Thors Helmet Emission Nebula

This helmet-shaped cosmic cloud with wing-like appendages is popularly called Thor's Helmet. Heroically sized even for a Norse god, Thor's Helmet spans about 30 light-years across. In fact, the helmet is more like an interstellar bubble, blown as a fast wind -- from the bright star near the center of the bubble's blue-hued region -- sweeps through a surrounding molecular cloud. This star, a Wolf-Rayet star, is a massive and extremely hot giant star thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova stage of evolution. Cataloged as NGC 2359, the emission nebula is located about 12,000 light-years away toward the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major). The sharp image, made using broadband and narrowband filters, captures striking details of the nebula's filamentary gas and dust structures. The blue color originates from strong emission from oxygen atoms in the nebula. via NASA http://ift.tt/2zS1WkA

NPR News: Trump's Nominee To Be The Next Head Of NASA Prepares For Senate Hearing

Trump's Nominee To Be The Next Head Of NASA Prepares For Senate Hearing
President Trump's pick for the next head of NASA, Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., will have his Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday. He's been controversial because of his views on climate change.

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NPR News: How Climate Change Is Already Affecting Health, Spreading Disease

How Climate Change Is Already Affecting Health, Spreading Disease
For decades, scientists have predicted how climate change will hurt people's health. Now an international team of researchers say they're already seeing some of the damage.

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NPR News: How Climate Change Is Already Affecting Health, Spreading Disease

How Climate Change Is Already Affecting Health, Spreading Disease
For decades, scientists have predicted how climate change will hurt people's health. Now an international team of researchers say they're already seeing some of the damage.

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NPR News: Scientists From Around The World Report On Health Effects From Climate Change

Scientists From Around The World Report On Health Effects From Climate Change
A big, international team of scientists has come together to assess how climate change has affected people's health around the world in the past few decades. A rise in heat waves and weather-related disasters threatens the health of millions each year.

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NPR News: Scientists From Around The World Report On Health Effects From Climate Change

Scientists From Around The World Report On Health Effects From Climate Change
A big, international team of scientists has come together to assess how climate change has affected people's health around the world in the past few decades. A rise in heat waves and weather-related disasters threatens the health of millions each year.

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NPR News: Study: CEOs Who Invest In Social Responsibility Initiatives Risk Their Jobs

Study: CEOs Who Invest In Social Responsibility Initiatives Risk Their Jobs
A new study shows that CEOs who invest in corporate social responsibility initiatives put themselves at significant risk of losing their jobs.

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NPR News: Brain Patterns May Predict People At Risk Of Suicide

Brain Patterns May Predict People At Risk Of Suicide
A computer program learned to identify people thinking about suicide by studying brain activity patterns associated with words like "death" and "trouble."

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NPR News: Brain Patterns May Predict People At Risk Of Suicide

Brain Patterns May Predict People At Risk Of Suicide
A computer program learned to identify people thinking about suicide by studying brain activity patterns associated with words like "death" and "trouble."

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NPR News: Shop Around: Subsidies May Offset Your 2018 Health Insurance Price Hike

Shop Around: Subsidies May Offset Your 2018 Health Insurance Price Hike
Premiums for top-line HealthCare.gov policies are going up, federal officials confirm. But higher subsidies could cut some consumers' out-of-pocket expenses enough to make coverage cheaper overall.

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NPR News: Toxic. Sour. Atomic. Why We Love To Hate Gross Candy

Toxic. Sour. Atomic. Why We Love To Hate Gross Candy
Candy is supposed to be sweet and delicious. So why are we tempted by candy that pretends to be made of hazardous chemicals, that threatens to nuke our tastebuds, or that dares us to be disgusted?

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NASA Highlights Science on Next Commercial Mission to Space Station

NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Nov. 2, to discuss select science investigations and technology demonstrations launching on the next Orbital ATK commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station.

October 30, 2017
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Ohio Students to Speak with NASA Astronauts on Space Station

Students at Shaker Heights High School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, will speak with NASA astronauts living, working and doing research aboard the International Space Station at 10:10 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

October 30, 2017
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NPR News: How Tariffs Could Help And Hurt The Solar Industry

How Tariffs Could Help And Hurt The Solar Industry
The U.S. solar industry is bracing for possible tariffs or quotas on imported solar panels. Such action could have very different consequences on different parts of the industry.

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NPR News: Alexa, Are You Safe For My Kids?

Alexa, Are You Safe For My Kids?
Talking to a device that talks back can be entertaining and educational for children. But psychologists say children can develop relationships with these devices that can be different than adults.

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NPR News: Did The EPA Censor Its Scientists?

Did The EPA Censor Its Scientists?
Last week, EPA scientists were pulled from speaking at a meeting where they would address climate change. New EPA leaders were quickly accused of censoring their own scientists, says Adam Frank.

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NPR News: Bats And Tequila: A Once Boo-tiful Relationship Cursed By Growing Demands

Bats And Tequila: A Once Boo-tiful Relationship Cursed By Growing Demands
As the tequila industry surges, the early harvesting and cloning of agave are disrupting the ecosystem of some species — leading some groups to go to bat for the hardworking nighttime pollinators.

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NPR News: 'Hidden No More': Encouraging Girls To Pursue STEM

'Hidden No More': Encouraging Girls To Pursue STEM
NPR's Melissa Block talks to Yefon Mbangsi, a chemical engineer in Cameroon, about coming to the U.S. to participate in a State Department program inspired by the film Hidden Figures.

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NGC 6369: The Little Ghost Nebula

Wraithlike NGC 6369 is a faint apparition in night skies popularly known as the Little Ghost Nebula. It was discovered by 18th century astronomer Sir William Herschel as he used a telescope to explore the medicinal constellation Ophiucus. Herschel historically classified the round and planet-shaped nebula as a Planetary Nebula. But planetary nebulae in general are not at all related to planets. Instead they are gaseous shrouds created at the end of a sun-like star's life, the dying star's outer layers expanding into space while its core shrinks to become a white dwarf. The transformed white dwarf star, seen near the center, radiates strongly at ultraviolet wavelengths and powers the expanding nebula's glow. Surprisingly complex details and structures of NGC 6369 are revealed in this tantalizing image composed from Hubble Space Telescope data. The nebula's main round structure is about a light-year across and the glow from ionized oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen atoms are colored blue, green, and red respectively. Over 2,000 light-years away, the Little Ghost Nebula offers a glimpse of the fate of our Sun, which could produce its own planetary nebula about 5 billion years from now. via NASA http://ift.tt/2z9c1x2

NPR News: Who Says You Can't Train A Cat? A Book Of Tips For Feline-Human Harmony

Who Says You Can't Train A Cat? A Book Of Tips For Feline-Human Harmony
Feline behavior specialist Sarah Ellis explains how you can train your kitty to come on command, take medicine and stop waking you up in the middle of the night. Originally broadcast Sept. 12, 2016.

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Prolific Earth Gravity Satellites End Science Mission

After more than 15 productive years in orbit, the U.S./German GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite mission has ended science operations.

October 27, 2017
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NPR News: Megan Phelps-Roper: If You're Raised To Hate, Can You Reverse It?

Megan Phelps-Roper: If You're Raised To Hate, Can You Reverse It?
Megan Phelps-Roper grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church, which preaches a message of hate and fear. But after engaging with her critics--on Twitter, no less--she decided to leave the church.

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NPR News: South Florida Worries About Possible Dike Failure

South Florida Worries About Possible Dike Failure
All is not well with Lake Okeechobee in south Florida. All the water is being held back by a troubled earthen dike that surrounds the lake. After strong storms, there's concern it could collapse.

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NPR News: We're Not As Good At Remembering Faces As We Think We Are

We're Not As Good At Remembering Faces As We Think We Are
Being able to recognize faces is a crucial part of life. Some of us are very good or bad at it, but in general we aren't as good as we think we are.

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NPR News: We're Not As Good At Remembering Faces As We Think We Are

We're Not As Good At Remembering Faces As We Think We Are
Being able to recognize faces is a crucial part of life. Some of us are very good or bad at it, but in general we aren't as good as we think we are.

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NPR News: Does Smoking Pot Lead To More Sex?

