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Subtracting Calories May Not Add Years To Life

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A rhesus monkey eats watermelon, provided by zookeepers, at the Kamla Nehru Zoological Gardens in India in May 2012.

Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 8:34 am

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Scientists have known for decades that lab rats and mice will live far longer than normal if they're fed a super-low-calorie diet, and that's led some people to eat a near-starvation diet in the hopes that it will extend the human life span, too.

But a new study in monkeys suggests they may be disappointed.

The long-awaited results of this study, which started back in 1987, show that rhesus monkeys fed a diet with 30 percent fewer calories than normal did not live unusually long lives.

1:18 am

Thu August 30, 2012

Doing It To Win: Veterans Raise Bar At Paralympics

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Credit David Gilkey / NPR

U.S. rowers Rob Jones and Oksana Masters train at the Rivanna Reservoir in Charlottesville, Va. The pair will compete in adaptive rowing at the London Paralympics this week. Jones, a former U.S. Marine, lost both legs to an improvised land mine in southern Afghanistan.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

Jones is one of many U.S. veterans heading to London to compete in the Paralympics. The games are changing as a new generation of wounded war vets from the U.S. and U.K. bring their particularly competitive spirit to London.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

Masters was born with disfigured legs that were later amputated.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

Jones sits on the dock at the Rivanna Reservoir before putting his boat in the water. The Paralympic movement began half a century ago when disabled vets from World War II started looking for a way to continue active lifestyles.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

The teammates use a specially adapted rowing shell that is rigged with attachments so they can row comfortably, and slip in and out of the boat on their own.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

Brad Lewis coaches Jones and Masters from a chase boat.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

The athletes put on their prosthetic limbs after the training session.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

Jones wipes sweat from his head after a morning workout with Masters. Organizers of the games say the new vets raise the caliber of the competition; veterans say Paralympic sports provide inspiration and therapy for young, catastrophically injured soldiers.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

Rob Jones and Oksana Masters will compete in adaptive rowing at the London Olympics this week. Jones is a former U.S. Marine who lost both legs to an improvised land mine in southern Afghanistan.

By Quil Lawrence

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 9:22 am

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On a placid summer morning last month, before the Virginia heat could hit them, a former U.S. Marine and his partner lifted their rowing scull into the glassy water of the Rivanna River, near Charlottesville.

"First thing I do is take these legs off," said Rob Jones, who like his rowing partner, Oksana Masters, is a double, above-the-knee amputee. They're the U.S. team for mixed-doubles rowing at the 2012 London Paralympics, which started Wednesday.

1:17 am

Thu August 30, 2012

Bloc Party Gets Back To Basics

Credit Courtesy of the artists

Bloc Party's new album, Four, is a return to their roots.

By editor

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 8:24 am

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1:17 am

Thu August 30, 2012

Hannibal, Mo.: Art Abounds In Twain's Hometown

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Twain's boyhood home in Hannibal, pictured circa 1955, is now a museum.

Credit J. Stephen Conn / via Flickr

Hannibal, Mo., aka "America's Hometown," is known for being the birthplace of Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain. The town of 18,000 boasts a vibrant arts community.

Credit Tim Lloyd / St. Louis Public Radio

Steve Ayers, a local potter, was part of the effort 14 years ago to recruit other artists to live in Hannibal. He's shown here with Nancy Kaufman, in her shop on Main Street. Kaufman moved to Hannibal in 2005, and says as soon as she saw this old drugstore, she dreamed of turning it into a shop for her woven art.

Credit Tim Lloyd / St. Louis Public Radio

Painter Melissa Dominiak moved here from Seattle and purchased a massive church and home about two miles from Main Street in Hannibal, Mo., for $70,000. She plans to rehab the building herself and rent out the space for special events.

By Tim Lloyd

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 3:56 am

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Samuel Clemens, who is said to have taken his pen name Mark Twain from the cries of riverboat crewmen, found the inspiration for his classic works while growing up in the river town of Hannibal, Mo. Today, more than 125 years after the first pressing of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there's a new set of artistic characters in Twain's boyhood home.

1:15 am

Thu August 30, 2012

In Drought, Should Corn Be Food Or Fuel?

