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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Researchers have been able to reverse the effects of a syndrome that affects brain development in a brain organoid. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on April 24, 2024.)
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Researchers have been able to reverse the effects of a syndrome that affects brain development in a brain organoid.
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When siblings share a womb, sex hormones from a male fetus can cause lasting changes in a female littermate. This effect exists for all kinds of mammals — perhaps humans too. -
A sibling can change your life — potentially even before birth. The sex of one fetus can affect its neighbors in the womb. The "intrauterine position effect" was first discovered in cattle farming.
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Sam and John Fetters are identical twins with autism. But Sam is in college, while John still struggles to form sentences. Their experience may shed light on the disorder's mix of nature and nurture. -
A national survey of people who care for someone with dementia found that the vast majority could use help navigating a maze of services.
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Two new government studies found no medical explanation for the cluster of symptoms known as Havana syndrome.
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Two new government studies found no unusual pattern of injury or illness in people with the mysterious cluster of symptoms known as Havana syndrome.
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The mysterious ailments that became known as Havana syndrome left no physical evidence of injury or disease, according to two government studies. -
Domestic violence can leave a characteristic pattern of damage on the brain, with the potential for lasting damage as severe as that caused by sports and military blasts.
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Traumatic brain injuries from intimate partner violence are common, and potentially more severe than those seen in sports. -
Researchers may one day be able to identify biomarkers that could indicate when a patient's brain is showing signs of assault, even when they themselves are unable or too afraid to report it.
