Science

Pharmacists in California will have to give women a short health consultation before providing contraceptives without a prescription.

It's Still Hard To Get Birth Control Pills In California Without A Prescription

8:49am May 26, 2016

by Kelly O'Mara

California law now permits pharmacists to sell many types of hormonal birth control methods without a doctor's OK. But good luck finding a drugstore that will dispense the contraceptives that way.

A 3D reconstruction shows the structures built inside the cave.

Science

Mysterious Cave Rings Show Neanderthals Liked To Build

8:24am May 26, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

Deep in a French cave, researchers have found numerous ovals of broken stalagmites. They believe the rings were arranged by ancient Neanderthals.

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Female Drosophila bifurca flies have an organ to store sperm (right) that male flies compete to fill, crowding out rivals.

For Female Fruit Flies, Mr. Right Has The Biggest Sperm

8:25pm May 25, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

It's not unusual for males to try to impress females with big body parts. Consider antlers on deer, or elaborate tails on peacocks. Some male fruit flies take a different approach: giant sperm.

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Exxon Mobil, Chevron Shareholders Reject Resolutions Aimed At Battling Climate Change

6:40pm May 25, 2016

by Jim Zarroli

But shareholders at Exxon Mobil approved one resolution that could make it easier to one day nominate an environmentalist to the board.

Science

When Cars Collide, Safety Advocates Say It's No 'Accident'

4:32pm May 25, 2016

The New York Times reported this week on the movement to get people to stop using the word "accident" when describing auto incidents and instead use the word "crash," as a way to hold people responsible for their actions. NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Peter Norton, a historian of engineering and society, about how the word "accident" came to be used by the manufacturing and auto industries.

A view from the Shark Valley Visitors Center in Everglades National Park. Much of the freshwater that used to replenish South Florida's saw grass prairie has been diverted to agriculture, researchers say.

Rising Seas Push Too Much Salt Into The Florida Everglades

2:02pm May 25, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

Rising sea levels put extra pressure on coastal bedrock in South Florida. Eventually, as seawater moves in, it could contaminate plants on the surface and the region's stores of freshwater beneath.

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What Is The Meaning Behind The Moo?

11:38am May 25, 2016

by Kristofor Husted

Researchers are trying to figure out what cows are saying to each other — and us. Often, it seems that cows moo to communicate that something is wrong, or different.

Science

Gig Economy Reduces Lower Quality Entrepreneurial Activity, Study Shows

3:45pm May 24, 2016

The gig economy might allow entrepreneurs more freedom to earn a living working hours that suit start-up activities, but it also discourages lower quality ventures — the type that fail on Kickstarter.

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Hidden Brain takes a look at the 'Replication Crisis' in scientific experimentation.

Science

When Great Minds Think Unlike: Inside Science's 'Replication Crisis'

12:58pm May 24, 2016

by NPR Staff

Lots of psychology studies fail to produce the same results when they are repeated. Does that mean we shouldn't trust science?

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Mosquitoes in traps are transported back to the county's laboratory for analysis.

Mosquito Hunters Set Traps Across Houston, Search for Signs of Zika

8:42am May 24, 2016

by Carrie Feibel

Harris County, Texas, operates one of the largest mosquito control operations in the country, with more than 50 people who trap, freeze and test mosquitoes for disease threats.

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