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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The FDA is poised to decide whether to approve aducanumab, a drug to treat Alzheimer's. It's proved highly effective at removing the sticky amyloid plaques associated with the disease from the brain.
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Stroke patients who are struggling to regain the use of a hand will soon have access to a new FDA-cleared device that uses signals from the undamaged part of the brain to retrain the injured limb.
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A man who is paralyzed can quickly perform tasks like pouring a glass of water, thanks to a mind-controlled robotic arm that conveys a sense of touch. -
A robotic arm with a sense of touch has allowed a man who is paralyzed to quickly perform tasks like pouring water into a cup. The arm provides sensory information directly to the man's brain.
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By decoding the brain signals involved in handwriting, researchers have allowed a man who is paralyzed to transform his thoughts into words on a computer screen. -
An experimental medicine seems to ease symptoms of Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disorder that is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disabilities and autism. -
A drug made to treat memory loss seems to help those with Fragile X, a genetic disease that causes intellectual disability and autism. The drug improved language and learning in 30 men with Fragile X.
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An artist and a brain scientist are working together to reduce the stigma surrounding addiction. Both are determined to change society's view of addiction.
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In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there's an effort to save one of humankind's closest living relatives: the bonobo. This benefits the animals, brain research and the economy of the DRC.
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An experiment that induced imaginary sounds in both people and mice could help explain how brain disorders like schizophrenia cause hallucinations. -
Humans evolved to be nice — at least sometimes. The trait has helped us succeed as a species. But how did it happen? A look at some peace-loving apes in Democratic Republic of the Congo offers clues.
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Surveys show that support for COVID-19 vaccines is rising among Black and Latinx populations, now that tens of millions of Americans have safely received the shots.
