Trump targets USAID as Marco Rubio becomes acting head of the embattled agency Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is acting director the U.S. Agency for International Development, following days of upheaval at USAID as the Trump administration froze many of its programs. NPR Staff
National Science Foundation says it will unfreeze grant money after court order While NSF is still reviewing how its grants comply with Trump executive orders, it says it will continue to paying existing grants Jonathan Lambert
Vagus nerve stimulation may tame autoimmune diseases The next big advance in treating diseases like rheumatoid arthritis could be tiny pulses of electricity delivered to the vagus nerve. Jon Hamilton
Your ears can't prick up, but your ear muscles sure try Humans actually have vestigial muscles that activate when listening closely to something, even though people lost the ability to really move their ears about 25 million years ago. Nell Greenfieldboyce
Astronomers are tracking an asteroid that could hit Earth in 2032 The odds are about 1% that the football field-sized object could hit the Earth, but that makes it the closest call in more than 20 years. Scott Neuman
Understanding the science of daily stress In this excerpt from KCUR's podcast "Seeking A Scientist," host Kate the Chemist set out to understand the science behind everyday stress and some helpful ways to cope. Mallory Yu
National Science Foundation freezes payments in response to Trump's executive actions The National Science Foundation's funding freeze, and wider confusion about the status and future of science funding, is already hampering research. Jonathan Lambert
Maggots associate the texture of a food with how tasty it is, research shows Some creatures — like maggots — love to feed on decaying fruit. New research shows that they associate the texture of food with how tasty it is, too. So how did researchers figure that out? Ari Daniel
Study finds India doubled its tiger population in a decade The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism. The Associated Press
Scientists scramble to understand Trump administration actions President Trump's executive orders and actions, as well as the temporary funding freeze, have sewn confusion with many scientists who receive federal funding. Jonathan Lambert