“Got an industrial-grade 3D printer laying around that you don’t know what to do with? 3D print your own “invisibility cloak”!”
The achievement is a long-sought step toward harnessing the potential power of such cells to treat diseases. But the discovery raises ethical concerns because it brings researchers closer to cloning humans, and involves creating and then destroying human embryos for research purposes.
Graphic Source: Mitalipov Lab/OHSUGraphic
Credit: Adapted for NPR by Alyson Hurt
By the end of the century, ocean levels could rise by 2 or 3 feet. That’s enough to flood the colonists’ first settlement at Jamestown, Va. And it’s putting pressure on archaeologists to get as many artifacts out of the ground as quickly as possible — before it’s too late.
Photo: John Poole/NPR
They’re out of the lab now, flying through the air, crawling in the grass, buzzing near you, swimming in the ocean. They’re robots. They’re among us. We don’t notice yet. But we will.
It’s a story of geopolitical struggles, traditional medicine, and above all, a war of escalation between scientists and a tiny parasite. Malaria has proved to be a wily foe: Every time we think we have it backed into a corner, it somehow escapes.
Over the next several days, NPR’s Shots blog will be sharing stories about malaria. We’ll hear about drug resistance cropping up on Thailand’s border, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention’s antimalarial efforts here in the United States, and a woman who raises mosquitoes on her own blood.
But for now, take a look at our video (which is made entirely with historical photos and illustrations). You’ll travel from inside the human body to 17th-century Peru to the battlefields of the Vietnam War — in under three minutes!
Ado Ibrahim carries his son Aminu through a village in northern Nigeria. Aminu was paralyzed by polio in August. Photo: David Gilkey / NPR
Northern Nigeria is the only region in the world where the number of polio cases is on the rise. International groups have poured money and volunteers into the area to combat the disease. But vaccinators face daunting challenges — from security threats like terrorist bombings to a lack of basic resources like electricity.
Since the Nobel Prizes were established in 1901, more than 850 people and organizations have been awarded a Nobel Prize. Yet, just 44 of those prizes have gone to women. Many experts say a history of discrimination in the sciences is likely the cause.
An interesting story by one of our Kroc fellows, Chris Connelly. — tanya b.
Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
WE WANT THIS MYSTERY SOLVED! — Tanya B.