In New Jersey, Kids Help Dig For Fossils In An Unlikely Place
Each week, hundreds of kids gather behind an unassuming shopping center in New Jersey. They're digging for fossils with a real paleontologist.
Science
Preserved Paleo Protein Provides Perspective on Dino Family Tree, and Maybe Life in Space. Wait. What?
You are a paleontologist on expedition hunting dinosaur fossils. For all your efforts, you've unearthed just a few bone fragments. Back at the lab, you and your team determine that, based on their shape and size, you're looking at a colossal waste of time and resources. But a new tool is emerging which allows us to use dinosaur DNA to better understand prehistoric evolutionary trees. It may also help to find life on Mars, or treat human diseases.
Who Invented Agriculture First? It Sure Wasn't Humans
Ants in Fiji farm plants and fertilize them with their poop. And they've been doing this for 3 million years, much longer than humans, who began experimenting with farming about 12,000 years ago.
TV Chef Alton Brown Shares Tips On The Science Of Thanksgiving Dinner
There are tons of tips on how to cook that Thanksgiving dinner, many of them rooted in science. Alton Brown, the showman of food TV, runs through why we stuff the turkey after it's cooked, why gravy should be kept in a thermos, and why canned cranberries are the devil.
Clean Energy Analyst: Renewables Are 'Here To Stay' Under Trump Presidency
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability at the University of California, Davis, about the future of renewable energy under the Trump administration.
Researchers Explore The Struggle Of Recognizing Faces
Being able to recognize faces is a crucial part of life. But why are some of us so good or bad at it, and how skilled at it are we on average? The answers might surprise you.
Dakota Access Pipeline Protests Continue On Thanksgiving Day
Opponents of a 1,200-mile oil pipeline from North Dakota are marking this Thanksgiving Day at the site of a planned river crossing near Lake Oahe. Protesters say the pipeline could damage local drinking water sources and Native American heritage sites. The pipeline's developers say the project will have big economic benefits.
Research On Chinese Haze Helps Crack Mystery Of London's Deadly 1952 Fog
Atmospheric scientists, pinning down chemical processes behind Beijing's pollution, discovered an explanation for the unusually toxic smog that killed thousands of people in London in December 1952.
Gotham, The Humpback Whale: The Hudson River's New Resident
New York City is not known for whale watching. But there's a new resident in the Hudson River: Gotham, the Humpback Whale. NPR's Audie Cornish talks to Paul Sieswerda, president of Gotham Whale.
Heritage Turkeys Make A Comeback, But To Save Them We Must Eat Them
They're descended from birds brought by British settlers that mated with turkeys native to the U.S. These birds taste much more like the turkeys that were on the table in the 17th century.