Does Smoking Pot Lead To More Sex?
Surveys of 50,000 people found that those who smoked marijuana had sex more often than those who abstained from the drug. What's unclear is whether other factors explain the apparent link.

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NPR News: Does Smoking Pot Lead To More Sex?

Does Smoking Pot Lead To More Sex?
Surveys of 50,000 people found that those who smoked marijuana had sex more often than those who abstained from the drug. What's unclear is whether other factors explain the apparent link.

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Mirach s Ghost

As far as ghosts go, Mirach's Ghost isn't really that scary. Mirach's Ghost is just a faint, fuzzy galaxy, well known to astronomers, that happens to be seen nearly along the line-of-sight to Mirach, a bright star. Centered in this star field, Mirach is also called Beta Andromedae. About 200 light-years distant, Mirach is a red giant star, cooler than the Sun but much larger and so intrinsically much brighter than our parent star. In most telescopic views, glare and diffraction spikes tend to hide things that lie near Mirach and make the faint, fuzzy galaxy look like a ghostly internal reflection of the almost overwhelming starlight. Still, appearing in this sharp image just above and to the left of Mirach, Mirach's Ghost is cataloged as galaxy NGC 404 and is estimated to be some 10 million light-years away. via NASA http://ift.tt/2i7IzMS

NPR News: Scientists Spot First Alien Space Rock In Our Solar System

Scientists Spot First Alien Space Rock In Our Solar System
Astronomers are eager to learn more about the visitor as it zooms through, like how far-off planets form: "You'd love to see if it looks like stuff in our solar system."

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NASA Invites Media to Upcoming Space Station Cargo Launch

Media accreditation is open for launch of the next SpaceX commercial cargo resupply services mission to the International Space Station, currently targeted for no earlier than December.

October 26, 2017
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NPR News: AI Model Fundamentally Cracks CAPTCHAs, Scientists Say

AI Model Fundamentally Cracks CAPTCHAs, Scientists Say
The report says the model has defeated tests used to tell humans from bots. It uses reasoning to explain the jumbled letters.

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NPR News: AI Model Fundamentally Cracks CAPTCHAs, Scientists Say

AI Model Fundamentally Cracks CAPTCHAs, Scientists Say
The report says the model has defeated tests used to tell humans from bots. It uses reasoning to explain the jumbled letters.

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NPR News: Skull Is Potentially From The Oldest Known Victim Of A Tsunami

Skull Is Potentially From The Oldest Known Victim Of A Tsunami
Researchers say they've determined that a skull discovered in 1929 likely belonged to an individual who was killed in a tsunami 6,000 years ago.

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NPR News: Skull Is Potentially From The Oldest Known Victim Of A Tsunami

Skull Is Potentially From The Oldest Known Victim Of A Tsunami
Researchers say they've determined that a skull discovered in 1929 likely belonged to an individual who was killed in a tsunami 6,000 years ago.

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NPR News: When The State Sinks, Science Is The Anchor

When The State Sinks, Science Is The Anchor
As history has shown, political and ideological repression passes — but scientific knowledge remains, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

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NPR News: Court To Rule On Whether Relapse By An Addicted Opioid User Should Be A Crime

Court To Rule On Whether Relapse By An Addicted Opioid User Should Be A Crime
The high court in Massachusetts is weighing legal and scientific evidence to decide whether a woman convicted of larceny violated the terms of her probation by relapsing into drug use.

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NPR News: VA Examines Link Between Blast Exposure And Lung Injuries

VA Examines Link Between Blast Exposure And Lung Injuries
A new study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs suggests that even mild exposure to blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan may cause long term breathing problems.

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NPR News: Monsanto And The Weed Scientists: Not A Love Story

Monsanto And The Weed Scientists: Not A Love Story
Scientists are accusing the seed-and-pesticide giant Monsanto of denying the risks of its latest weedkilling technology. Monsanto has responded by attacking some of its scientific critics.

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NGC 7635: Bubble in a Cosmic Sea

Adrift in a cosmic sea of stars and glowing gas the delicate, floating apparition left of center in this widefield view is cataloged as NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula. A mere 10 light-years wide, the tiny Bubble Nebula was blown by the winds of a massive star. It lies within a larger complex of interstellar gas and dust clouds found about 11,000 light-years distant, straddling the boundary between the parental constellations Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Included in the breathtaking vista is open star cluster M52 (lower left), some 5,000 light-years away. Above and right of the Bubble Nebula is an emission region identified as Sh2-157, also known as the Claw Nebula. Constructed from 47 hours of narrow-band and broad-band exposures, this image spans about 3 degrees on the sky. That corresponds to a width of 500 light-years at the estimated distance of the Bubble Nebula. via NASA http://ift.tt/2i2Uk7E

NPR News: $15,500 Reward Offered After Endangered Wolf Shot Dead

$15,500 Reward Offered After Endangered Wolf Shot Dead
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has banded together with five conservation groups to offer a reward for information about the killing of a federally protected gray wolf.

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NPR News: Scientists Work To Overcome Legacy Of Tuskegee Study, Henrietta Lacks

Scientists Work To Overcome Legacy Of Tuskegee Study, Henrietta Lacks
An influential Harlem church is trying to help the National Institutes of Health overcome reluctance from some African-Americans to participate in a medical study of 1 million diverse Americans.

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NPR News: Scientists Work To Overcome Legacy Of Tuskegee Study, Henrietta Lacks

Scientists Work To Overcome Legacy Of Tuskegee Study, Henrietta Lacks
An influential Harlem church is trying to help the National Institutes of Health overcome reluctance from some African-Americans to participate in a medical study of 1 million diverse Americans.

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NPR News: Scientists And Surgeons Team Up To Create Models Of Living Human Brain Cells

Scientists And Surgeons Team Up To Create Models Of Living Human Brain Cells
By rushing live brain cells from the operating room to the lab, scientists have been able to create three-dimensional models that reveal cells' electrical behavior and details about their shape.

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NPR News: Scientists And Surgeons Team Up To Create Models Of Living Human Brain Cells

Scientists And Surgeons Team Up To Create Models Of Living Human Brain Cells
By rushing live brain cells from the operating room to the lab, scientists have been able to create three-dimensional models that reveal cells' electrical behavior and details about their shape.

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NPR News: Einstein's Note On Happiness, Given To Bellboy In 1922, Fetches $1.6 Million

Einstein's Note On Happiness, Given To Bellboy In 1922, Fetches $1.6 Million
The physicist had just won the 1921 Nobel Prize when he scribbled his theory of happy living on a piece of hotel stationery and handed it to the courier at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo.

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NPR News: Amid GMO Strife, Food Industry Vies For Public Trust In CRISPR Technology

Amid GMO Strife, Food Industry Vies For Public Trust In CRISPR Technology
Mushrooms that don't brown? Pigs resistant to diseases? Though the process does not introduce foreign genetic material into food or livestock, getting consumers to buy in will be an uphill battle.

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NPR News: Left By Explorer's Armada, Shipwreck Yields 'Earliest Known' Marine Astrolabe

Left By Explorer's Armada, Shipwreck Yields 'Earliest Known' Marine Astrolabe
Sunk off Oman, the ship once sailed in the fleet of Vasco da Gama, who found a sea route from Europe to India. Now, researchers say an artifact found on board is a 500-year-old navigation tool.

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NPR News: Left By Explorer's Armada, Shipwreck Yields 'Earliest Known' Marine Astrolabe

Left By Explorer's Armada, Shipwreck Yields 'Earliest Known' Marine Astrolabe
Sunk off Oman, the ship once sailed in the fleet of Vasco da Gama, who found a sea route from Europe to India. Now, researchers say an artifact found on board is a 500-year-old navigation tool.

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NASA Awards Multiple Construction Contracts

NASA has awarded 24 Multiple Award Construction Contract Two (MACC-II) contracts to 20 small businesses and four under full and open competition to large firms for general construction services at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and several other agency locations.

October 24, 2017
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NPR News: Climate Change Journalist Warns: 'Mother Nature Is Playing By Different Rules Now'

Climate Change Journalist Warns: 'Mother Nature Is Playing By Different Rules Now'
Author Jeff Goodell says that American cities are under threat from extreme weather, rising sea levels and lax enforcement of environmental regulations. His new book is The Water Will Come.

