Science

The Kavli HUMAN Project aims to capture data over 20 years based on the lives of 10,000 people, centered in New York.

Science

Can Big Data Resolve The Human Condition?

1:58pm April 26, 2016

by Adam Frank

What makes the Kavli HUMAN Project, which will follow 10,000 people over 20 years, so exciting is that it's exactly the kind of approach that can show us if Big Data really works, says Adam Frank.

Science

How Being Busy Affects Our Motivation

12:59pm April 26, 2016

by Shankar Vedantam

There's an old saying: If you want to get something done, ask a busy person. Researchers find that busy people are more motivated to complete tasks after missing a deadline than their non-busy peers.

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One Silicon Valley startup that encouraged its employees to think about work 24/7 found they missed market signals, tanked deals and became too irritable to build crucial working relationships.

Many Grouchy, Error-Prone Workers Just Need More Sleep

11:31am April 26, 2016

by Yuki Noguchi

Sleep researchers say about 30 percent of employees at big firms are so tired they're making as many mistakes as if they were coming to work drunk. Some offices now have "napping pods."

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Airbnb host Synta Keeling rents two bedrooms in her house in Washington, D.C.'s predominantly black Anacostia neighborhood.

#AirbnbWhileBlack: How Hidden Bias Shapes The Sharing Economy

12:10am April 26, 2016

The sharing economy is making online transactions far more personal, which can lead to some unintended consequences.

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National Park Service Celebrates 100th Anniversary

4:37pm April 25, 2016

by Nathan Rott

The National Park Service is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its creation this year. NPR spends time on the job with workers in the country's busiest national park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to explore the vast variety of work the park service does and the challenges it's facing.

A new study finds that babies fed rice cereals and other rice-based snacks have higher concentrations of arsenic in their urine.

Babies Who Eat Rice Cereal Have Higher Arsenic Levels, Study Finds

3:49pm April 25, 2016

by Allison Aubrey

Multiple studies have found that rice-based foods contain traces of arsenic. Now a study finds babies fed rice cereals and other rice-based snacks have higher concentrations of arsenic in their urine.

Liam is a robot Apple created to disassemble iPhones.

These Earth-Saving Robots Might Be The Future Recyclers

2:32pm April 24, 2016

by Zhai Yun Tan

Apple recently unveiled Liam, a robot with 29 arms that takes apart iPhones so materials can be recycled and reused. As we accumulate more waste, recycling robots like Liam might become more common.

Runners make their way across Tower Bridge during the Virgin Money London Marathon on Saturday in London.

Astronaut Completes London Marathon From The International Space Station

2:04pm April 24, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

About 38,000 runners competed in the London Marathon today – and one of them ran it in orbit 200 miles above Earth. British astronaut Tim Peake says microgravity is "perfect" for post-race recovery.

Solar Impulse 2 pilots Bertrand Piccard (right) and Andre Borschberg celebrate after Piccard landed their solar-powered plane at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif., on Saturday.

Experimental Solar-Powered Plane Completes Journey Across The Pacific

8:39am April 24, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Solar Impulse 2 flew for three days from Hawaii to Calif., after a nine month delay for repairs. The team is aiming to complete a round-the-world journey using only the sun's power.

A map of the Amazon shelf showing the newly discovered reef structures in yellow.

Reef Larger Than Delaware Found At The Mouth Of The Amazon River

3:37pm April 23, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The reef is unusual because it lies in muddy waters, and scientists had only seen hints of its existence until recent research expeditions. They say it's already in danger because of oil drilling.