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Drought has taken a toll on corn this year, and as a result, a growing number of ethanol plants have closed.

By editor

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 3:56 am

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Standing outside the Central Minnesota Ethanol Co-Op in Little Falls, Minn., there's not a lot going on. The pungent smell of fermentation that typically hangs in the air here is absent. And trucks piled high with corn are nowhere to be seen.

They're idled in part because of high corn prices. And it's unclear when that will change.

"Most of the industry is just breaking even in terms of profitability or actually running at slightly negative margins," says Geoff Cooper, vice president of research and analysis at the Renewable Fuels Association.

10:36 pm

Wed August 29, 2012

Ryan Rips Obama, Sets Table For Romney

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Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR

Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., speaks Wednesday at the Republican National Convention.

Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR

A delegate shows his support for Paul Ryan on a night dominated by the acceptance speech of the vice presidential nominee.

Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR

Carol Hurst of Merritt Island, Fla., listens to a speaker on Wednesday at the Republican National Convention.

By Liz Halloran

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 4:52 am

With a jutting chin and growing fearlessness, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan delivered a GOP convention takedown of President Obama Wednesday night, catapulting an already ugly campaign to a whole new level.

At times pugnacious, at times seemingly emotional (he wiped away tears when talking about his mother), Ryan, 42, a Wisconsin congressman, used his well-crafted speech to characterize the nation's president and his bright promise as old, played out.

5:33 pm

Wed August 29, 2012

Foamy Philanthropy In Spanish Fork, Utah

Credit Justin Nathaniel Kenderes / Courtesy of 5kFF

Sliding through Foam Fest.

By Linton Weeks

Dave Ballard got the idea of a wacky charity race while watching a YouTube video of someone slip-sliding through a slough of foam. The first 5K Foam Fest was held in the fall of 2011 in Idaho.

A year and more than a dozen events later, Ballard says his group has raised more than $10,000 for charity, with most of those funds being donated to Shared Hope International, an organization that combats human trafficking.

4:48 pm

Wed August 29, 2012

Live Blog: Wednesday At The Republican Convention

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Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan waves with his family Wednesday at the GOP convention in Tampa. Also on stage: his daughter Liza, sons Charlie and Sam Ryan, wife Janna and mother Elizabeth.

Credit Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The scene inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum during the GOP convention Wednesday night.

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Romney campagin pins are on display for sale in the GOP gift shop at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

By Mark Memmott

Originally published on Wed August 29, 2012 10:37 pm

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NPR Special Coverage, Hour 1
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Hello from Tampa, where tonight Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin accepted the Republican Party's vice presidential nomination and told the nation that if he joins Mitt Romney in the White House they will work to solve the nation's problems, not blame them on others.

"We will not duck the tough issues, we will lead," he said. "We will not spend four years blaming others, we will take responsibility. We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will reapply our founding principles."

4:26 pm

Wed August 29, 2012

Obama Hits Reddit, Talks White House Beer Recipe, Crashes Servers

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President Obama waves to supporters during a campaign stop Wednesday in Charlottesville, Va. He later participated in a question-and-answer session on Reddit.

By editor

Originally published on Wed August 29, 2012 5:15 pm

With Republicans dominating political news coverage from their national convention in Florida, President Obama took to the popular social news site Reddit Wednesday afternoon for a surprise Q-and-A with users.

The wide-ranging discussion touched on issues from Internet freedom to space travel to the most difficult decision of his presidency (which Obama said was sending more troops to Afghanistan).

4:24 pm

Wed August 29, 2012

Mysterious New 'Heartland Virus' Discovered In Missouri

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Two men from northwestern Missouri became ill after tick bites infected them with a previously unknown virus.

By Richard Knox

Originally published on Fri August 31, 2012 7:42 am

Two Missouri farmers have been infected with a brand-new tick-borne virus that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling the Heartland virus.

The men recovered but suffered serious illness that required hospital care and weeks of convalescence. Symptoms included fever, severe fatigue, headache and nausea. Their platelet counts plummeted, but even though platelets are necessary for blood clotting, the men didn't suffer abnormal bleeding.

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1:19 am

Thu August 30, 2012