Launching a new business has never been easy, but it's even tougher for startups in the post-recession economy. Credit remains tight, and banks in Northeast Ohio rarely risk loans to unproven entrepreneurs. In this week's Exploradio, WKSU's Lucas Misera looks at how small-business owners are getting creative in startup financing. Show Me the Money Studies show that business loans have taken a backseat to financing methods like bonds and commercial paper since the early 1990s. The ability to

No one knows what causes schizophrenia. It’s a devastating mental disorder that affects more than 3 million Americans. And while most people with schizophrenia can be treated, many don’t respond to medications. New research may find ways to help them. In this week’s Exploradio, we examine how genetic research is providing clues to the unsolved mysteries of schizophrenia.

Computer technology is expanding at a dizzying pace. Things that seemed like science fiction a few years ago – from artificial intelligence to cryptocurrencies - are now common place. It’s a bewildering landscape – but in this week’s Exploradio, we follow the thread of a new computer technology from the desktop to deep space.

New business creation in Ohio is at historic lows, according to a recent Kauffman Foundation study. With tight credit and increasing student debt, it’s especially hard for millennials to start a business. But in the next installment of Exploradio’s entrepreneurship series, WKSU intern Kellie Nock reports, some millennials are creating new opportunities.

One of the most enduring questions in science is how did we become human. Fossil bones of our ancestors tell part of the story. But researchers at Kent State University have discovered another piece of the puzzle by comparing the brains of humans with other primates. In this week’s Exploradio, WKSU’s Jeff St.Clair looks at the neurochemical changes in our distant past that became the turning point in human evolution.

Over the next few months, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History is celebrating the work of women scientists. The kick-off included an unusual examination of the role of gender. In this week’s Exploradio, we look at the series, and profiles one of the featured female scientists. The Celebrating Women in Science series welcomes visitors with portraits of female scientists… in disguise. Lexi Jamieson Marsh is director and producer of the Bearded Lady Project , a slightly tongue-in-cheek look at

One way the state of Ohio is trying to combat the opioid crisis is by funding new technologies to prevent addiction. Last month the University of Akron shared in $10 million in state grants as part of that initiative. On this Week’s Exploradio, WKSU’s Jeff St.Clair looks at how a personal experience with opioids inspired a local researcher’s quest for new methods of pain relief.

It’s been nearly a hundred years since the discovery of insulin. And scientists over the past century have been gradually refining its function to make life better for people with diabetes. Now researchers in Cleveland have developed a new generation of insulin that expands its lifesaving potential. In this week’s Exploradio, WKSU’s Jeff St.Clair looks at the latest milestone in the molecule’s history.

Women face unique challenges when starting a business, from getting a loan to getting taken seriously in the marketplace. Women start businesses half as often as men nationwide, but studies suggest female entrepreneurs are less risky for investors than men. In the first in an ongoing examination of entrepreneurship, Exploradio looks at the role women play in the start-up economy. WKSU’s entrepreneurship intern Lucas Misera reports.

Chances are, if you’re feeling under the weather, you can call in sick and still get paid. But for around one-third of U.S. workers, that’s not an option. And a growing body of evidence shows that the lack of paid sick leave has consequences for all of us. In this week’s Exploradio, WKSU’s Jeff St.Clair looks at research on the costs of not calling in sick.