Science

This negative-stained transmission electron micrograph depicts the ultrastructural details of an influenza virus particle, or virion.

Flu Season Looms And Scientists Wonder How Flu And COVID-19 Might Mix

7:55pm September 03, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

There's a lot that scientists don't know about how viral infections can interact. But researchers are eager to figure out how coronavirus infections might affect flu infections and vice versa.

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President Trump delivers remarks last week on the Farmers to Families Food Box program at Flavor 1st Growers and Packers in Mills River, N.C.

How Trump's Food Box Initiative Overpaid And Underdelivered

2:24pm September 03, 2020

by Dan Charles

The Trump administration has been buying food from farmers and getting it to food banks. Food banks, however, say the program was not set up to deliver food efficiently.

Science

Study: How The Power Of Facebook And Google Affects Local Communities

5:49am September 03, 2020

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Pat Garofalo of the American Economic Liberties Project, about the progressive group's study indicating Facebook and Google are harming local journalism.

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Patients with a fast-progressing form of ALS who got daily doses of an experimental two-drug combination called AMX0035 scored higher on a standard measure of function than patients who didn't get the drug.

Drug Combination Slows Progression Of ALS And Could Mark 'New Era' In Treatment

7:44pm September 02, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists say new drugs are on the way for patients with ALS. The latest is a two-drug combo that appears to slow the progression of the fatal nerve disease with a modest but meaningful benefit.

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Studies of steroids, including the generic drug dexamethasone, have found that these drugs can reduce deaths in patients hospitalized with serious cases of COVID-19.

Inexpensive Steroids Can Save Lives Of Seriously Ill COVID-19 Patients

7:06pm September 02, 2020

by Richard Harris

Multiple studies now confirm earlier research: Dexamethasone and hydrocortisone, drugs that reduce an immune system's overreaction, can help reduce deaths of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

A walk through the streets of New York during the pandemic echoes the loneliness and isolation many Americans are feeling in their battle against a virus that has brought multiple traumas — with no end in sight.

Pandemic's Emotional Hammer Hits Hard

4:37pm September 02, 2020

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been profound, researchers find. Nearly 25% of Americans are depressed, particularly those who have low incomes and have lost a job or a loved one.

Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there's not much evidence, they say the science is on their side.

Making Gyms Safer: Why The Virus Is Less Likely To Spread There Than In A Bar

11:12am September 02, 2020

by Will Stone

Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there's not much evidence, they say the science is on their side.

Science

Bats Use Baby Talk To Teach Their Pups, Researchers Say

4:09pm August 31, 2020

Researchers say mother bats use baby talk to communicate with their pups. Experts say that it helps bats learn the language.

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'Disease tolerance' is the ability of an individual, due to a genetic predisposition or some aspect of behavior or lifestyle, to thrive despite being infected with an amount of pathogen that sickens others. It might play a role in asymptomatic coronavirus

Scientists Explore Why Some People Are Able To Live With An Infection Unscathed

6:00am August 29, 2020

by Emily Laber-Warren

What if your body could corral an infection instead of eliminating it? Immunologists who see this sort of "disease tolerance" in plants wonder what role it might play in asymptomatic human infections.

Science

Earthquake Study Helps Prepare For Future Geological Events

3:00pm August 28, 2020

by Eddie Garcia

Members of the North Carolina Geological Survey visited the site of t