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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You can print out almost anything with a 3-D printer, from weapons and prosthetic hands to Yoda figurines. Sure, you can buy a 3-D printer. But what if you wanted to make one yourself? It's easier than you might think.
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The hobby has grown rapidly over the last few years, as technology has gotten cheaper and the open source software has been smoothed out by many users. -
Fruits and vegetables are undeniably important to a healthful diet. But there's another side to some of these plants that, thankfully, most people never see: the tiny amounts of toxin within them. Lucky for us, healthy human bodies are remarkably good at filtering out toxins from everyday foods. -
Dry ice has popped out of bottles, dropped into hurricanes and slithered across many a haunted house floor. As we know after recent events, when sealed in a container, it can create an impressive airport hullabaloo. Here's a short history of the chemical character, at once troubled and sublime. -
Why is kissing found in practically every culture? A kiss can convey passion, love and, perhaps subconsciously, a veritable catalog of information about the worthiness of a potential mate. So much for romance. -
Elections may be less than free, and some music may be banned. But Iranians do wear jeans, in contrast to remarks by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. An onslaught of photos and comments posted online proves the Iranians' point.
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About 800,000 "nonessential" federal employees went to work Tuesday morning for a mere four hours before heading home. Until Congress budges, that's where they'll stay. -
When a powerful earthquake struck Pakistan last week, it triggered a mud volcano that created a new island just off the country's southern coast. It turns out this kind of thing happens every so often. Just ask Charles Darwin. -
The students plan to make the nutritious "power flour" with grasshoppers, weevils and caterpillars. Their goal is to make insect-based food products available year-round to people living in some of the world's poorest slums.
