How metaphors and stories are integral to science and healing
Episode 515
New York's Bellevue Hospital is the oldest public hospital in the country, serving patients from all walks of life. It's also the home of a literary magazine, the Bellevue Literary Review, which turn…
Published on 4 years, 2 months ago
Spiders can have arachnophobia!
Episode 514
If you're not so fond of spiders, you may find kindred spirits in other spiders! Researcher Daniela Roessler worked with jumping spiders and found that they know to get away from the presence of oth…
Published on 4 years, 2 months ago
The opioid epidemic
Episode 513
Over the last 25 years, the opioid epidemic has been devastating to families and communities all over the U.S., and has caused half a million deaths. But it started as a way to treat severe pain. Tod…
Published on 4 years, 2 months ago
The zombies living in our midst
Episode 512
The idea of human zombies probably seems pretty far-fetched. But there are real zombies out there in the animal kingdom. To kick off Halloween week, science writer Ed Yong of The Atlantic creeps us o…
Published on 4 years, 2 months ago