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NPR News: Watch The Moment A Dying Chimpanzee Recognizes An Old Friend

Watch The Moment A Dying Chimpanzee Recognizes An Old Friend
We may all tear up watching this elderly chimpanzee reunite with a friend at the end of her life — a testament to the complexity of animal thinking and feeling, says anthropologist Barbara J. King.

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NPR News: Wine Organization Forecasts Historically Bad Year Due To Weather Events

Wine Organization Forecasts Historically Bad Year Due To Weather Events
Europe, home to the world's leading wine producers, is making wine at significantly lower levels than usual – and that's because of weather such as frost and drought that have damaged vineyards.

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NPR News: Astronaut Paul Weitz Dies At 85; Veteran Of Skylab And Shuttle Missions

Astronaut Paul Weitz Dies At 85; Veteran Of Skylab And Shuttle Missions
Selected by NASA in 1966, Weitz went on to fly on the first manned Skylab mission and performed vital space walks to fix the stricken station. He later commanded the maiden flight of Challenger.

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NPR News: Can Science Change The Mildewed Fortunes Of New York Heritage Hops?

Can Science Change The Mildewed Fortunes Of New York Heritage Hops?
Hops helped make vast fortunes for 19th century farmers and brewers in New York state before a mildew blight ushered in their demise. Now, undergrads hope to develop mildew-resistant heritage hops.

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NPR News: Can Science Change The Mildewed Fortunes Of New York Heritage Hops?

Can Science Change The Mildewed Fortunes Of New York Heritage Hops?
Hops helped make vast fortunes for 19th century farmers and brewers in New York state before a mildew blight ushered in their demise. Now, undergrads hope to develop mildew-resistant heritage hops.

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Where Your Elements Came From

The hydrogen in your body, present in every molecule of water, came from the Big Bang. There are no other appreciable sources of hydrogen in the universe. The carbon in your body was made by nuclear fusion in the interior of stars, as was the oxygen. Much of the iron in your body was made during supernovas of stars that occurred long ago and far away. The gold in your jewelry was likely made from neutron stars during collisions that may have been visible as short-duration gamma-ray bursts or gravitational wave events. Elements like phosphorus and copper are present in our bodies in only small amounts but are essential to the functioning of all known life. The featured periodic table is color coded to indicate humanity's best guess as to the nuclear origin of all known elements. The sites of nuclear creation of some elements, such as copper, are not really well known and are continuing topics of observational and computational research. via NASA http://ift.tt/2zIV0GZ

NPR News: Screening For Diabetes Is Working Better Than Thought

Screening For Diabetes Is Working Better Than Thought
The CDC says 7 million people have Type 2 diabetes and don't know it. But a new analysis says that number's much lower. Screening efforts should focus on people at highest risk, the researchers say.

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NPR News: Screening For Diabetes Is Working Better Than Thought

Screening For Diabetes Is Working Better Than Thought
The CDC says 7 million people have Type 2 diabetes and don't know it. But a new analysis says that number's much lower. Screening efforts should focus on people at highest risk, the researchers say.

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NPR News: Stephen Hawking's Ph.D. Thesis Crashes Cambridge Site After It's Posted Online

Stephen Hawking's Ph.D. Thesis Crashes Cambridge Site After It's Posted Online
By late Monday, the thesis had been viewed more than 60,000 times, a Cambridge official says. He adds, "Other popular theses might have 100 views per month."

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NPR News: CRISPR Bacon: Chinese Scientists Create Genetically Modified Low-Fat Pigs

CRISPR Bacon: Chinese Scientists Create Genetically Modified Low-Fat Pigs
Scientists have used CRISPR, a new gene-editing technique, to create pigs that can keep their bodies warmer, burning more fat to produce leaner meat.

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NPR News: CRISPR Bacon: Chinese Scientists Create Genetically Modified Low-Fat Pigs

CRISPR Bacon: Chinese Scientists Create Genetically Modified Low-Fat Pigs
Scientists have used CRISPR, a new gene-editing technique, to create pigs that can keep their bodies warmer, burning more fat to produce leaner meat.

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NPR News: The Good Psychology In 'The Good Place'

The Good Psychology In 'The Good Place'
Despite my skepticism at the outset, for a light and amusing TV sitcom "The Good Place" does a pretty good job with philosophy — and a pretty good job with human psychology, too, says Tania Lombrozo.

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NPR News: In Memory Training Smackdown, One Method Dominates

In Memory Training Smackdown, One Method Dominates
A comparison of two memory training methods often used by scientists found that one was twice as good as the other. But neither succeeded in turning people into cognitive superstars.

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NPR News: Digging In The Mud To See What Toxic Substances Were Spread By Hurricane Harvey

Digging In The Mud To See What Toxic Substances Were Spread By Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey dumped 50 inches of rain on parts of Houston. Scientists are now trying to identify contaminants spread by the storm, including those in mud at the bottom of the Houston Ship Channel.

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NPR News: In Memory Training Smackdown, One Method Dominates

In Memory Training Smackdown, One Method Dominates
A comparison of two memory training methods often used by scientists found that one was twice as good as the other. But neither succeeded in turning people into cognitive superstars.

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NPR News: Digging In The Mud To See What Toxic Substances Were Spread By Hurricane Harvey

Digging In The Mud To See What Toxic Substances Were Spread By Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey dumped 50 inches of rain on parts of Houston. Scientists are now trying to identify contaminants spread by the storm, including those in mud at the bottom of the Houston Ship Channel.

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NPR News: China Shuts Down Tens Of Thousands Of Factories In Unprecedented Pollution Crackdown

China Shuts Down Tens Of Thousands Of Factories In Unprecedented Pollution Crackdown
After decades of doing little about the pollution that has plagued much of the country, China's government is temporarily shutting down entire industrial regions to inspect for violations.

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NPR News: 'Impossible To Save': Scientists Are Watching China's Glaciers Disappear

'Impossible To Save': Scientists Are Watching China's Glaciers Disappear
Xinjiang has nearly 20,000 glaciers, half of China's total. They're all receding at a record pace — and will continue to melt, some scientists warn, even if global temperatures stop rising.

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Lynds Dark Nebula 183

Beverly Lynds Dark Nebula 183 lies a mere 325 light-years away, drifting high above the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Obscuring the starlight behind it when viewed at optical wavelengths, the dark, dusty molecular cloud itself seems starless. But far infrared explorations reveal dense clumps within, likely stars in the early stages of formation as enhanced regions of the cloud undergo gravitational collapse. One of the closest molecular clouds, it is seen toward the constellation Serpens Caput. This sharp cosmic cloud portrait spans about half a degree on the sky. That's about 3 light-years at the estimated distance of Lynds Dark Nebula 183. via NASA http://ift.tt/2x9BMbW

International Space Station Crew Invites Public Along for Photographic Trip Around World

NASA astronaut and Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik will spend one full orbit photographing Earth from the International Space Station on Monday, Oct. 23, and he is inviting people around the globe to share images from their Earth-side vantage point on social media.

October 20, 2017
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NPR News: Orionid Meteor Shower Will Peak Overnight, With Best Show Before Dawn

Orionid Meteor Shower Will Peak Overnight, With Best Show Before Dawn
Last year, the Orionids were hampered by a bright moon. But this year, there's barely a sliver of moon in the sky, which should allow the remnants of Halley's Comet to shine.

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NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Landsat 9 Mission

NASA has selected United Launch Services LLC (ULS) of Centennial, Colorado, to provide launch services for the Landsat 9 mission. The mission is currently targeted for a contract launch date of June 2021, while protecting for the ability to launch as early as December 2020, on an Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air For

October 19, 2017
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NPR News: Troubled By Flint Water Crisis, 11-Year-Old Girl Invents Lead-Detecting Device

Troubled By Flint Water Crisis, 11-Year-Old Girl Invents Lead-Detecting Device
The Colorado seventh-grader was unimpressed by the options her parents had to test water in their home. So she created a sensor-based device using chemically treated carbon nanotubes to do it faster.

