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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Two stroke patients regained control of a disabled arm and hand after researchers delivered electrical stimulation to their spines, paving the way toward a medical device that could aid movement. -
For people with drug-resistant epilepsy, surgery used to be seen as a last resort. Now it's often the treatment of choice. -
A man with uncontrolled epileptic seizures sought surgery in 2009, but was turned down. Ten years later, advances in neurodiagnostic testing, lasers and microelectronics finally helped him.
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A study involving prairie voles shows that oxytocin may not live up to its billing as a "love hormone" that is essential to forming enduring attachments with mates.
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The hormone oxytocin plays a key role in long-term relationships. But a study of prairie voles finds that the animals mate for life even without help from the "love hormone." -
The Food and Drug Administration has approved an Alzheimer's drug that appears to modestly slow down the disease. (Story aired on Weekend Edition Saturday on Jan. 6, 2023.)
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An Alzheimer's drug that removes the substance amyloid from the brain has received a conditional approval from the FDA. A large study found the drug decreased the loss of thinking and memory by 27%. -
Psychedelic drugs were a hot topic at this year's Society for Neuroscience meeting. Researchers hope the drugs can help people with disorders like depression and PTSD. -
The brain uses special neurons called time cells to organize our memories of events and experiences. But, despite their name, these cells don't work like a clock. -
Researchers say the experimental Alzheimer's drug Lecanemab represents an important advance and is likely to get FDA approval in 2023, despite some safety concerns.
