Joe Palca
Joe Palca is a science correspondent for NPR. Since joining NPR in 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics — everything from biomedical research to astronomy. He is currently focused on the eponymous series, "Joe's Big Idea." Stories in the series explore the minds and motivations of scientists and inventors. Palca is also the founder of NPR Scicommers – A science communication collective.
Palca began his journalism career in television in 1982, working as a health producer for the CBS affiliate in Washington, DC. In 1986, he left television for a seven-year stint as a print journalist, first as the Washington news editor for Nature, and then as a senior correspondent for Science Magazine.
In October 2009, Palca took a six-month leave from NPR to become science writer in residence at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Palca has won numerous awards, including the National Academies Communications Award, the Science-in-Society Award of the National Association of Science Writers, the American Chemical Society's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, the American Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Prize, and the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Writing. In 2019, Palca was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in journalism.
With Flora Lichtman, Palca is the co-author of Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us (Wiley, 2011).
He comes to journalism from a science background, having received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he worked on human sleep physiology.
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Health officials around the world are adjusting their plans for combatting the coronavirus in light of the more infectious Delta variant — and evidence that even vaccinated people can spread it.
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Pfizer presented data to investors showing that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine boosts immunity. The company believes everyone will need a boost eight to 12 months after receiving a second shot.
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The FDA ordered Johnson and Johnson to put a label on its COVID-19 vaccine warning of the risk of a neurological disorder. Israel is offering booster shots to individuals who are immune compromised.
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Federal health officials say a booster isn't currently needed for anyone fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But testing is underway to determine what is the best boosting strategy should it be needed.
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In a large-scale study, Novavax said its vaccine was completely effective against the original coronavirus strain and also effective against some variants. It works differently than other vaccines. -
A highly anticipated study of a COVID-19 vaccine has finally produced results — and the results are good, very good. The vaccine is made by the Maryland biotech company Novavax.
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An analysis of blood from people who had received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine found a lower level of neutralizing antibodies against viral variants but a strong response involving T cells. -
A new study shows that the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine may prevent severe disease — even in the face of dangerous coronavirus variants.
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NASA's Juno spacecraft traveled to 645 miles above the surface of the solar system's largest moon, Ganymede, on Monday. -
Instead of putting genetic instructions into people whose cells then make a viral protein, the vaccines from Novavax, Medicago and Sanofi carry a spike protein payload.
