Rebecca Hersher
Rebecca Hersher is a reporter on NPR's Science Desk, where she reports on outbreaks, natural disasters, and environmental and health research. Since coming to NPR in 2011, she has covered the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, embedded with the Afghan army after the American combat mission ended, and reported on floods and hurricanes in the U.S. She's also reported on research about puppies. Before her work on the Science Desk, she was a producer for NPR's Weekend All Things Considered in Los Angeles.
Hersher was part of the NPR team that won a Peabody award for coverage of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and produced a story from Liberia that won an Edward R. Murrow award for use of sound. She was a finalist for the 2017 Daniel Schorr prize; a 2017 Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting fellow, reporting on sanitation in Haiti; and a 2015 NPR Above the Fray fellow, investigating the causes of the suicide epidemic in Greenland.
Prior to working at NPR, Hersher reported on biomedical research and pharmaceutical news for Nature Medicine.
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Hurricane Harvey dumped 50 inches of rain on parts of Houston. Scientists are now trying to identify contaminants spread by the storm, including those in mud at the bottom of the Houston Ship Channel. -
Doctors and emergency officials are still trying to figure out exactly how many people were shot in Las Vegas. The wide range of injuries and the sheer number of people injured are challenges. -
A 2014 EPA climate report warned that Superfund site cleanup and monitoring processes needed updates to prepare for more severe floods. That report is no longer located on the current agency website. -
It's hard to get an exact number of the people shot during the massacre in Las Vegas, especially because of the enormous number of victims.
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Environmental officials are inspecting toxic waste sites in southeast Texas that were flooded and potentially damaged last week. -
Researchers and physicians say a study suggesting a link between the flu vaccine and miscarriage in a limited population is cause for more research, not a reason to change vaccination recommendations. -
Each year, law students argue hypothetical, futuristic case that takes place in space. This year, it's about who pays when two machines collide on the moon. -
Flooding in Houston and utility outages led to belches of fumes from refineries and other industrial sites. Residents of a region already struggling with air pollution wonder: Is it safe to breathe? -
Hurricane Harvey disrupted treatment for people addicted to opioids. Many need to get connected to a specialty clinic that can provide medication-assisted treatment. -
As the medical and mental health needs of people affected by Harvey become apparent, Texas has made it easier for out-of-state health workers to come lend a hand.
