Apr 11 Watch 6:09 The science of using your expectations to relieve pain By Nsikan Akpan Traditional healing is used around the world, from acupuncture to laying of hands to yoga. How do these alternative remedies work to heal the body and the brain? As part of our series ScienceScope and in cooperation with the Pulitzer… Continue watching
Apr 11 The placebo effect’s role in healing, explained By Erik Vance The placebo effect influences all types of healing, from yoga to laying of hands to your doctor's office. We journeyed from Mexico to Maryland to learn how it works. Continue reading
Mar 20 Puerto Rico went dark 6 months ago. Could a solar smart grid prevent the next energy disaster? By Nsikan Akpan Making renewables a mainstay in Puerto Rico will require more than solar panels and wind turbines. There's also a monopoly and Congress with which to contend. Continue reading
Jan 19 Watch 5:09 The high-tech coating that makes ketchup, toothpaste and glue glide out of the container By Nsikan Akpan Getting ketchup out of the bottle wasn't always so smooth or easy. But a coating material called LiquiGlide, originally invented to solve a problem in the oil industry, cuts the natural friction and tension between liquids and solids, allowing you… Continue watching
Jan 01 These tiny satellites, equipped with ion thrusters, could change how we explore space By Nsikan Akpan An engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wants to explore the cosmos with CubeSats and ion engines inspired by static electricity. Continue reading
Jan 01 Watch 5:40 How to visit Mars with a tiny satellite and static electricity By Nsikan Akpan Cubesats, low-cost, bite-sized satellites inspired by the tubes used to hold Beanie Babies, were invented in 1999 as educational tools. Now, aerospace suppliers and governments across the globe see the tools as the future of space commercialization and deep space… Continue watching
Oct 25 Fact or fiction: Do redheads feel more pain? By Julia Griffin, Nsikan Akpan Redheads are rumored feel more pain and need more painkillers than their blonde and brown-haired cousins, but the science itself is murky. Continue reading
Oct 09 How a brain gets hooked on opioids By Nsikan Akpan, Julia Griffin Here is the neuroscience behind how opioids overtake the human brain. Continue reading
Aug 17 5 things you should remember as you prepare for the great solar eclipse By Nsikan Akpan, Julia Griffin If you plan to join the 5,000-year-old tradition of eclipse watching next Monday, here are five things you need to remember. Continue reading
Jul 04 Watch 5:52 From the wing of a wasp, scientists discover a new beer-making yeast By PBS News Hour If you enjoy a beer on a summer day, you can thank yeast, the microbes that ferment sugar into alcohol and give beer its character. After innumerable generations of using just two types of yeast, a lab in North Carolina… Continue watching