It's National Siblings Day! To mark the occasion, guest host Selena Simmons-Duffin is exploring a detail very personal to her: How the number of older brothers a person has can influence their sexuality. Scientific research on sexuality has a dark history, with long-lasting harmful effects on queer communities. Much of the early research has also been debunked over time. But not this "fraternal birth order effect." The fact that a person's likelihood of being gay increases with each older brother has been found all over the world – from Turkey to North America, Brazil, the Netherlands and beyond. Today, Selena gets into all the details: What this effect is, how it's been studied and what it can (and can't) explain about sexuality.
Interested in reading more about the science surrounding some of our closest relatives? Check out more stories in NPR's series on The Science of Siblings.
Claudia Evart, a woman who lost both her sister and her brother in separate accidents, created the day to honor the special relationships between siblings. It is on April 10 every year.
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.
The Clifford family was as prepared as possible to welcome Terrance the octopus. But there was one thing they missed: she was pregnant. And then she laid a whole lot of eggs.
Nakala Murry spoke exclusively to NPR about a petition that references the May 2023 shooting of Aderrien Murry. She said the move "caught her off guard."
Total solar eclipse chasers say that seeing the moon block out the sun, revealing the corona, is a life-changing experience. Kids, on the other hand, remember eating moon pies.
Researchers have learned a lot about blended families since the 1970s — when The Brady Bunch painted a perfect picture of stepsiblings getting along. Some of their advice might surprise you.
Colleges don't yet trust the FAFSA data the U.S. Education Department is sending them, but there's pressure to get aid offers out to students as soon as possible.
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.
Having siblings can mean shared family and childhood experiences — and also shared bedrooms and rivalries. A growing body of research shows us that sibling relationships can shape us for life.
When Roxanne Olson found herself in the middle of a security scare at Chicago's O'Hare airport, a woman walked up to her and said: "I'm here to help people like you."
The secrecy that shrouded Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis is something that any new cancer patient can understand. It's daunting to decide when to share, whom to tell and how much to say.
After a fall near the first anniversary of her beloved aunt's death, a writer explored why grief can make us less sure-footed. She found answers, climbing a precarious staircase in Italy.
Many Lakota people agree: It's imperative to revitalize the Lakota language. But how exactly to do that is a matter of broader debate. Should Lakota be codified and standardized to make learning it easier? Or should the language stay as it always has been, defined by many different ways of writing and speaking? We explore this complex, multi-generational fight that's been unfolding in the Lakota Nation, from Standing Rock to Pine Ridge.