Rae Ellen Bichell
Rae Ellen Bichell is a reporter for NPR's Science Desk. She first came to NPR in 2013 as a Kroc fellow and has since reported Web and radio stories on biomedical research, global health, and basic science. She won a 2016 Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award from the Foundation for Biomedical Research. After graduating from Yale University, she spent two years in Helsinki, Finland, as a freelance reporter and Fulbright grantee.
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Researchers found that a protein in human umbilical cord plasma improved learning and memory in older mice, but there's no indication it would work in people. -
Eels sometimes swim thousands of miles from their birthplace in the Atlantic to rivers and lakes where they live. Researchers say the creatures might use the Earth's magnetic field to find their way. -
They're the Godzillas of the virus world, pushing the limit of what is considered alive. Researchers are trying to figure out where they came from. (And no, they aren't known to make people sick.) -
Researchers following a group of New Zealanders over the course of 40 years found an association between childhood lead exposure and declines in intelligence and socioeconomic status later in life. -
Meet Kate Rubins, a virus-hunter turned astronaut. When she sequenced DNA in space for the first time, she opened the door to a new era in space biology.
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After six weeks of training, people could memorize twice as much. Areas of the brain had begun communicating in new ways — a lot like what happens inside the heads of world memory champions. -
They don't have wings, but bacteria sure can fly. Researchers at MIT say that tiny bubbles trapped by raindrops play a part in launching bacteria on long-distance flights.
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Scientists say they've found the remains of tube- and string-like organisms in Canadian rocks that are at least 3.7 billion years old. But findings like these are always controversial. -
Scientists found that bumblebees are nimble learners, especially when there's a sugary reward at the end. No wonder they're such good pollinators. -
The planet's magnetic field is weakening. Scientists aren't sure why, but studying ancient jars could help them find out. The ceramics provide a remarkable window onto Earth's magnetic past.
