Nell Greenfieldboyce

Doby Photography / NPR

Nell Greenfieldboyce is a NPR science correspondent.

With reporting focused on general science, NASA, and the intersection between technology and society, Greenfieldboyce has been on the science desk's technology beat since she joined NPR in 2005.

In that time Greenfieldboyce has reported on topics including the narwhals in Greenland, the ending of the space shuttle program, and the reasons why independent truckers don't want electronic tracking in their cabs.

Much of Greenfieldboyce's reporting reflects an interest in discovering how applied science and technology connects with people and culture. She has worked on stories spanning issues such as pet cloning, gene therapy, ballistics, and federal regulation of new technology.

Prior to NPR, Greenfieldboyce spent a decade working in print, mostly magazines including U.S. News & World Report and New Scientist.

A graduate of Johns Hopkins, earning her Bachelor's of Arts degree in social sciences and a Master's of Arts degree in science writing, Greenfieldboyce taught science writing for four years at the university. She was honored for her talents with the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Journalists.

To Come To The Rescue Or Not? Rats, Like People, Take Cues From Bystanders

By Nell Greenfieldboyce • 1 hour ago

Rats will enthusiastically work to free a rat that is caught in a trap — and it turns out that they are especially eager to be a Good Samaritan when they're in the company of other willing helpers.

But that urge to come to the rescue quickly disappears if a potential hero is surrounded by indifferent rat pals that make no move to assist the unfortunate, trapped rodent.

Dolphins Learn Foraging Tricks From Each Other, Not Just From Mom

By Nell Greenfieldboyce • Jun 26, 2020

Dolphins learn special foraging techniques from their mothers—and it's now clear that they can learn from their buddies as well. Take the clever trick that some dolphins use to catch fish by trapping them in seashells. It turns out that they learn this skill by watching their pals do the job.

The discovery, reported in the journal Current Biology, helps reveal how groups of wild animals can transmit learned behaviors and develop their own distinct cultures.

New Spaceship Prepares To Blast Off And Make History

By Nell Greenfieldboyce • May 26, 2020

Almost 40 years have passed since the last time NASA astronauts blasted off into space on a brand new spaceship.

Now, as NASA looks forward to Wednesday's planned test flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon with a pair of astronauts on board, some in the spaceflight community have a little bit of déjà vu.

Herd Of Fuzzy Green 'Glacier Mice' Baffles Scientists

By Nell Greenfieldboyce • May 22, 2020

In 2006, while hiking around the Root Glacier in Alaska to set up scientific instruments, researcher Tim Bartholomaus encountered something unexpected.

"What the heck is this!" Bartholomaus recalls thinking. He's a glaciologist at the University of Idaho.

Head Of NASA's Human Spaceflight Program Resigns A Week Before Crucial Launch

By Nell Greenfieldboyce • May 20, 2020

NASA's head of human spaceflight has abruptly resigned just one week before a historic test flight to send astronauts up in a new space capsule developed by the rocket company SpaceX.

The unexpected departure of Doug Loverro startled the space community, which has been looking forward to launching astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttles stopped flying in 2011.