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NPR News: Troubled By Flint Water Crisis, 11-Year-Old Girl Invents Lead-Detecting Device

Troubled By Flint Water Crisis, 11-Year-Old Girl Invents Lead-Detecting Device
The Colorado seventh-grader was unimpressed by the options her parents had to test water in their home. So she created a sensor-based device using chemically treated carbon nanotubes to do it faster.

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NPR News: To Reduce Risk Of Recurring Bladder Infection, Try Drinking More Water

To Reduce Risk Of Recurring Bladder Infection, Try Drinking More Water
While it may seem simple, drinking water flushes bacteria out of the urethra, helping to prevent infection in women prone to them. And it also may help reduce the use of antibiotics.

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NPR News: To Reduce Risk Of Recurring Bladder Infection, Try Drinking More Water

To Reduce Risk Of Recurring Bladder Infection, Try Drinking More Water
While it may seem simple, drinking water flushes bacteria out of the urethra, helping to prevent infection in women prone to them. And it also may help reduce the use of antibiotics.

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NPR News: Body Cam Study Shows No Effect On Police Use Of Force Or Citizen Complaints

Body Cam Study Shows No Effect On Police Use Of Force Or Citizen Complaints
That's the conclusion of a study performed as Washington, D.C., rolled out its huge program. The city has one of the largest forces in the country, with some 2,600 officers now wearing cameras.

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NPR News: Do You Care If Your Fish Dinner Was Raised Humanely? Animal Advocates Say You Should

Do You Care If Your Fish Dinner Was Raised Humanely? Animal Advocates Say You Should
Concerns over animal welfare have led to changes in how livestock are raised in recent years. But seafood has been missing from the conversation. One group aims to change that.

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NPR News: CIA Trainee Washes Out Of Bomb Detection, Reassigned To Living Room

CIA Trainee Washes Out Of Bomb Detection, Reassigned To Living Room
The agency says that Lulu, a black Labrador being trained to sniff out explosives, just wasn't that into it.

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NPR News: Body Cam Study Shows No Effect On Police Use Of Force Or Citizen Complaints

Body Cam Study Shows No Effect On Police Use Of Force Or Citizen Complaints
That's the conclusion of a study performed as Washington, D.C., rolled out its huge program. The city has one of the largest forces in the country, with some 2,600 officers now wearing cameras.

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NPR News: Bad-Mouthing Opponents Likely Spurs Them On To Win, Research Shows

Bad-Mouthing Opponents Likely Spurs Them On To Win, Research Shows
Researchers say that trash-talking can motivate people to outperform their opponents. This happens for tasks that involve effort, but not creativity.

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NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Sentinel-6A Mission

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the Sentinel-6A mission. Launch is currently targeted for November 2020, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

October 19, 2017
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NPR News: For Novelist John Green, OCD Is Like An 'Invasive Weed' Inside His Mind

For Novelist John Green, OCD Is Like An 'Invasive Weed' Inside His Mind
"It starts out with one little thought, and then slowly that becomes the only thought that you're able to have," Green says. His new novel, Turtles All The Way Down, is about a teenage girl with OCD.

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NPR News: Should College Professors Give 'Tech Breaks' In Class?

Should College Professors Give 'Tech Breaks' In Class?
Is it necessary coddling or just good science to give college students breaks to check their phones in class? Anthropologist Barbara J. King takes a look.

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Georgia Students to Speak with NASA Astronauts on Space Station

Students at New Prospect Elementary School in Alpharetta, Georgia, will speak with the NASA astronauts living, working and doing research aboard the International Space Station at 10:50 a.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 23.

October 19, 2017
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NPR News: Pickleball For All: The Cross-Generational Power Of Play

Pickleball For All: The Cross-Generational Power Of Play
A fun and social game at any age, pickleball is giving older adults — and their middle-aged kids — an extended lease on the benefits of team sports.

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M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy

Find the Big Dipper and follow the handle away from the dipper's bowl until you get to the last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you'll come upon this stunning pair of interacting galaxies, the 51st entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog. Perhaps the original spiral nebula, the large galaxy with well defined spiral structure is also cataloged as NGC 5194. Its spiral arms and dust lanes clearly sweep in front of its companion galaxy (bottom), NGC 5195. The pair are about 31 million light-years distant and officially lie within the angular boundaries of the small constellation Canes Venatici. Though M51 looks faint and fuzzy to the eye, deep images like this one can reveal striking colors and the faint tidal debris around the smaller galaxy via NASA http://ift.tt/2yQWhyI

NPR News: Where Do We Come From?

Where Do We Come From?
Look in a microscope to find out.

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NPR News: A New Era For Astronomy Has Begun

A New Era For Astronomy Has Begun
Astronomy is forever changed by the viewing of the collision of neutron stars; we can now watch these processes in many different ways as they run their course, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

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NPR News: Computer Learns To Play Go At Superhuman Levels 'Without Human Knowledge'

Computer Learns To Play Go At Superhuman Levels 'Without Human Knowledge'
Researchers say they have constructed an AI program that can teach itself to play the ancient strategy game at a level far beyond humans.

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NPR News: Computer Learns To Play Go At Superhuman Levels 'Without Human Knowledge'

Computer Learns To Play Go At Superhuman Levels 'Without Human Knowledge'
Researchers say they have constructed an AI program that can teach itself to play the ancient strategy game at a level far beyond humans.

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NPR News: Diabetes Technology Moves Closer To Making Life Easier For Patients

Diabetes Technology Moves Closer To Making Life Easier For Patients
While the technology is moving rapidly, insurance, regulatory, and supply challenges make it harder for patients to quickly access the latest medical advances to manage their condition.

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NPR News: Invasive 'Devil Fish' Plague Mexico's Waters. Can't Beat 'Em? Eat 'Em

Invasive 'Devil Fish' Plague Mexico's Waters. Can't Beat 'Em? Eat 'Em
The armored catfish erodes shorelines and devastates marine plants — and its numbers have exploded. So researchers, chefs and fishermen are trying to rebrand it by promoting its flavor and nutrition.

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NPR News: Scientists Push To House More Lab Monkeys In Pairs

Scientists Push To House More Lab Monkeys In Pairs
Enhancing a research monkey's life by housing it with a pal often doesn't hurt the study, says a researcher who's done it. In her own experience, she says, "it actually helped to improve the science."

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NPR News: Scientists Push To House More Lab Monkeys In Pairs

Scientists Push To House More Lab Monkeys In Pairs
Enhancing a research monkey's life by housing it with a pal often doesn't hurt the study, says a researcher who's done it. In her own experience, she says, "it actually helped to improve the science."

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NPR News: Search Of Genes In Dogs, Mice And People Finds 4 Linked To OCD

Search Of Genes In Dogs, Mice And People Finds 4 Linked To OCD
Scientists looking for genetic factors behind obsessive compulsive disorder looked for clues in the DNA of humans and two animal species. Genes active in a particular brain circuit emerged.

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NPR News: Search Of DNA In Dogs, Mice And People Finds 4 Genes Linked To OCD

Search Of DNA In Dogs, Mice And People Finds 4 Genes Linked To OCD
Scientists looking for genetic factors behind obsessive compulsive disorder looked for clues in the DNA of humans and two animal species. Genes active in a particular brain circuit emerged.

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NPR News: Astronaut Scott Kelly's Latest Mission: A Book

Astronaut Scott Kelly's Latest Mission: A Book
After a year in space, Kelly says, writing a book was harder than he thought — but still, he adds, "If I write a bad sentence people are only going to get angry with me. They're not going to die."

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NPR News: Nostalgia Isn't Just A Fixation On The Past - It Can Be About The Future, Too

Nostalgia Isn't Just A Fixation On The Past - It Can Be About The Future, Too
Is nostalgia an emotion that's bitter, or sweet? Psychologist Clay Routledge explains what causes us to feel nostalgic and how nostalgia affects us.

