Science

How the back pain industry is taking patients for an unhealthy ride

By Danielle Venton and Jon Brooks, KQED Future of You

Searching for solutions to back pain can lead sufferers into an expensive and sometimes dangerous maze of ineffectual treatments, procedures and pills, journalist and investigative reporter Cathryn Jakobson Ramin found.

Grab your earplugs. Invasive coqui frogs gain foothold in California

By Kerry L. Shaw, Scientific American

Coqui frogs -- voracious, cacaphonous amphibians -- have already disrupted the ecosystem of Hawaii's Big Island. Now they've got a foothold in the Golden State…

Even moderate drinking may expedite brain decline

By Ike Swetlitz, STAT

Drinking just a handful of beers a week is associated with long-term changes to a person’s brain, a new study finds — although the functional meaning of these changes is unclear.

Einstein’s theory and ‘bent light’ reveal a way to weigh stars for first time

By Andrew Wagner

Rather than expose whether celestial objects need to go on a diet, this new weight scale offers a chance to learn more about the life cycle of stars, including our sun.

How Mother Nature and a Pentagon mathematician created the world’s largest instrument

By Julia Griffin, Kristin Hugo

Deep inside the Luray Caverns, a song rises above the steady drip-drip-drip of water echoing upon limestone. The Great Stalacpipe Organ, a three-and-a-half-acre percussion instrument, is its source.

Police respect whites more than blacks during traffic stops, language analysis finds

By Nsikan Akpan

By relying on computer analysis of body camera footage, a new study provides an impartial take on policing during traffic stops as well as an automated method for assessing the behavior of police officers based on the language they use.

SpaceX aims for history with latest rocket launch

By Kamala Kelkar

With 40 mice, 400 fruit flies and 3 tons of supplies in a refurbished cargo capsule, a SpaceX rocket embarked on another historic mission to the International Space Station from Florida on Saturday.

As government-funded cancer research sags, scientists fear U.S. is ‘losing its edge’

By Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News

Less and less of the research presented at a prominent cancer conference is supported by the National Institutes of Health, a development that some of the country’s top scientists see as a worrisome trend.

The lionfish zapper hits the open seas

By Nsikan Akpan

Last year, we broke the story of a robot being being developed to fight invasive lionfish. This spring, the prototype landed in the open ocean for the first time. Here’s how they took the idea from paper to practice.