Nell Greenfieldboyce
Nell Greenfieldboyce is a NPR science correspondent.
With reporting focused on general science, NASA, and the intersection between technology and society, Greenfieldboyce has been on the science desk's technology beat since she joined NPR in 2005.
In that time Greenfieldboyce has reported on topics including the narwhals in Greenland, the ending of the space shuttle program, and the reasons why independent truckers don't want electronic tracking in their cabs.
Much of Greenfieldboyce's reporting reflects an interest in discovering how applied science and technology connects with people and culture. She has worked on stories spanning issues such as pet cloning, gene therapy, ballistics, and federal regulation of new technology.
Prior to NPR, Greenfieldboyce spent a decade working in print, mostly magazines including U.S. News & World Report and New Scientist.
A graduate of Johns Hopkins, earning her Bachelor's of Arts degree in social sciences and a Master's of Arts degree in science writing, Greenfieldboyce taught science writing for four years at the university. She was honored for her talents with the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Journalists.
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Some wolf puppies will unexpectedly play "fetch," researchers say, showing that an urge to retrieve a ball might be an ancient wolf trait and not a result of dog domestication.
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Researchers found that African grey parrots voluntarily helped a partner get a food reward by giving the other bird a valuable metal token that could be exchanged for a walnut.
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Tumbleweeds are common in the desert plateau of eastern Washington state. But a 12-foot high stack of them trapped cars for hours.
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In some historical Nativity scenes, the shepherds have grossly enlarged thyroid glands — also known today as goiter. It's an apparent symbol of their poverty and iodine-deficient diet.
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The world's tallest active geyser is Steamboat Geyser, in Yellowstone National Park. It's been on a real eruption streak lately and 2019 saw the most recorded eruptions in a calendar year.
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It will now be easier for the government to inspect shops where workers might get exposed to lung-damaging silica dust. But it's unclear how much it will affect countertop workers.
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Slabs of engineered quartz are cut to order in thousands of shops around the country that may not adequately protect workers from dangerous levels of the lung-damaging contaminant.
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Common vampire bats might drink the blood of their prey, but it turns out that these fearsome beasts can be warm and fuzzy when it comes to their fellow bats.
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In a letter, they urge the Labor Department to ensure safe levels of silica dust at workplaces that cut popular "engineered stone." At least 18 workers have recently suffered severe lung damage.
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Irreversible lung disease has started to show up among young workers who cut, grind and polish countertops made of increasingly popular "engineered" stone. The material is more than 90% silica.