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Haumea of the Outer Solar System

One of the strangest objects in the outer Solar System has recently been found to have a ring. The object, named Haumea, is the fifth designated dwarf planet after Pluto, Ceres, Eris, and Makemake. Haumea's oblong shape makes it quite unusual. Along one direction, Haumea is significantly longer than Pluto, while in another direction Haumea has an extent very similar to Pluto, while in the third direction is much smaller. Haumea's orbit sometimes brings it closer to the Sun than Pluto, but usually Haumea is further away. Illustrated above, an artist visualizes Haumea as a cratered ellipsoid surrounded by a uniform ring. Originally discovered in 2003 and given the temporary designation of 2003 EL61, Haumea was renamed in 2008 by the IAU for a Hawaiian goddess. Besides the ring discovered this year, Haumea has two small moons discovered in 2005, named Hi'iaka and Namaka for daughters of the goddess. via NASA http://ift.tt/2gKDBWu

NPR News: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In An Underslept State'

Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In An Underslept State'
"Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain," says sleep scientist Matthew Walker. His new book is Why We Sleep.

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NPR News: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In An Underslept State'

Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In An Underslept State'
"Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain," says sleep scientist Matthew Walker. His new book is Why We Sleep.

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NPR News: Studies Skewed By Focus On Well-Off, Educated Brains

Studies Skewed By Focus On Well-Off, Educated Brains
What does a "normal" brain look like? Something a lot different when researchers make sure that study participants reflect the race, education and income levels of the U.S. at large.

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NPR News: After Hurricane Power Outages, Looking To Alaska's Microgrids For A Better Way

After Hurricane Power Outages, Looking To Alaska's Microgrids For A Better Way
Alaska is a leader in microgrids since its remote communities have had to power themselves for decades.

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NPR News: Studies Skewed By Focus On Well-Off, Educated Brains

Studies Skewed By Focus On Well-Off, Educated Brains
What does a "normal" brain look like? Something a lot different when researchers make sure that study participants reflect the race, education and income levels of the U.S. at large.

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NASA Missions Catch First Light from a Gravitational-Wave Event

For the first time, NASA scientists have detected light tied to a gravitational-wave event, thanks to two merging neutron stars in the galaxy NGC 4993, located about 130 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra.

October 16, 2017
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NPR News: Astronomers Strike Gravitational Gold In Colliding Neutron Stars

Astronomers Strike Gravitational Gold In Colliding Neutron Stars
In an astonishing discovery, astronomers used gravitational waves to locate two neutron stars smashing together. The collision created 200 Earth masses of pure gold, along with other elements.

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NPR News: Mindfulness Apps Aim To Help People Disconnect From Stress

Mindfulness Apps Aim To Help People Disconnect From Stress
Finding inner calm hard to come by? Some people use their device obsession to help them disconnect. The apps aren't a quick fix, therapists say, but might help you stick to a mindfulness practice.

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NPR News: Mindfulness Apps Aim To Help People Disconnect From Stress

Mindfulness Apps Aim To Help People Disconnect From Stress
Finding inner calm hard to come by? Some people use their device obsession to help them disconnect. The apps aren't a quick fix, therapists say, but might help you stick to a mindfulness practice.

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NPR News: 'Quackery' Chronicles How Our Love Of Miracle Cures Leads Us Astray

'Quackery' Chronicles How Our Love Of Miracle Cures Leads Us Astray
Tobacco enemas? Mercury pills? Ice pick lobotomies? A new book explains how throughout history, miracle "cures" often didn't just fail to improve people's health, they maimed and killed.

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On the Origin of Gold

Where did the gold in your jewelry originate? No one is completely sure. The relative average abundance in our Solar System appears higher than can be made in the early universe, in stars, and even in typical supernova explosions. Some astronomers have suggested, and many believe, that neutron-rich heavy elements such as gold might be most easily made in rare neutron-rich explosions such as the collision of neutron stars. Pictured here is an artist's illustration depicting two neutron stars spiraling in toward each other, just before they collide. Since neutron star collisions are also suggested as the origin of short duration gamma-ray bursts, it is possible that you already own a souvenir from one of the most powerful explosions in the universe. via NASA http://ift.tt/2i98Z4L

NPR News: A School For Kids With Autism Copes With Fire's Physical And Emotional Damage

A School For Kids With Autism Copes With Fire's Physical And Emotional Damage
Dealing with a fire or other natural disaster is hard on anyone, from evacuation to aftermath. And people with physical or developmental disabilities have particular needs, say emergency planners.

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All Sky Steve

Familiar green and red tinted auroral emission floods the sky along the northern (top) horizon in this fish-eye panorama projection from September 27. On the mild, clear evening the Milky Way tracks through the zenith of a southern Alberta sky and ends where the six-day-old Moon sets in the southwest. The odd, isolated, pink and whitish arc across the south has come to be known as Steve. The name was given to the phenomenon by the Alberta Aurora Chasers Facebook group who had recorded appearances of the aurora-like feature. Sometimes mistakenly identified as a proton aurora or proton arc, the mysterious Steve arcs seem associated with aurorae but appear closer to the equator than the auroral curtains. Widely documented by citizen scientists and recently directly explored by a Swarm mission satellite, Steve arcs have been measured as thermal emission from flowing gas rather than emission excited by energetic electrons. Even though a reverse-engineered acronym that fits the originally friendly name is Sudden Thermal Emission from Velocity Enhancement, his origin is still mysterious. via NASA http://ift.tt/2ykOVlG

NPR News: Jeremy, The Lonely, Left-Twisting Snail, Dies — But Knows Love Before The End

Jeremy, The Lonely, Left-Twisting Snail, Dies — But Knows Love Before The End
OK, "love" might be overstating it. But the little lefty — whose seemingly hopeless search for a mate sparked an international quest — did manage to procreate before he shuffled off this mortal coil.

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NPR News: 'The Butchering Art': How A 19th Century Physician Made Surgery Safer

'The Butchering Art': How A 19th Century Physician Made Surgery Safer
Before surgeons accepted germ theory, operations often killed patients. All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talks with the author of a new biography of antiseptic advocate Joseph Lister.

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NPR News: With OK From EPA, Use Of Controversial Weedkiller Is Expected To Double

With OK From EPA, Use Of Controversial Weedkiller Is Expected To Double
The EPA says farmers can still spray dicamba on their crops next year — with some new restrictions. The weedkiller has been blamed for drifting into fields, damaging millions of acres of crops.

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NPR News: Is Harrison Ford An Android In 'Blade Runner'?

Is Harrison Ford An Android In 'Blade Runner'?
Ever since the first movie achieved cult status, fans have hotly debated if Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, is a replicant. Blade Runner 2047 leaves room for argument, says fan Adam Frank.

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NPR News: California Blazes Are Part Of A Larger And Hotter Picture, Fire Researchers Say

California Blazes Are Part Of A Larger And Hotter Picture, Fire Researchers Say
The wildfires in California's wine country are coming in the midst of a near-record fire season nationwide. Researchers say a warming climate is a factor.

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NPR News: Elizabeth Loftus: How Can Our Memories Be Manipulated?

Elizabeth Loftus: How Can Our Memories Be Manipulated?
Years of research have taught Elizabeth Loftus just how unreliable our memories are. From tweaking a real memory to planting a completely fabricated one, tampering with our minds is surprisingly easy.

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NPR News: Elizabeth Loftus: How Can Our Memories Be Manipulated?

Elizabeth Loftus: How Can Our Memories Be Manipulated?
Years of research have taught Elizabeth Loftus just how unreliable our memories are. From tweaking a real memory to planting a completely fabricated one, tampering with our minds is surprisingly easy.

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Facebook Live with Astronauts Kicks Off Year of Education on Space Station

The first major event for the Year of Education on Station (YES) will be hosted by NASA astronaut Joe Acaba and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Paolo Nespoli on a special Facebook Live broadcast from the International Space Station.

October 12, 2017
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NPR News: This Week's Air Quality Is Worst On Record For San Francisco Bay Area

This Week's Air Quality Is Worst On Record For San Francisco Bay Area
As wildfires spread through Northern California counties, clouds of smoke and ash are spreading, too, far beyond the flames. Air quality officials have a database that's searchable by zip code.

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NPR News: Is This How The Trump Administration Might Save Coal?

Is This How The Trump Administration Might Save Coal?
Energy Secretary Rick Perry says subsidizing coal and nuclear power plants would make the grid more reliable. An unlikely array of critics say the move is expensive and unnecessary.

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NPR News: The Mechanics Behind Yellowstone's Old Faithful

The Mechanics Behind Yellowstone's Old Faithful
The Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park blows water approximately ever 90 minutes. The the mechanics behind this beautiful mystery have been revealed this week in a new study.

