Rae Ellen Bichell
Rae Ellen Bichell is a reporter for NPR's Science Desk. She first came to NPR in 2013 as a Kroc fellow and has since reported Web and radio stories on biomedical research, global health, and basic science. She won a 2016 Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award from the Foundation for Biomedical Research. After graduating from Yale University, she spent two years in Helsinki, Finland, as a freelance reporter and Fulbright grantee.
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HIV rates in the U.S. have been dropping for about a decade. But African-American and Latino men who have sex with men still face a very high risk of becoming infected. Stigma is one big reason. -
Fewer people are having strokes now than decades ago. But that improvement seems to be mostly among the elderly. Young people are actually having more strokes, partly because of the rise in obesity. -
A report from doctors in Argentina raises the possibility that a mosquito pesticide could be responsible for an increase in microcephaly in Brazil. But many top scientists strongly disagree. -
In rare but tricky cases, disposing of an explosive device requires removing it safely from a living person. Military doctors have ways to minimize the risks, but there's no way to eliminate them. -
Women report more bad side effects from medicines than men do. Researchers say the discrepancy may stem in part from how biomedical research is conducted at its earliest stages in animals. -
The warning is believed to be the first of its kind for the continental U.S. from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read about this update and see a full timeline of the Zika outbreak. -
It's not the tick that causes Lyme disease, but the bacteria that live in its spit. Scientists at the Mayo Clinic have found a second bacterium capable of causing the disease in people.
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The CDC reported the first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus in the U.S. related to the current outbreak. It's happened before. Here's what we know about how the virus could move between people. -
A national survey finds that U.S. mothers are having their first child later than ever — it's a 45-year trend. The big reason seems to be a steady drop in the number of teen moms. -
Ditch the strap-on belts and shoe inserts, and definitely don't rest. Accumulating research shows that the best way to treat and prevent lower-back pain is to get off the couch.
