Nell Greenfieldboyce

Sand From Fracking Could Pose Lung Disease Risk To Workers

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:12:00 +0000

When workplace safety expert Eric Esswein got a chance to see fracking in action not too long ago, what he noticed was all the dust.

It was coming off big machines used to haul around huge loads of sand. The sand is a critical part of the hydraulic fracturing method of oil and gas extraction. After workers drill down into rock, they create fractures in that rock by pumping in a mixture of water, chemicals and sand.

Feds Set New Rules for Controversial Bird Flu Research

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:16:00 +0000

Government-funded scientists here in the U.S. are a step closer to being able to resume some controversial experiments with lab-altered bird flu viruses.

Researchers in the Netherlands restarted their experiments a week ago, after scientists around the world declared an end in January to a year-long voluntary moratorium.

Close Shave: Asteroid To Buzz Earth Next Week

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:35:00 +0000

An asteroid the size of an office building will zoom close by Earth next week, but it's not on a collision course, NASA says.

Still, some people think this near-miss should serve as a wake-up call.

"It's a warning shot across our bow that we are flying around the solar system in a shooting gallery," says Ed Lu, a former astronaut and head of the B612 Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting humanity from asteroids.

The asteroid known as 2012 DA14 was first spotted last year by astronomers in Spain.

Silica Rule Changes Delayed While Workers Face Health Risks

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:31:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHwvKKQ5WtI

Scientists Put An End To Moratorium On Bird Flu Research

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:35:00 +0000

Controversial experiments on bird flu could resume within weeks because leading influenza researchers around the world have finally called a halt to an unusual moratorium that has lasted more than a year.

The voluntary pause in the research started back in January 2012.

Rules Would Retire Most Research Chimps

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:39:00 +0000

The National Institutes of Health should retire most of its chimps that are currently living in research facilities, according to a working group put together by the NIH to look at the future need for biomedical research on chimps.

The group did recommend keeping a small number of chimps in reserve in case they are needed for studies later on.

Figuring How to Pay For (Chimp) Retirement

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:36:00 +0000

Retirees flock to Florida — and the Sunshine State even has a retirement home for chimpanzees.

There, chimps live in small groups on a dozen man-made islands. Each 3-acre grassy island has palm trees and climbing structures, and is surrounded by a moat.

This is Save the Chimps, the world's biggest sanctuary for chimps formerly used in research experiments or the entertainment industry, or as pets. The chimps living here — 266 of them — range in age from 6 years old to over 50.

You Can't See It, But You'll Be A Different Person In 10 Years

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:17:00 +0000

No matter how old people are, they seem to believe that who they are today is essentially who they'll be tomorrow.

That's according to fresh research that suggests that people generally fail to appreciate how much their personality and values will change in the years ahead — even though they recognize that they have changed in the past.

Daniel Gilbert, a psychology researcher at Harvard University who did this study with two colleagues, says that he's no exception to this rule.

"I have this deep sense that although I will physic

Research Moratoriums And Recipes For Superbugs: Bird Flu In 2012

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 08:30:00 +0000

For scientists who study a dangerous form of bird flu, 2012 is ending as it began — with uncertainty about what the future holds for their research, but a hope that some contentious issues will soon be resolved.

Last January, dozens of flu experts around the world agreed to what was supposed to be a 60-day pause in controversial experiments on the H5N1 bird flu virus.

NIH Moving To Revamp Funding Process For Bird Flu Research

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:44:00 +0000

Flu researchers may be close to ending an unusual moratorium on some controversial scientific work that has lasted almost a year.

That's because officials at the National Institutes of Health say they will be moving swiftly to finalize a new process for deciding whether or not to fund proposed experiments that could potentially create more dangerous forms of the bird flu virus H5N1.

Such work has been on hold since January, when dozens of flu researchers around the world voluntarily agreed to a pause that was originally supposed to last 60 days.

NIH To Revisit Debate On Controversial Bird Flu Research

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:18:00 +0000

On Tuesday, the National Institutes of Health in Maryland is holding a second day of talks about whether and how to continue funding some controversial scientific experiments.

Back in January, virologists agreed to temporarily stop research that was creating new forms of bird flu because critics argued that the work was too dangerous.

50 Years After First Interplanetary Probe, NASA Looks To Future

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 22:26:00 +0000

Fifty years ago, on Dec.

Is Another Moon Mission Written In The Stars?

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:49:00 +0000

On Dec. 7, 1972, NASA launched its final human mission to the moon. Forty years later, Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan says he'd love to give up his claim to fame as "the last man on the moon."

"I'd like to be able to shake the hand of that young man or young woman who replaces me in that category," Cernan told NPR. "But unfortunately, the way things have gone and the way things are looking for the future, at least the near-term future, that won't happen in my lifetime.

Victory Or Defeat? Emotions Aren't All In The Face

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:04:00 +0000

Photos of athletes in their moment of victory or defeat usually show faces contorted with intense emotion.

Experiments That Keep Going And Going And Going

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 21:13:00 +0000

A biologist who has been watching a dozen bottles of bacteria evolve for nearly a quarter of a century is hoping he can find someone to keep his lab experiment going long after he dies.

Meanwhile, just by coincidence, a botanist who works across campus is carefully tending an experiment that started before he was born, all the way back in 1879.

These two researchers, both at Michigan State University in East Lansing, represent different sides of an unusual phenomenon in science: experiments that outlive the people who started them.

Most researchers design studies to churn out results as