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NPR News: The Mechanics Behind Yellowstone's Old Faithful

The Mechanics Behind Yellowstone's Old Faithful
The Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park blows water approximately ever 90 minutes. The the mechanics behind this beautiful mystery have been revealed this week in a new study.

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NPR News: FDA Panel Endorses Gene Therapy For A Form Of Childhood Blindness

FDA Panel Endorses Gene Therapy For A Form Of Childhood Blindness
Food and Drug Administration advisers unanimously recommended that the agency approve the first gene therapy for an inherited disease — a rare defect that causes blindness in children.

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NPR News: FDA Panel Endorses Gene Therapy For A Form Of Childhood Blindness

FDA Panel Endorses Gene Therapy For A Form Of Childhood Blindness
Food and Drug Administration advisers unanimously recommended that the agency approve the first gene therapy for an inherited disease — a rare defect that causes blindness in children.

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NPR News: Brazil's Deep Cuts To Science Funding Will Lock Country In The Past

Brazil's Deep Cuts To Science Funding Will Lock Country In The Past
Scientists worldwide have watched Brazil's budget cuts in shock. We, too, could see trouble ahead if flat U.S. federal spending without additional corporate funding continues, says Marcelo Gleiser.

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NASA Pinpoints Cause of Earth’s Recent Record Carbon Dioxide Spike

A new NASA study provides space-based evidence that Earth’s tropical regions were the cause of the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration seen in at least 2,000 years.

October 12, 2017
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NPR News: After A Failed Launch, Smart Shoe Benefits From A Reboot

After A Failed Launch, Smart Shoe Benefits From A Reboot
Hahna Alexander initially invented a shoe that could charge a battery, but no one wanted to use it. "You have to invent something that people can't live without," she says.

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NPR News: The Coming Sewer Gold Rush

The Coming Sewer Gold Rush
Environmental chemists studied Swiss sewage and found trace amounts of gold, silver and rare earth metals. It could be valuable, but chemists say it's probably not worth the cost of recovering.

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NPR News: Tiny, Transparent Worm Challenges Notions About Sex

Tiny, Transparent Worm Challenges Notions About Sex
Scientists have found a group of worms that haven't reproduced sexually for 18 million years. Normally that would be a recipe for quick extinction, but these little guys seem none the worse for wear.

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NPR News: Tiny, Transparent Worm Challenges Notions About Sex

Tiny, Transparent Worm Challenges Notions About Sex
Scientists have found a group of worms that haven't reproduced sexually for 18 million years. Normally that would be a recipe for quick extinction, but these little guys seem none the worse for wear.

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NGC 1365: Majestic Island Universe

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the chemical constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax galaxy cluster. This impressively sharp color image shows intense star forming regions at the ends of the bar and along the spiral arms, and details of dust lanes cutting across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole. via NASA http://ift.tt/2g120qf

NPR News: Pumas Are Not Such Loners After All

Pumas Are Not Such Loners After All
Researchers are startled to find that pumas, also called mountain lions, meet up quite frequently with their fellow big cats — perhaps to share an elk carcass.

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NPR News: Health Conditions That Increase Stroke Risk Rise Across All Ages, Races

Health Conditions That Increase Stroke Risk Rise Across All Ages, Races
Smoking, drug abuse and diabetes are all modifiable risk factors for stroke. Yet a large study of patients hospitalized for stroke suggests the number of people with these risk factors is rising.

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NPR News: Health Conditions That Increase Stroke Risk Rise Across All Ages, Races

Health Conditions That Increase Stroke Risk Rise Across All Ages, Races
Smoking, drug abuse and diabetes are all modifiable risk factors for stroke. Yet a large study of patients hospitalized for stroke suggests the number of people with these risk factors is rising.

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NPR News: There's Gold In Them Thar Sewage Pipes, Swiss Researchers Say

There's Gold In Them Thar Sewage Pipes, Swiss Researchers Say
Each year, more than $3 million in gold and silver wind up in Swiss wastewater, scientists found. But in most cases it doesn't make economic sense to extract and recycle the metals.

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NPR News: Why A Long-Term Disability Policy Is More Important Than Pet Insurance

Why A Long-Term Disability Policy Is More Important Than Pet Insurance
Though not as trendy as pet insurance, a long-term disability policy is pretty cheap and can save your bacon if you have an accident, get cancer or otherwise can't work for a few months or years.

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NPR News: EPA Vows To Speed Cleanup Of Toxic Superfund Sites Despite Funding Drop

EPA Vows To Speed Cleanup Of Toxic Superfund Sites Despite Funding Drop
Superfund was initially paid for by taxes on crude oil, chemicals and the companies that created the toxic waste sites. But those taxes expired in 1995, leaving states strapped to find the money.

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NPR News: Here Are The 2017 MacArthur 'Genius' Grant Winners

Here Are The 2017 MacArthur 'Genius' Grant Winners
Jason De León, Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Derek Peterson are among the 24 winners of this year's MacArthur Fellowship, which honors "extraordinarily talented and creative individuals."

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Star Cluster NGC 362 from Hubble

If our Sun were near the center of NGC 362, the night sky would glow like a jewel box of bright stars. Hundreds of stars would glow brighter than Sirius, and in many different colors. Although these stars could become part of breathtaking constellations and intricate folklore, it would be difficult for planetary inhabitants there to see -- and hence understand -- the greater universe beyond. NGC 362 is one of only about 170 globular clusters of stars that exist in our Milky Way Galaxy. This star cluster is one of the younger globulars, forming likely well after our Galaxy. NGC 362 can be found with the unaided eye nearly in front of the Small Magellanic Cloud, and angularly close to the second brightest globular cluster known, 47 Tucanae. The featured image was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope to help better understand how massive stars end up near the center of some globular clusters. via NASA http://ift.tt/2zc33My

NASA Announces Briefing on Carbon Mission Science Results

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 12, to discuss new research to be published this week on changing global levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The research is based on data from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission and other satellites.

October 10, 2017
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NPR News: Weeks After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Struggles To Turn On The Lights

Weeks After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Struggles To Turn On The Lights
Nearly 90 percent of Puerto Rico is still without power more than two weeks after Hurricane Maria. Authorities say it will take months to restore electricity after the storm destroyed the power grid.

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NASA TV to Broadcast Hispanic Heritage Event

NASA will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the James Webb Auditorium in the agency’s headquarters in Washington on Thursday, Oct. 12, with a discussion of the contributions of Hispanics to NASA’s mission and the importance of Hispanic representation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers.

October 10, 2017
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NPR News: What Drives Some People To Take Personal Risks To Help Strangers?

What Drives Some People To Take Personal Risks To Help Strangers?
Acts of altruism — like saving swimmers caught in a riptide from drowning or donating a kidney to a stranger — are among the thorniest puzzles of human nature, says guest blogger Abigail Marsh.

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NASA to Televise International Space Station Cargo Ship Launch, Docking

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station beginning at 5:15 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 12.

October 10, 2017
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NPR News: Friday News Roundup - International

Friday News Roundup - International
The Secretary of State has gone public about what might've been said in private. Under mounting pressure, the King of Spain has been speaking out. And the Nobel prize committee has given the world a lot to talk about.

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NPR News: EPA Chief Announces Reversal Of Obama-Era Curbs On Coal Plants

EPA Chief Announces Reversal Of Obama-Era Curbs On Coal Plants
In a speech in Kentucky on Monday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said the old rules aimed at reducing carbon dioxide were tantamount to declaring war on the coal industry.

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NPR News: What Influences Attitudes Toward Gun Reform?

What Influences Attitudes Toward Gun Reform?
A paper published this summer shows gun ownership relates to beliefs about mass shootings and points to gun ownership as a powerful driver of motivated cognition, says psychologist Tania Lombrozo.

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NPR News: Researchers Explore Pornography's Effect On Long-Term Relationships

Researchers Explore Pornography's Effect On Long-Term Relationships
Married men and women who use pornography are more likely to get divorced than men and women who do not, researchers say. Porn is a driver in making relationships worse, increasing the divorce risk.

