A Mummy's DNA May Help Solve The Mystery Of The Origins Of Smallpox
Scientists have found the oldest complete set of smallpox genes in a sample of skin from a mummified child in a crypt underneath a Lithuanian church.
Science
Giraffe Now Listed As 'Vulnerable' To Extinction As Population Plummets
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature says the giraffe population has declined by as much as 40 percent in the past 30 years and could face extinction if the trend is not reversed.
Life Expectancy In U.S. Drops For First Time In Decades, Report Finds
Overall, U.S. life expectancy dipped in 2015 — the first drop since 1993. That's because the death rate went up between 2014 and 2015, driven by an increase in mortality among people younger than 65.
Trump Selects Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt To Run The EPA
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the incoming administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt is a self-avowed opponent of what he calls "the EPA's activist agenda."
Trump Reportedly Picks Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt To Lead EPA
Pruitt has made no secret of his disdain for the Environmental Protection Agency — his official biography calls him "a leading advocate against the EPA's activist agenda."
To Help The Poorest Of The Poor, First You Have To Find Them
A new project uses computers to analyze daytime satellite pictures for signs of extreme poverty. Does it work?
Protesters Fear Trump Could Reverse Dakota Access Pipeline Decision
A decision by the Army Corps of Engineers on Sunday put a halt on the construction of the oil pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Protesters rejoiced after months of demonstrations. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak about what's next for the pipeline.
Drivers Beware: Crash Rate Spikes With Every Hour Of Lost Sleep
An analysis of car accidents found that drivers who slept only five or six hours in the previous 24 had nearly twice the accident rate of drivers who slept a full seven hours or more.
Real Parents, Real Talk About Kids And Screens
How do you cope with parenting in the digital age? And how do you balance it all? How do you protect your kids, yet give them the freedom to create and explore?
Researchers Confident Mysterious Pair Of Mummified Knees Belonged To Queen Nefertari
Italian archaeologists found a pair of mummified knees in Nefertari's tomb in 1904. For the first time, tests indicate that the knees belonged to the great queen herself.