Geoff Brumfiel

One in four Americans say they won't get a coronavirus vaccine. Researchers say it could keep the nation from reaching a critical tipping point.

Vaccines have created a way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, but public health experts are worried that hesitancy and misinformation may stop the U.S. from reaching the goal of herd immunity.

Nuclear inspections have been a key part of the Iran nuclear deal. International inspectors stand to permanently lose access to key sites, unless the U.S. and Iran can find a way forward.

In 1721, London was in the grips of a deadly smallpox epidemic. One woman learned how to stop it, but her solution sowed political division.

Nuclear power is potentially dangerous. So is sending humans to Mars. But some researchers think a nuclear-powered rocket might be the best way to travel to the red planet.

Nuclear rocket technology might be the fastest, safest way to get to the red planet. But if NASA wants to go, it should start development now.

A new global treaty banning nuclear weapons will go into force on Friday. More than 80 countries have signed on to it — but none of them are countries that have nuclear weapons.

The House speaker told colleagues she had spoken with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about keeping the nuclear codes from an "unhinged President."

This has been a tough year for pretty much everyone on Earth. But things have been going much better in space. One of the big milestone was for NASA and the commercial company SpaceX.

A Chinese probe has blasted off from the surface of the moon, carrying the first moon rock samples collected in over 40 years.

The killing of a top Iranian scientist last week will likely complicate efforts to restart the Iran nuclear deal. Will Iran really throw out nuclear weapons inspectors?

Three missions from Earth are currently headed to Mars. But some scientists are saying it's time to go to Venus, despite all the challenges in heading to Earth's toxic, volcanic planetary neighbor.

The mission will land, take a sample and return to Earth. It's the first such sample-return mission in more than 40 years, and it will tell scientists about the age of the moon and planets.

Four astronauts are flying to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Dragon crew capsule. The mission is the first of what NASA hopes are many.

NASA has announced the discovery of water in a sunlit crater on the moon. The water is likely trapped inside of little glass beads and may one day be useful for astronauts visiting the surface.

More hospitalized patients are surviving than early in the pandemic. Improved treatments make a big difference, but so does flattening the curve to keep hospitals from overfilling, researchers say.

The prize goes to Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez. Ghez says she hopes it will inspire young people, and particularly women, to pursue careers in science.

The mission took place this past weekend, shrouded in secrecy, but some clues are emerging about what China sent into space, and why.

Dr. Scott Atlas is a radiologist from Stanford with some unorthodox ideas about managing the pandemic. The White House says his thinking is just what's needed, but scientists aren't so sure.

NPR's White House and science correspondents discuss President Trump's new top coronavirus adviser, Scott Atlas, and his approach to dealing with the pandemic.