Mary Louise Kelly is a host of All Things Considered, NPR's flagship afternoon newsmagazine. She is also the host of NPR's national security podcast, Sources & Methods.
To create the molecules we need to help us grow food or make fuel, we rely on chemical reactions — and lots of energy. One scientist may have a "brighter" approach, controlling chemistry with light.
A study in the journal Nature sets a new record for the lifespan of lab-grown cells called organoids. These clusters of human cells in petri dishes are used as models of the human brain.
A Pennsylvania summer camp helps children who have survived brain injuries. But the future of federal funding for brain injury research, and grants to states to help such patients, is in limbo.