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Unusual Mountain Ahuna Mons on Asteroid Ceres

What created this unusual mountain? Ahuna Mons is the largest mountain on the largest known asteroid in our Solar System, Ceres, which orbits our Sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ahuna Mons, though, is like nothing that humanity has ever seen before. For one thing, its slopes are garnished not with old craters but young vertical streaks. One hypothesis holds that Ahuna Mons is an ice volcano that formed shortly after a large impact on the opposite side of the dwarf planet loosened up the terrain through focused seismic waves. The bright steaks may be high in reflective salt, and therefore similar to other recently surfaced material such as visible in Ceres' famous bright spots. The featured double-height digital image was constructed from surface maps taken of Ceres last year by the robotic Dawn mission. via NASA http://ift.tt/2y8JHtl

NPR News: How To Make AI The Best Thing To Happen To Us

How To Make AI The Best Thing To Happen To Us
We can thrive with AI if we win the race between the growing power of our technology and the wisdom with which we manage it, but we must ditch the idea of learning from our mistakes, says Max Tegmark.

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NPR News: The Relationship Between Domestic Violence And Mass Shootings

The Relationship Between Domestic Violence And Mass Shootings
In at least 54 percent of mass shootings, the perpetrator also shot an intimate partner or relative. NPR's Michel Martin talks with gun policy expert Robert Spitzer about the pattern of domestic abuse among mass shooters.

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NPR News: As Residents Start To Return, Devastated Barbuda Struggles To Rebuild

As Residents Start To Return, Devastated Barbuda Struggles To Rebuild
The Caribbean island of Barbuda had to evacuate all its residents when Hurricane Irma hit last month, but now they are slowly starting to return. NPR's Michel Martin catches up with reporter Anika Kentish who's been following the story.

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NPR News: Hurricane Nate Expected To Hit Gulf Coast As Category 2

Hurricane Nate Expected To Hit Gulf Coast As Category 2
Hurricane Nate is intensifying as it takes aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast. People from southeast Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle are bracing for Nate, which forecasters say could strengthen to a Category 2 storm.

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Eclipsosaurus Rex

We live in an era where total solar eclipses are possible because at times the apparent size of the Moon can just cover the disk of the Sun. But the Moon is slowly moving away from planet Earth. Its distance is measured to increase about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) per year due to tidal friction. So there will come a time, about 600 million years from now, when the Moon is far enough away that the lunar disk will be too small to ever completely cover the Sun. Then, at best only annular eclipses, a ring of fire surrounding the silhouetted disk of the too small Moon, will be seen from the surface of our fair planet. Of course the Moon was slightly closer and loomed a little larger 100 million years ago. So during the age of the dinosaurs there were more frequent total eclipses of the Sun. In front of the Tate Geological Museum at Casper College in Wyoming, this dinosaur statue posed with a modern total eclipse, though. An automated camera was placed under him to shoot his portrait during the Great American Eclipse of August 21. via NASA http://ift.tt/2ggIeYc

Media Accreditation Opens for Launch of NOAA’s JPSS-1 Satellite

The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), the first in a new series of four highly advanced National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar-orbiting satellites, which will help increase weather forecast accuracy from three to seven days out, is scheduled to launch on Friday, Nov. 10 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

October 06, 2017
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NASA Offers Access to Cygnus Spacecraft Ahead of Next Space Station Mission

Media are invited to view and photograph Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft, packed with cargo and scientific experiments for its upcoming flight to the International Space Station, at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 18, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.

October 06, 2017
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NPR News: Should You Leave Grandma With The Robot?

Should You Leave Grandma With The Robot?
Once a technology that treats emotions as data becomes pervasive, we may soon find that data is the only aspect of emotion we come to recognize or value, says astrophysicist Adam Frank.

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NPR News: Trump Guts Requirement That Employer Health Plans Pay For Birth Control

Trump Guts Requirement That Employer Health Plans Pay For Birth Control
With a new regulation, the administration will allow any company or nonprofit group to refuse to cover contraception, by claiming a religious or moral exemption to the federal health law.

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Global Aurora at Mars

A strong solar event last month triggered intense global aurora at Mars. Before (left) and during (right) the solar storm, these projections show the sudden increase in ultraviolet emission from martian aurora, more than 25 times brighter than auroral emission previously detected by the orbiting MAVEN spacecraft. With a sunlit crescent toward the right, data from MAVEN's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph is projected in purple hues on the night side of Mars globes simulated to match the observation dates and times. On Mars, solar storms can result in planet-wide aurora because, unlike Earth, the Red Planet isn't protected by a strong global magnetic field that can funnel energetic charged particles toward the poles. For all those on the planet's surface during the solar storm, dangerous radiation levels were double any previously measured by the Curiosity rover. MAVEN is studying whether Mars lost its atmosphere due to its lack of a global magnetic field. via NASA http://ift.tt/2fMTEm8

NPR News: Light Pollution Can Impact Noctural Bird Migration

Light Pollution Can Impact Noctural Bird Migration
A new study of how birds react to the annual light tribute to September 11th in New York City provides compelling evidence for how artificial light can disorient large numbers of migrating birds.

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NASA Statement on National Space Council Policy for Future American Leadership in Space

The following is a statement from acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot about the results from the first meeting of the National Space Council on Thursday:

October 05, 2017
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NPR News: Neanderthal Genes Help Shape How Many Modern Humans Look

Neanderthal Genes Help Shape How Many Modern Humans Look
Calling someone a Neanderthal because of his coarse manners or brutish looks may seem like fun. But be careful. Neanderthal DNA persists inside many of us.

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NPR News: Neanderthal Genes Help Shape How Many Modern Humans Look

Neanderthal Genes Help Shape How Many Modern Humans Look
Calling someone a Neanderthal because of his coarse manners or brutish looks may seem like fun. But be careful. Neanderthal DNA persists inside many of us.

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NPR News: Classifying Attacks: Mental Illness Or Terrorism?

Classifying Attacks: Mental Illness Or Terrorism?
New research explores our tendency to label mass shooters as either mentally ill or as terrorists, based on whether they are Muslim or not.

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Michigan Students to Speak with NASA Astronauts on Space Station

Students at St. Mary Cathedral School in Gaylord, Michigan, will speak with NASA astronauts living, working and doing research aboard the International Space Station at 11 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 6.

October 04, 2017
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NPR News: Nobel Prize In Chemistry Awarded To Researchers Who Improved 'Imaging Of Biomolecules'

Nobel Prize In Chemistry Awarded To Researchers Who Improved 'Imaging Of Biomolecules'
They were honored for developing a new way to generate 3-D images of biological molecules. Researchers are using the technique to study everything from the Zika virus to Alzheimer's disease.

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NPR News: Nobel Prize In Chemistry Awarded To Researchers Who Improved 'Imaging Of Biomolecules'

Nobel Prize In Chemistry Awarded To Researchers Who Improved 'Imaging Of Biomolecules'
They were honored for developing a new way to generate 3-D images of biological molecules. Researchers are using the technique to study everything from the Zika virus to Alzheimer's disease.

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NASA Provides Coverage for First Meeting of the National Space Council

NASA Television and the agency’s website will provide live coverage of the first meeting of the National Space Council starting at 10 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 5.

October 04, 2017
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NPR News: Parents Lobby States To Expand Newborn Screening Test For Rare Brain Disorder

Parents Lobby States To Expand Newborn Screening Test For Rare Brain Disorder
There's a genetic test for ALD, the inherited disorder portrayed in the movie Lorenzo's Oil, and the federal government recommends it for all newborns. But only a handful of states offer it routinely.

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NPR News: Parents Lobby States To Expand Newborn Screening Test For Rare Brain Disorder

Parents Lobby States To Expand Newborn Screening Test For Rare Brain Disorder
There's a genetic test for ALD, the inherited disorder portrayed in the movie Lorenzo's Oil, and the federal government recommends it for all newborns. But only a handful of states offer it routinely.

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NPR News: Sheer Number Of Casualties Makes Las Vegas Count Difficult

Sheer Number Of Casualties Makes Las Vegas Count Difficult
Doctors and emergency officials are still trying to figure out exactly how many people were shot in Las Vegas. The wide range of injuries and the sheer number of people injured are challenges.

