NPR
Beyond The Nasty Needle: Trying To Make Vaccines More Comfy And Convenient
News this summer of a flu vaccine patch sparked a lot of chatter. Could getting vaccinated be as easy as putting on a bandage? Could there be fewer, or at least smaller, needles in our future? Some companies and academic labs are working to make those things happen. They’re refining technologies that involve tiny needles,…
Artificial Sweeteners Don’t Help People Lose Weight, Review Finds
It’s easy to think that artificial sweeteners are a health win. But a review of research finds that there’s no evidence they help people lose weight, and they may be associated with other problems.
Italy’s Coffee Culture Brims With Rituals And Mysterious Rules
Coffee — it’s something many can’t start the day without. In Italy, it is a cultural mainstay, and the country is perhaps the beverage’s spiritual home. After all, Italy gave us the lingo — espresso, cappuccino, latte — and its coffee culture is filled with rituals and mysterious rules. Caffé Greco is Rome’s oldest café….
Forget Freud: Dreams Replay Our Everyday Lives
Thanks to Sigmund Freud, we all know what it means to dream about swords, sticks and umbrellas. Or maybe we don’t. “For 100 years, we got stuck into that Freudian perspective on dreams, which turned out to be not scientifically very accurate,” says Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard…
America’s Growing Taste For Mezcal Is Good For Mexico’s Small Producers
A traditional drink is giving a boost to the economy of one of the poorest states in Mexico. It’s called mezcal, a pungent booze made from the agave plant — the same plant used to make Mexico’s biggest spirit export, tequila. Investors north of the border are taking notice of Mezcal’s newfound popularity and are…