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.
With kids back in school, business is picking back up for professional delos. But how are kids getting head lice if they're physically distancing in the classroom?
Obstetrical emergency departments are a new aspect of some hospitals that can inflate medical bills for even the easiest, healthiest births. Just ask baby Gus' parents about their $2,755 ER charge.
The CDC sent in a team to investigate a delta variant hotspot in Mesa County, Colo. That didn't stop tens of thousands of people from flocking to the state's largest country music festival.
A college student never learned the cause of intense pain that drove her to an ER, but her bill totaled $18,735.93. She and her mom, a nurse practitioner, were outraged after dissecting the charges.- Two Colorado counties are feuding as one has lax virus prevention rules which the other says are a problem because it has the hospitals that serve both populations.
Billy Barr has lived alone in a cabin in a Colorado mountain ghost town for almost 50 years. He offers advice on how to find and maintain happiness in isolation.
Scores of counties across the U.S. have no local newspaper, and some that do say they're not being well-served by them. Longmont, Colo., is considering one possible solution: newsrooms in libraries.- Scores of counties across the U.S. have no local newspaper. Even some that do say they're not being well-served by them. Longmont, Colo., is looking at one possibility: newsrooms in libraries.
- The Mountain West has some of the highest rates of depression and suicide. Researchers think the mountains, with a lack of oxygen at high altitude, could be interfering with people's mental health.
From pre-Incan to Viking-inspired to a George Washington porter, these beer scientists devote their resources toward re-creating age-old flavors. And sometimes that leads to some sticky situations.