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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Inca society kept records by encoding information into knotted cords called khipu. A new analysis of hair woven into these cords suggests this record-keeping was practiced by commoners as well as elites. -
Neurotic, anxious robots like C-3P0 from Star Wars' C-3P0 and Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are a staple of science fiction — but they're not as common in the real world. Most of the time, the chatbots and artificial intelligence "robots" we encounter are programmed to be extraverted, confident and cheerful. But what if that changed? NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce dives into the world of robot personality research and talks to a team of researchers that are experimenting with a very different kind of robot temperament. Read more of Nell's reporting on the topic here. Interested in more science news? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Love podcasts? For handpicked recommendations every Friday, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club. -
One of the brightest stars in the night sky seems to be orbited by a planet like Jupiter. The news is sure to cheer fans of the Avatar series, which centers on a moon that orbits a fictional gas giant planet in this particular star system. -
When female gorillas leave one social group and join another, they tend to seek out groups with other females that they've lived with in the past, showing the power of long-term relationships. -
A bright moon will make it hard to see the Perseid meteor shower in mid-August, but one night this week offers a decent chance of seeing some shooting stars. -
Neurotic personalities are a staple of science fiction. Researchers who study how people react to robot personalities have recently found that neurotic traits in a robot can make them seem more relatable. -
Neurotic robots are a staple of science fiction. Researchers who study how people react to robot personalities, however, haven't focused on this much -- though one study recently found that neurotic traits in a robot can make them seem more relatable.
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Earth doesn't rotate exactly on schedule. Scientists believe that today is going to be about a millisecond short of a typical 24-hour day. -
The days have been shorter than normal, at least if you count your time in milliseconds.
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This week marks the 100th anniversary of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" — where a teacher was charged with the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. At the time, it was illegal in Tennessee to "teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." The trial, which was orchestrated to be a media spectacle, foreshadowed the cultural divisions that continue today and led to a backlash against proponents of evolution. Read more of science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce's reporting on the story. Want us to cover more science history? Less? Either way, tell us by emailing shortwave@npr.org! We'd love to know what you're hearing — and want to hear from us!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
