Apr 18 Two Earth-Sized Planets with Earth-Like Temperatures Discovered by Kepler The artist's concept depicts Kepler-62e, a super-Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a star smaller and cooler than the sun, located about 1,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. Photo by NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech. Two Earth-sized planets with… Continue reading
Apr 18 How Are Drones Used in the U.S.? By Larisa Epatko The drone debate usually centers around U.S. use of the unmanned aircraft in other countries, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, to target terrorists. But how are drones used in the United States and how far are we from miniature… Continue reading
Apr 18 Texas Plant Blast Kills Up to 15, Injures Hundreds EmbedVideo(6243, 482, 304); Local roofer Tony LeNoir explains how he's helping the small Texas town of West recover after a fertilizer plant exploded Wednesday evening. A massive explosion tore through the West Fertilizer Co. plant in the town… Continue reading
Apr 17 Science of Light Diffusion Brings Gollum to Life EmbedVideo(6222, 482, 304); Watch Visual Effects artist Joe Letteri explain how the science of light diffusion made digital characters more realistic. It was near midnight in the winter of 1998 when computer graphics researcher Henrik Jensen made… Continue reading
Apr 12 Vicious Sea Creature Sees in Dazzling Color A mantis shrimp peers from its burrow in the Bismarck Sea in Papua New Guinea. Photo by David Doubilet/ National Geographic/ Getty Images. We're a little late to the party here, but if you haven't yet read this comic… Continue reading
Apr 12 The Day Polio Began Losing Its Grip on America By Dr. Howard Markel Elvis Presley receives the Salk polio vaccine in 1956. Awareness about the vaccine led to the end of polio in the U.S. Most babies today still receive the injection. Photo courtesy of March of Dimes. April 12, 1955, was… Continue reading
Apr 10 Portals to the Past: Cloning the Original Cherry Blossoms More than 1 million visitors flock to Washington, D.C. each spring to view the cherry trees. Photo by Rebecca Jacobson. Every spring in Washington, D.C., the tree paparazzi come out. As the 3,700 ornamental cherry trees along the National… Continue reading
Apr 09 Babbling Sounds of Monkeys Share Rhythms with Human Speech A gelada baboon in Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. Photo by A. Davey via Flickr. Scientists studying the evolution of speech have long puzzled over why there are no good models in primates. While primates share many traits with… Continue reading
Apr 08 ‘The End of Big’ Argues That Technology Helps The Little Guy By Christina Bellantoni // Author Nicco Mele writes about technology's influence on politics in "The End of Big." He sat down with PBS NewsHour political editor Christina Bellantoni. I've long been fascinated with the fact that technology can make the world a smaller… Continue reading
Apr 05 Parachute Blows in the Mars Wind The parachute for the Mars Science Laboratory mission to Mars opened before launch. Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech. A newly released series of images snapped by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals that the Curiosity rover's parachute has been flapping… Continue reading