Science

Larkin Carey, an optical engineer with Ball Aerospace, examines two test mirror segments designed for the James Webb Space Telescope. The mirror for the scope is extremely powerful, but heavy and pricey.

Could Glitter Help Solve NASA's Giant Telescope Problem?

1:16am February 05, 2015

by Joe Palca

NASA's next big space telescope costs $8 billion and is very heavy. New York scientists think they may have found the makings of a cheaper, lighter answer for future space scopes — in a crafts store.

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Science

Solving The Mystery Of Why Rock Ants Avoid Right Turns

1:15am February 05, 2015

by Richard Harris

Ants that live in a rocky maze-like setting prefer to turn left when they enter a space. Ants aren't as symmetrical as they appear. Their left eye may be better than the right for detecting predators.

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Science

Scientists Bring The Sun Down To Earth To Learn How It Works

1:13am February 05, 2015

by Joe Palca

Using a giant pulsed powered machine in New Mexico, researchers have recreated the conditions inside the Sun, and their results help reconcile theoretical models with how the Sun behaves.

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It's Not All Bad News For Earth's Oceans

12:53am February 05, 2015

Ocean habitats seem to be in pretty good shape, according to the latest study of ocean species. NPR's Arun Rath talks to ecologist Douglas McCauley.

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California is one of 20 states that allow parents to opt out of vaccination requirements for reasons of "personal belief." About 10 percent of students in the Santa Monica-Malibu school district are not immunized.

Measles + Low Vaccination Rates = Big Headaches For Schools

8:25pm February 04, 2015

by Kirk Siegler

California allows parents to opt out of vaccination requirements. Amid Southern California's measles outbreak, many schools are struggling with how best to deal with students who aren't vaccinated.

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David Linden is a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and is a former chief editor of the Journal of Neurophysiology. He also wrote The Compass of Pleasure.

Fingertips To Hair Follicles: Why 'Touch' Triggers Pleasure And Pain

4:39pm February 04, 2015

In his latest book, neuroscientist David Linden explains the science of touch. He tells Fresh Air how pain protects, why fingertips are so sensitive and why you can't read Braille with your genitals.

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Greg O'Brien (left), with Colleen, Mary Catherine, Conor, and Brendan O'Brien, has been grappling with Alzheimer's disease for the last five years.

After Alzheimer's Diagnosis, 'The Stripping Away Of My Identity'

1:54pm February 04, 2015

by Rebecca Hersher

Greg O'Brien talks about how his life has changed in the five years since he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. "More and more I don't recognize people," he says.

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Stars over the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Sheppard and Trujillo used the new Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on a telescope there to find the distant dwarf planet 2012 VP 113.

Science

Hunting For Big Planets Far Beyond Pluto May Soon Be Easier

11:39am February 04, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Construction is starting in Chile on a new sort of telescope. One aim is to survey huge swaths of sky for faint signals of a "Planet X" that may be lurking on the farthest edges of our solar system.

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A nurse administers an experimental Ebola vaccine Monday at Redemption Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia. Researchers aim to give shots to 27,000 people during the large trial.

Lack Of Patients Hampers Ebola Drug And Vaccine Testing

11:39am February 04, 2015

by Richard Harris

Scientists launched a large trial Monday to test two vaccines. But testing Ebola drugs in West Africa is proving more difficult than expected because the disease is disappearing rapidly.

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U.K. Lawmakers Allow Scientists To Attempt 'DNA Transplants'

11:02am February 04, 2015

by Rob Stein

The British Parliament has voted to allow scientists to attempt to do "DNA transplants" on women's eggs to try to help them have healthy babies. Doctors want to do this to help families carrying devastating "mitochondrial diseases." But opponents question whether transferring DNA from healthy eggs into the eggs of women carrying these diseases is safe, and whether it would open the door to "designer babies."

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