Rebecca Hersher

Neighborhoods around a Louisiana chemical plant have the highest cancer risk in the U.S. Residents felt powerless, until the Environmental Protection Agency released data on what they were breathing.

The RAND Corporation has published an unflattering report about U.S. gun policy. It identified only 62 studies testing the effectiveness of policies such as background checks and buying restrictions.

Two new studies confirm that an outbreak of deadly Legionnaires' disease in Flint, Mich., was caused by the city's water crisis in 2014 and 2015.

To see if music really is a universal language, researchers gave people 14 second samples of songs from around the world and asked them to say what kind of song it is.

Scientists have discovered the proboscis butterflies use to suck nectar from flowers existed before flowers did. So: What were ancient butterflies using their long, tongue-like suckers for?

The tick was with a feather from a dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous Period. Modern ticks love to bite mammals, and scientists have long wondered what the tiny vampires ate millions of years ago.

After years of budget and political pressure, some climate scientists are changing the way they describe their research, and avoiding the term "climate change."

Scientists at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center are hoping to use virtual reality technology to study space, and Earth, without leaving their offices. Talented high school students are helping.

Hurricane Harvey caused industrial facilities to release an extra 5.98 million pounds of air pollution. Some people who live and work near the plants are frustrated with the federal response.

Some residents and first responders are suing the chemical company Arkema, saying it didn't do enough to protect them from fires that started at one of its plants near Houston after Hurricane Harvey.

Hurricane Harvey dumped 50 inches of rain on parts of Houston. Scientists are now trying to identify contaminants spread by the storm, including those in mud at the bottom of the Houston Ship Channel.

Surgical fellows at the only Level 1 trauma center in Las Vegas got their medical board certification just three days before the mass shooting, and tested all their training that night.

It's hard to get an exact number of the people shot during the massacre in Las Vegas, especially because of the enormous number of victims.

Researchers and physicians say a study suggesting a link between the flu vaccine and miscarriage in a limited population is cause for more research, not a reason to change vaccination recommendations.

Each year, law students argue hypothetical, futuristic case that takes place in space. This year, it's about who pays when two machines collide on the moon.

Flooding in Houston and utility outages led to belches of fumes from refineries and other industrial sites. Residents of a region already struggling with air pollution wonder: Is it safe to breathe?

Hurricane Harvey disrupted treatment for people addicted to opioids. Many need to get connected to a specialty clinic that can provide medication-assisted treatment.

Environmental officials are inspecting toxic waste sites in southeast Texas that were flooded and potentially damaged last week.

Thirteen so-called Superfund sites were flooded last week. NPR visited six of these old industrial sites, and talked to people who live nearby about the the possible contamination spreading.

As the medical and mental health needs of people affected by Harvey become apparent, Texas has made it easier for out-of-state health workers to come lend a hand.