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NPR News: Would Aliens Look Like Us?

Would Aliens Look Like Us?
Though natural selection might have sculpted a well-adapted species on another planet, they wouldn't look like us, says guest blogger Jonathan Losos.

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NPR News: Chemistry Nobel Prize Awarded For Advances In Cell Imaging

Chemistry Nobel Prize Awarded For Advances In Cell Imaging
The 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to researchers Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for their work to develop cryo-electron microscopy.

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NPR News: Chemistry Nobel Prize Awarded For Advances In Cell Imaging

Chemistry Nobel Prize Awarded For Advances In Cell Imaging
The 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to researchers Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for their work to develop cryo-electron microscopy.

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NPR News: Nobel Prize In Chemistry Honors Views Of Human Cells Working At The Atomic Level

Nobel Prize In Chemistry Honors Views Of Human Cells Working At The Atomic Level
Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson worked to develop cryo-electron microscopy, which the Royal Swedish Academy says "both simplifies and improves the imaging of biomolecules."

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NPR News: Nobel Prize In Chemistry Honors Views Of Human Cells Working At The Atomic Level

Nobel Prize In Chemistry Honors Views Of Human Cells Working At The Atomic Level
Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson worked to develop cryo-electron microscopy, which the Royal Swedish Academy says "both simplifies and improves the imaging of biomolecules."

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The Soul Nebula in Infrared from Herschel

Stars are forming in the Soul of the Queen of Aethopia. More specifically, a large star forming region called the Soul Nebula can be found in the direction of the constellation Cassiopeia, who Greek mythology credits as the vain wife of a King who long ago ruled lands surrounding the upper Nile river. The Soul Nebula houses several open clusters of stars, a large radio source known as W5, and huge evacuated bubbles formed by the winds of young massive stars. Located about 6,500 light years away, the Soul Nebula spans about 100 light years and is usually imaged next to its celestial neighbor the Heart Nebula (IC 1805). The featured image, impressively detailed, was taken last month in several bands of infrared light by the orbiting Herschel Space Observatory. via NASA http://ift.tt/2xMXJBn

NPR News: Brain's Link To Immune System Might Help Explain Alzheimer's

Brain's Link To Immune System Might Help Explain Alzheimer's
For centuries, scientists thought the human brain had no direct connection to the body's immune system. Now, researchers seem to have found one, and say it may offer clues to multiple sclerosis, too.

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NPR News: Brain's Link To Immune System Might Help Explain Alzheimer's

Brain's Link To Immune System Might Help Explain Alzheimer's
For centuries, scientists thought the human brain had no direct connection to the body's immune system. Now, researchers seem to have found one, and say it may offer clues to multiple sclerosis, too.

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NPR News: Nobel Prize Came Quickly For 3 Physicists Who Discovered Gravitational Waves

Nobel Prize Came Quickly For 3 Physicists Who Discovered Gravitational Waves
Three scientists won this year's Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of gravitational waves. These ripples in space and time are generated when really big things, like black holes, collide.

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Next International Space Station Crew Available for News Conference, Interviews

NASA astronaut Scott Tingle and crewmates Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Norishege Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will discuss their upcoming mission to the International Space Station in a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

October 03, 2017
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NPR News: Nobel Winners' Work In Physics Began With Albert Einstein

Nobel Winners' Work In Physics Began With Albert Einstein
Three scientists won the prize after a 25-year-long search of the cosmos for gravitational waves — the waving of space — the one test missing for Einstein, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

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NPR News: 2017 Physics Nobel Prize Honors Work On Gravitational Waves; Win For U.S. Team

2017 Physics Nobel Prize Honors Work On Gravitational Waves; Win For U.S. Team
The 2017 Nobel Prize in physics is being split between three physicists who are part of the LIGO/VIRGO Collaboration that detected gravitational waves for the first time.

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NPR News: 2017 Nobel Prize In Physics

2017 Nobel Prize In Physics
The 2017 Nobel Prize in physics will be announced on Tuesday. The smart money is on Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne and Barry Barrish for the detection of gravitation waves, but that's certainly not a given.

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NPR News: 2017 Nobel Prize In Physics

2017 Nobel Prize In Physics
The 2017 Nobel Prize in physics will be announced on Tuesday. The smart money is on Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne and Barry Barrish for the detection of gravitation waves, but that's certainly not a given.

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NPR News: Can A Child Be Raised Free Of Gender Stereotypes? This Family Tried

Can A Child Be Raised Free Of Gender Stereotypes? This Family Tried
When Jessica and Royce James learned that they were going to have a daughter, they decided to raise her in as gender-neutral a way as possible. It was harder than they could have imagined.

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NPR News: 3 Americans Win Nobel In Medicine For Circadian Rhythm Research

3 Americans Win Nobel In Medicine For Circadian Rhythm Research
The work of Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young solved the mystery of how our bodies' inner clocks anticipate fluctuations between night and day to optimize behavior and physiology.

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NPR News: 3 Americans Win Nobel In Medicine For Circadian Rhythm Research

3 Americans Win Nobel In Medicine For Circadian Rhythm Research
The work of Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young solved the mystery of how our bodies' inner clocks anticipate fluctuations between night and day to optimize behavior and physiology.

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NPR News: How Messing With Our Body Clocks Can Raise Alarms With Health

How Messing With Our Body Clocks Can Raise Alarms With Health
The scientists honored with a Nobel Prize in medicine helped discover that every cell in the body has its own clock. When we ignore those clocks, we increase the risk of weight gain and diabetes.

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NPR News: How Messing With Our Body Clocks Can Raise Alarms With Health

How Messing With Our Body Clocks Can Raise Alarms With Health
The scientists honored with a Nobel Prize in medicine helped discover that every cell in the body has its own clock. When we ignore those clocks, we increase the risk of weight gain and diabetes.

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NPR News: When Children Begin To Lie, There's Actually A Positive Takeaway

When Children Begin To Lie, There's Actually A Positive Takeaway
Children's initial, funny, sometimes troubling, and always-sloppy lies are signs that they have discovered something important about how other people's minds work, says guest blogger Marjorie Rhodes.

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NPR News: The Taming Of The Brew: How Sour Beer Is Driving A Microbial Gold Rush

The Taming Of The Brew: How Sour Beer Is Driving A Microbial Gold Rush
As the popularity of sour beers burgeons in America, scientists are going back to the drawing board in a quest to discover the perfect mix of new brewing microbes.

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NPR News: For Children With Severe Anxiety, Drugs Plus Therapy Help Best

For Children With Severe Anxiety, Drugs Plus Therapy Help Best
Children and teens with severe anxiety benefit most from both psychotherapy and medication, a study finds. But it can be hard for families to find and pay for high-quality therapy.

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NPR News: For Children With Severe Anxiety, Drugs Plus Therapy Help Best

For Children With Severe Anxiety, Drugs Plus Therapy Help Best
Children and teens with severe anxiety benefit most from both psychotherapy and medication, a study finds. But it can be hard for families to find and pay for high-quality therapy.

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NPR News: Nobel Prize In Medicine Is Awarded To 3 Americans For Work On Circadian Rhythm

Nobel Prize In Medicine Is Awarded To 3 Americans For Work On Circadian Rhythm
Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash a and Michael W. Young share the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries about how internal clocks govern human biology.

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NPR News: Elon Musk Lays Out His Mars Colony Plans

Elon Musk Lays Out His Mars Colony Plans
Billionaire inventor Elon Musk said his company SpaceX is developing a Mars rocket that will be ready to launch in 2022. We look at how realistic that plan is.

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NPR News: Winter Is Coming. What If Roads And Runways Could De-Ice Themselves?

Winter Is Coming. What If Roads And Runways Could De-Ice Themselves?
Researchers are looking for alternatives to salt or harmful chemicals, including using concrete that can safely conduct electricity and heat road surfaces to keep them clear of ice and snow.

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NPR News: Winter Is Coming. What If Roads And Runways Could De-Ice Themselves?

Winter Is Coming. What If Roads And Runways Could De-Ice Themselves?
Researchers are looking for alternatives to salt or harmful chemicals, including using concrete that can safely conduct electricity and heat road surfaces to keep them clear of ice and snow.

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