Health & Science Audio/Video - NPR

The financial bailout President Bush signed last week actually began its legislative life as a bill addressing mental health benefits. The law intended to save Wall Street also requires many businesses to offer mental health coverage equal to that for other illnesses.

The 2008 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine goes to two French scientists for discovering the virus that causes AIDS. A German researcher shares the prize for discovering the viruses that cause cervical cancer.

When a swarm of bees takes flight, it can form a cloud as big as a school bus. But who's driving? And how do they know which way to go? Professor Thomas Seeley of Cornell University talks about how swarms of honeybees decide who's at the wheel and who's a backseat flier.

The iJET is a new type of solar cell that's cheap and easy to make, requiring not much more than a pizza oven, some nail polish remover, and a common inkjet printer. Australian scientist Nicole Kuepper describes her invention.

When Andrea St. John and Kevin Broderick met in 2006, they were both teaching high school in Lake Placid, N.Y. Broderick was in recovery from a rare form of cancer. But that didn't stop them from falling in love. Recently, St. John spoke with Broderick's brother about their relationship.

A recent study found that volunteers conditioned to feel a lack of control were more likely to see patterns that didn't exist. Faced with powerlessness, the human mind seems to make up patterns to explain the world around it.

SpaceX's flagship Falcon1 rocket has successfully launched from an island in the central Pacific, becoming the first privately-developed rocket to orbit the planet. NASA has already contracted SpaceX to begin private space flight missions to the International Space Station beginning in 2010.

New research shows that when people perceive they have no control over a given situation, they are more likely to see illusions, patterns where none exist and even believe in conspiracy theories. The study suggests that people impose imaginary order when no real order can be perceived.

A consortium of Northeast states has completed the first cap-and-trade greenhouse gas auction in the U.S. Under cap-and-trade, limits are set on emissions. Companies that do not use up their quota of emissions are able to sell their excess emission capacity to other companies.

NASA has postponed a planned repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope after a new problem developed with the orbiting observatory. Ed Weiler, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, explains why repairs won't take place until Feb. 2009 — at the earliest.

Ever wonder how a song gets stuck in your head? Neurologist Oliver Sacks explains this and other mind-music mysteries in his new book, Musicophilia.

Don't believe the multitasking hype, scientists say. New research shows that we humans aren't as good as we think we are at doing several things at once — but it also found a skill that gives us an evolutionary edge. Researchers say humans are merely very good at switching their attention from task to task.

The recent discovery of a well-preserved tissue sample from a woman living in the Congo in 1960 allowed scientists to analyze an early version of the HIV genome. Their findings indicate that HIV arrived in the region much earlier than previously thought, around 100 years ago.

Voting is your civic duty, but be careful how you get to the polls. A new study suggests that there is an increased risk of car crashes on presidential voting days.

Are the candidates healthy enough to serve in the job they're gunning for? John McCain allowed reporters to look at — but not photocopy — more than a thousand pages of health records last May. Barack Obama provided a one-page summary from his doctor.

Tests for cancer are intimidating enough — and now genetic tests can reveal a patient's predisposition for certain cancers before there are any symptoms. Filmmaker Joanna Rudnick, upon learning she had such a genetic mutation, made a TV documentary about the agonizing choices such tests involve.

Shoppers will soon see more food labels with the country of origin. A new law goes into effect Tuesday aimed at giving U.S. consumers more information about where their meat and produce come from. But globalization has made things more complicated. A hog may have been born in Canada but raised and slaughtered in the U.S.

Many people generate an immense amounts of digital data during a single day — often without a second thought. But Stephen Baker, a senior writer at BusinessWeek, warns that the information generated is being monitored by a group of entrepreneurial mathematicians.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) serves a dual role in Washington these days: he's not just a congressman, but he's also calling upon his experience as a former psychiatrist. Lawmakers struggling with the stress of their jobs have asked for his advice recently. McDermott talks to host Andrea Seabrook about dealing with Capitol Hill pressures.

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones. Our bodies use sunlight to create their own vitamin D. Bruce Hollis, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, talks about how the process works.

A rule allowing health care providers to refuse to perform abortions for moral reasons drew much controversy this week. Critics worry pregnancy prevention drugs such the morning-after pill and birth control may fall under the rule.

Solar winds — invisible gas plasma emitted by the Sun — protect the solar system from cosmic rays that are hostile to terrestrial life. But new data from the Ulysses NASA probe indicate solar wind output is lower than has ever been previously documented.

Famous for his work on the first oral contraceptive in 1951, chemist Carl Djerassi has published a number of novels and plays over the last 20 years. His latest play, Taboos, grapples with the questions of sex divorced from reproduction.

A new hardware store devoted exclusively to solar energy systems is about to open in Swarthmore, Pa. Open Sky Energy will sell solar hardware to consumers and businesses and will also design and install the equipment. Are green energy stores a growing trend?

Between environmental concerns and rising gasoline prices, energy use has never seemed more entwined with the economy. Guests discuss how oil prices are tied to economic growth, and give a roundup of the latest energy news.

Magnets cooled to extremely low temperatures are an essential element of the massive particle accelerator. Some of these magnets may have overheated last week, causing the Collider to fail its preliminary tests — possibly delaying the project by a year.

The nation's leading organization of psychiatrists says the Pentagon has reneged on an agreement not to use psychiatrists in interrogations of detainees at Guantanamo and other detention sites.

The vast majority of scientific studies show no association between cell phone use and brain cancer. But several doctors say the issue isn't settled, and they are asking Congress for more research.

It's hard to find rocks from the earliest days of the planet because the Earth's surface is constantly changing. But exposed bedrock on the eastern shore of the Hudson Bay in Quebec may be 4.3 billion years old.

A building heralded as the greenest museum in the world opens Saturday in San Francisco. Italian architect Renzo Piano tucked the building into the hills of Golden Gate Park — in both form and function, the museum fits into the natural world surrounding it.

Milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine has sickened more than 50,000 children in China in recent weeks. But the practice of adulterating milk seems to have started far earlier than is being reported — and one whistle-blower has been trying to expose the dirty secrets of China's milk industry.

Johns Hopkins senior Juliana Kerrest has struggled with mental illness since her early teens. In college, she went so far as to plan her suicide. One thought that stopped her: Her work with the support group Active Minds could help others suffering from mental illness.

Suicide is a very real risk for young people who suffer from clinical depression. In fact, during the past two years, suicide has increased among youths between the ages of 10 and 19. But a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressants has been proved to help.

Big power companies in Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut will be required to buy allowances for every ton of gas their plant emits. The auction of greenhouse gas allowances is part of a plan to start reducing carbon emissions. Four other states—New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Delaware, will participate in later auctions.

A new study shows that about half of all medical students suffer from burnout and one in ten has suicidal thoughts. Dr. Sydney Spiesel discusses what's behind these figures.

Researchers are calling for warning labels on energy drinks. The drinks contain substantial amounts of caffeine, which could lead to symptoms associated with a caffeine overdose, including heart palpitations and insomnia. The energy drinks are marketed to adolescents, who haven't developed a tolerance to caffeine.

As part of the Intelligence Squared U.S. series, six experts debate the proposition "Universal health care should be the federal government's responsibility."

Read about the panelists debating the proposition "Universal health coverage should be the federal government's responsibility" in the latest in the Intelligence Squared U.S. series.

When someone finds an animal, vegetable or mineral new to science, the discoverer gets the privilege of giving it a name. Most of the time, it's done soberly, responsibly and carefully — but not always.