Nell Greenfieldboyce
Stories
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Cancer risk can lurk in our genes. So why don't more people get tested?
Millions of people in the U.S. have a genetic variant that raises their risk of cancer. Genetic testing can help people find cancer earlier and seek treatment. But many patients aren't offered it.
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National
The push to expand testing for cancer predisposition
Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S., and 10% of it comes from inherited gene mutations. Tests for genetic risk factors are inexpensive, and yet many people don't take them.
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National
Young men making quartz countertops are facing lung damage. One state is taking action
Countertops made of the engineered stone "quartz" are incredibly popular, but public health experts say cutting this material unsafely can expose workers to deadly dust.
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Our own Milky Way is sending out neutrinos, the so-called 'ghost particles'
Scientists have detected these strange particles from outer space before, but this is the first time they've caught cosmic neutrinos from our own Milky Way
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Scientists have found signs of a new kind of gravitational wave. It's really big
Scientists say they've found evidence of a very long gravitational wave that could open a window onto supermassive black holes — and perhaps even other extreme, unseen objects in the universe.
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Monarch butterflies' white spots may help them fly farther, scientists say
Monarch butterflies with more white spots on their mostly orange-and-black wings are more successful at long-distance migration. Some scientists think the spots may affect airflow around their wings.
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Humans traveled less during COVID restrictions. Animals traveled more
Animals being tracked by scientists tended to travel longer distances in the early months of the pandemic, when people stayed home. The wildlife also ventured closer to roads.
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National
For Black drivers, a police officer's first 45 words are a portent of what's to come
A Black driver is more likely to face being searched, handcuffed, or arrested when a police officer's first words are commands rather than a greeting or an explanation.
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The James Webb Space Telescope reveals a mysterious planet to be weirdly shiny
Astronomers pointed the James Webb Space Telescope at a common kind of planet that's bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. What they saw wasn't what they expected.
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This star ate its own planet. Earth may share the same fate
For the first time, astronomers have caught a star in the act of swallowing a planet, providing a glimpse into how the sun may eventually eat up Earth.