Health + Science Multimedia

Preventing falls key to independent living

By Taunya English May 10, 2012

Millions of Baby Boomers are marching into old age, and it turns out many are unsteady on their feet. Each year, one in three Americans age 65 and older takes a fall, and 64-year-old Philadelphia resident Alice Foley can have trouble staying upright. More »
Dead Sea Scrolls make stop in Philadelphia

By Peter Crimmins May 9, 2012

The Dead Sea Scrolls are now in Philadelphia. The ancient texts, written in Hebrew on parchment and stored in clay jars for two millennia, reveal much about the origins of Judaism. More »
Shad spawning entering peak at Fairmount Fish Ladder

By Carolyn Beeler May 3, 2012

It's spring, which means it's mating season for much of the animal kingdom and spawning time for the American shad. Over the past decade, a duo of scientists in Philadelphia have been working to help restore a keystone species to the Schuylkill River. More »
Wissahickon Creek clean-up draws more than 300 volunteers

By Meg Frankowski for NewsWorks May 1, 2012

Old tires. Glass bottles. Lawn furniture. Political signs. You name it. These items were all up for grabs on Saturday as a group of more than 300 volunteers helped to collect trash along the 64-square-mile Wissahickon Creek. Some people ventured into the creek in wetsuits while others paddled in canoes to collect garbage along the creek, which runs from Montgomery County through Northwest Philad... More »
The burden of dementia on caregivers

By NewsWorks April 27, 2012

In the second part of our series Gray Matters, Maiken Scott of the WHYY Health and Science Desk joins us to talk about the burden of caring for those suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. It often falls on family members and it's a physically, and emotionally exhausting task. More »
Tattooed with science

By Carolyn Beeler April 27, 2012

Anyone can get a tattoo of the word "Mom" on an upper arm. But what kind of person gets a tattoo of the chemical structure of caffeine on her upper back? More »
Living in a world without smell

By Carolyn Beeler April 26, 2012

For most people, Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia is a smorgasbord of scents — frying cheesesteaks, fish, and freshly ground coffee. But for Anndee Hochman, all of it, even the lilac and eucalyptus at a flower stall, smells the same. More »
Robot expo aims to prove Philly more than sports, cheesesteaks

By Kimberly Paynter, for NewsWorks April 23, 2012

The Philadelphia Robotics Expo (PRX) was held at sponsor Drexel University's Bossone Research Center as part of Technically Philly's Tech Week. More »
Gray Matters: New tools for growing older

By NewsWorks Staff April 23, 2012

WHYY's Health+Science reporters Taunya English, Maiken Scott and Carolyn Beeler examine the challenges of aging and new tools available to meet them. More »
W.B. Saul students participate in Philadelphia Science Festival's 'Grow It, Cook It, Eat It' event

By Alaina Mabaso for NewsWorks April 23, 2012

For the hosts of this weekend's Philadelphia Science Festival event at Bartram's Garden, the weekend's wet weather offered both good news and bad news. The pouring rain posed a challenge to many of the planned agricultural activities, but the nascent fields and beds badly needed the rain after a long spell of dry weather. The "Grow It, Cook It, Eat It" event, held with h... More »