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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The message about reducing the risk from the Aedes aegypti mosquito is the same today as it was 70 years ago. This time there's just a new virus involved. -
Guillain-Barre syndrome can render healthy people temporarily paralyzed. It's something you're likely to hear more about as Zika continues to spread. And for those who get it, it is one wild ride. -
One man died and five others were injured in a clinical trial in France this year. Trials like those depend on healthy people willing to take experimental medications in return for cash. -
NewsIn January, one man died and four others sustained brain injuries in the early clinical test of an experimental pain drug. Independent scientists reviewed the study to learn what went wrong. -
After a decline throughout the '90s, suicide rates have reversed course. Suicide has increased in almost every age group over the past 15 years. -
NewsA Texas man who had traveled to Venezuela passed the Zika virus to his male partner through sex. CDC officials say that people should be aware that Zika can be transmitted through semen.
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U.S. health officials say they are now convinced that Zika virus can target the developing brain before birth, leading to a severe type of microcephaly and other brain abnormalities. -
The Obama administration requested $1.9 billion in emergency funds to prepare for Zika, but Congress has yet to respond. Now the White House plans to divert funding intended for Ebola. -
NewsThe organ donor and both recipients in the procedure this month were all HIV-positive — a first in the U.S. Using HIV-positive organs for some patients could enable a thousand more transplants a year. -
Evidence has ping-ponged over the decades on the effects of hormone therapy on a woman's arteries. The latest study suggests a brief stint on hormones might be helpful — if given at the right time.
