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Saturday

SARS in China

Chinese epidemiologists believe SARS may have reached humans through food handlers who prepared wild game for restaurant use in southern China. An official ban has put a dent in wild animal trade, but has not completely wiped out black-market operations. NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

SARS in China

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Friday

On the Edge, Timbuktu, Part 4

In the final report of a four-part NPR/National Geographic Radio Expedition to Mali, Chadwick descends into one of the biggest salt mines in the Sahara Desert, where West African miners still extract salt by hand, the way it's been done for centuries. Such mines have been the destination of camel caravans for at least a millennium.

On the Edge, Timbuktu, Part 4

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Thursday

Mule Joins List of Cloned Animals

Scientists in Idaho have produced the world's first cloned mule. Born May 4, Idaho Gem is the brother of a champion racing mule race, Taz, and some are betting cloning may provide a way to reproduce champion mules -- and horses. NPR's Joe Palca reports.

Mule Joins List of Cloned Animals

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Wednesday

Tuesday

Radio Expeditions

On the Edge, Timbuktu

An ethnobotanist travels into the Sahara Desert to research the vanishing customs of Timbuktu, once a medieval intellectual center. In the first of a four-part National Geographic Radio Expedition, NPR's Alex Chadwick follows Wade Davis for the start of a project to document disappearing cultures of the world.

On the Edge, Timbuktu

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Sunday

New SARS Cases Reported

Health workers in Toronto investigate 33 suspected new cases of SARS. Hong Kong, Taiwan and China also report new SARS cases and deaths. Doctors in Hong Kong work on a new therapy for the flu-like disease, using blood plasma from patients who have recovered from the disease to treat others who have been infected. Hear NPR's Joe Palca.

New SARS Cases Reported

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Saturday

SARS 'Relapse' in Toronto

Toronto health officials investigate five possible new cases of sudden acute respiratory syndrome, and have quarantined about 20 health workers as a result. But there's also promising news about the possible source of SARS. A similar virus has been found in several types of animals in southern China. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

SARS 'Relapse' in Toronto

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Friday

SARS Tied to Civet

New SARS cases turn up in Toronto, causing a new travel alert from U.S. health officials. And scientists in Hong Kong say they have strong evidence that the SARS virus was transmitted to humans by an animal called the civet. It's a rare animal in southern China, but is sometimes served as a specialty dish in restaurants. Katherine Schlatter reports.

SARS Tied to Civet

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Thursday

Study: New Vaccine Halts Alzheimer's

A new study published in the journal Neuron suggests that a new vaccine can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The vaccine, initially deemed a failure after patients developed severe side effects, causes the body to produce antibodies that attack a protein believed to cause the brain damage found in Alzheimer's patients. Hear NPR's Jon Hamilton.

Study: New Vaccine Halts Alzheimer's

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Wednesday

Study: Opportunity Abounds for Risk-Taking in Teens

Nearly one in five adolescents has had sex before the age of 15, a new report by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy says. The study also finds that parents of one-third of those sexually active adolescents know their teenagers have had sex. In the second report in a series on the sexual behavior of young teens, NPR's Vicky Que says parents and communities play a part in risk-taking behavior.

Study: Opportunity Abounds for Risk-Taking in Teens

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Studies Suggest Atkins' Low-Carb Diet Works

Two new studies in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest people who follow the low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet advocated by Dr. Robert Atkins can indeed lose more weight than those on conventional low-fat diets. But some researchers say the results do not account for the long-term health effects of a high-fat diet. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

Studies Suggest Atkins' Low-Carb Diet Works

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