Science May 02 Just Ask: What’s Behind Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Electrical Glitch? Photo courtesy of NASA. Updated May 2, 6:00 p.m. ET | NASA now says that repairs to replace and retest a faulty power distribution box has pushed the launch date to May 10 at the earliest. At the root of…
Science Apr 26 Just Ask: Why Does Antimatter Matter? The STAR detector at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This week, a team of researchers from the Brookhaven National Laboratory announced they had discovered helium's twin particle, antihelium-4, the heaviest antimatter nucleus observed yet. So what does that mean, and why do…
Health Apr 22 Autism 101 and Resources As part of the NewsHour's Autism Now series, here's a look at the basics on autism: what it is, how it is treated and key resources. Those looking for more information can also call the Autism Response Team at Autism…
Science Apr 20 One Year Later, Where Has All the Oil Gone? The Gulf of Mexico has always been an oily place. Early sea captains wrote in their log books of slicks of oil. Mayan Indians used natural tars to seal their water jugs and waterproof their canoes. As many as 50…
Science Apr 06 Nuclear Reactors and Nuclear Bombs: What Defines the Differences? What is the difference between the nuclear material in a bomb, versus a reactor? A nuclear reactor works by using the energy that is released when the nucleus of a heavy atom splits. That process is called fission. In reactors,…
Science Apr 04 Staring at the Sun As the sun enters its stormy season, and as GPS systems and electricity networks become increasingly vulnerable to solar eruptions, NASA scientists are working to better understand the mysteries of space weather.
Science Mar 22 Radiation in Japan’s Food Supply: Dangerous or Benign? The Japanese government reported on Sunday that it had halted some food shipments to prevent tainted samples of milk and spinach from reaching consumers. Iodine 131 was found in milk samples in Kawamata, a town in Fukushima prefecture, where the…
Science Mar 15 Mechanics of a Nuclear Meltdown Explained After a powerful explosion on Tuesday, Japanese workers are still struggling to regain control of an earthquake and tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant amid worsening fears of a full meltdown. Which raises the questions: What exactly is a nuclear meltdown? And…
Science Mar 14 Japan’s Nuclear Crisis: Does it Compare to Three Mile Island, Chernobyl? Even as Japanese officials try to sort out whether jolted nuclear reactors could slip into full meltdown after Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami, experts are weighing in on how events unfolding there compare to previous high-profile nuclear disasters. The…
Science Mar 11 Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami: How They Happened The 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck coastal Japan on Friday, devastating large swaths of the coast and spawning a powerful tsunami, was caused by the Pacific tectonic plate thrusting underneath the country, and forcing the seabed and ocean water upward.