Rob Stein
Rob Stein is a correspondent and senior editor on NPR's science desk.
An award-winning science journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Stein mostly covers health and medicine. He tends to focus on stories that illustrate the intersection of science, health, politics, social trends, ethics, and federal science policy. He tracks genetics, stem cells, cancer research, women's health issues, and other science, medical, and health policy news.
Before NPR, Stein worked at The Washington Post for 16 years, first as the newspaper's science editor and then as a national health reporter. Earlier in his career, Stein spent about four years as an editor at NPR's science desk. Before that, he was a science reporter for United Press International (UPI) in Boston and the science editor of the international wire service in Washington.
Stein's work has been honored by many organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Association of Health Care Journalists. He was twice part of NPR teams that won Peabody Awards.
Stein frequently represents NPR, speaking at universities, international meetings and other venues, including the University of Cambridge in Britain, the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea, and the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.
Stein is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He completed a journalism fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, a program in science and religion at the University of Cambridge, and a summer science writer's workshop at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.
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For the first time, scientists are reporting they restored vision to people blinded by a rare genetic disorder by infusing the revolutionary gene-editing technique directly into cells inside the body.
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In a first, doctors injected the gene-editing tool CRISPR directly into cells in patients' eyes. The experiment helped these vision-impaired patients see shapes and colors again. -
Walensky made a recommendation that CDC advisers rejected — giving a third shot to at-risk workers such as those in the health care industry. Her decision sides with what the FDA recommended.
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Though infections are still sky-high, the U.S. may be turning a corner, according to a consortium of researchers who forecast the pandemic. And we may well be spared a winter surge. -
Johnson & Johnson says a booster six months after the first shot increases antibodies 12-fold, indicating a second shot would provide added protection.
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But the researchers stressed that all three vaccines, including the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson shots, provide strong protection against people getting so sick that they end up in the hospital. -
As the delta surge continues, there are signs it may be slowing in hard-hit states like Florida and Texas. But with fall coming, experts worry another surge could hit northern states.
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As the delta variant causes more vaccinated people to get "breakthrough infections," concerns are rising that even the vaccinated could develop long COVID symptoms in rare cases. -
The Biden administration plans to unveil another strategy to fight the latest COVID-19 surge driven by the delta variant, after a series of setbacks and missteps in the battle against the pandemic.
