Jon Hamilton
Jon Hamilton is a correspondent for NPR's Science Desk. Currently he focuses on neuroscience and health risks.
In 2014, Hamilton went to Liberia as part of the NPR team that covered Ebola. The team received a Peabody Award for its coverage.
Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Hamilton was part of NPR's team of science reporters and editors who went to Japan to cover the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
Hamilton contributed several pieces to the Science Desk series "The Human Edge," which looked at what makes people the most versatile and powerful species on Earth. His reporting explained how humans use stories, how the highly evolved human brain is made from primitive parts, and what autism reveals about humans' social brains.
In 2009, Hamilton received the Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award for his piece on the neuroscience behind treating autism.
Before joining NPR in 1998, Hamilton was a media fellow with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation studying health policy issues. He reported on states that have improved their Medicaid programs for the poor by enrolling beneficiaries in private HMOs.
From 1995-1997, Hamilton wrote on health and medical topics as a freelance writer, after having been a medical reporter for both The Commercial Appeal and Physician's Weekly.
Hamilton graduated with honors from Oberlin College in Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in English. As a student, he was the editor of the Oberlin Review student newspaper. He earned his master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, where he graduated with honors. During his time at Columbia, Hamilton was awarded the Baker Prize for magazine writing and earned a Sherwood traveling fellowship.
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A dish of brain cells learned to play the 1970s video game Pong. The research could help computers become more intelligent -
Scientists have devised a new model for studying disorders like autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. It uses clusters of human brain cells grown inside the brain of a rat. -
Scientists have made a drug based on LSD that seems to fight depression without producing a psychedelic experience. -
A controversial new drug for ALS could add months to patients' lives – if it actually works
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Scientists have identified a drug that appears to produce the antidepressant effects of LSD without the psychedelic side effects — at least in mice.
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In March, experts who advise the FDA questioned the efficacy of an experimental new drug for ALS. In September, they voted to approve it anyway.
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For some people, a rare genetic mutation makes dementia inescapable. Three sisters have decided to confront fate with a genetic test and have joined a research project on possible treatments. -
The latest generation of hard hats are designed to cushion the brain during an impact by absorbing forces that cause the head to spin. -
Experimental drugs for Alzheimer's disease have been a disappointment so far. Researchers at the Alzheimer's Association International Meeting in San Diego trying to figure out what comes next.
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An atlas showing how Alzheimer's changes individual brain cells could help researchers find new treatments for the disease.
