Africa
4:42 am
Mon April 1, 2013

Nelson Mandel's Condition Seems To Be Improving

Originally published on Mon April 1, 2013 6:24 am

Public expressions of concern are on full display as South Africans monitor the hospitalization of anti-apartheid hero and former president Nelson Mandela. The 94 year old is being treated for pneumonia.

Business
4:42 am
Mon April 1, 2013

Business News

Originally published on Mon April 1, 2013 5:53 am

India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent a new version of a cancer drug. It's a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines.

Business
3:23 am
Mon April 1, 2013

EPA's Push For More Ethanol Could Be Too Little, Too Late

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A decal advertising E85 ethanol is displayed on a pump at a gas station in Johnston, Iowa.

Originally published on Fri April 5, 2013 8:50 am

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could soon issue a final ruling that aims to force oil companies to replace E10, gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol, with E15.

This move could come just as widespread support for ethanol, which is made from corn, appears to be eroding.

Mike Mitchell was once a true believer in ethanol as a homegrown solution to foreign oil imports. He owns gas stations, and he went further than most, installing expensive blender pumps that let customers choose E15, E20 and all the way up to E85.

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Shots - Health News
3:21 am
Mon April 1, 2013

As Stroke Risk Rises Among Younger Adults, So Does Early Death

Originally published on Fri April 5, 2013 8:50 am

Most people (including a lot of doctors) think of a stroke as something that happens to old people. But the rate is increasing among those in their 50s, 40s and even younger.

In one recent 10-year period, the rate of strokes in Americans younger than 55 went up 84 percent among whites and 54 percent among blacks. One in 5 strokes now occurs in adults 20 to 55 years old — up from 1 in 8 in the mid-1990s.

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Shots - Health News
3:20 am
Mon April 1, 2013

Study Hints Vitamin D Might Help Curb High Blood Pressure

Credit David McNew / Getty Images
Reducing dietary salt and alcohol, exercising, not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight are other lifestyle tweaks known to help prevent or reduce high blood pressure, doctors say.

Originally published on Fri April 5, 2013 8:50 am

We've heard many claims in the past decade — and much debate — about the role of vitamin D in the prevention and treatment of conditions as varied as brittle bones, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia.

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Science
5:22 pm
Sun March 31, 2013

Somewhere Over The Brainbow: The Journey To Map the Human Brain

Originally published on Sun March 31, 2013 9:55 pm

During the State of the Union, President Obama said the nation is about to embark on an ambitious project: to examine the human brain and create a road map to the trillions of connections that make it work.

"Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy — every dollar," the president said. "Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer's."

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History
4:53 pm
Sun March 31, 2013

Living Memories From The Last Days Of Alcatraz

Originally published on Sun March 31, 2013 6:28 pm

Fifty years ago, the notorious Alcatraz prison shut its gate behind guard Jim Albright as he escorted the last inmate off the island on March 21, 1963.

"As we're going out, I know, when I come back from this trip, I don't have a job, I don't have a home anymore," Albright remembers. "I didn't want the island to close, I didn't want to leave. I liked it there."

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Author Interviews
4:45 pm
Sun March 31, 2013

An Unlikely Explorer Stumbles Into Controversy

Originally published on Sun March 31, 2013 6:28 pm

The mostly forgotten explorer Paul du Chaillu introduced the world to gorillas. His methods were attacked and his work discredited during his lifetime, but he also experienced fame and redemption.

Author Monte Reel illuminates the little-known tale of the 19th century explorer in his new book Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm.

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Music Interviews
4:40 pm
Sun March 31, 2013

Chic Gamine: The Girl-Group Sound, Stripped To Its Bones

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Chic Gamine's latest album is called Closer.

Originally published on Tue April 2, 2013 9:53 am

Chic Gamine is a Canadian band giving a new spin to the classic '60s girl group sound: Its roster is four vocalists, a drummer ... and that's it. Chic Gamine's leader Andrina Turenne spoke with NPR's Laura Sullivan about the group's latest album, Closer. Click the audio link on this page to hear their conversation.

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