Science

Science

10,000 Year Clock Challenges Approach To Time

8:56am December 31, 2013

In this final interview in our series of conversations about the future, Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep talks to Danny Hillis, a scientist and engineer and the inventor of a clock designed to last 10,000 years. The clock is meant to encourage people to think about the long-range future; the "long now" as Hillis calls it.

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A technique called optogenetics is being used in the laboratory to observe and control what brain circuits are doing in real time.

Experimental Tool Uses Light To Tweak The Living Brain

8:09am December 30, 2013

by Jon Hamilton

An experimental technique called optogenetics is starting to change the way researchers look at the brain. The tool allows them to switch entire brain circuits on and off using light, and may help figure out what's going wrong in brain ailments from epilepsy to depression.

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The most abundant meteorites found in Antarctica are called chondrites. They are some of the oldest objects known in the solar system.

The Hunt For Meteorites Begins In Antarctica

10:07am December 29, 2013

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Each winter, a team of scientists sets out on a search for those rare shooting stars that make it to the ground instead of burning up in the sky. There aren't many better places to look for these space rocks than Antarctica, often in areas where no human has set foot before.

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After Major Comeback, Is The Gray Wolf Still Endangered?

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to take the gray wolf off the endangered species list. The wolf had been extirpated from the West and had dwindled most other places in the U.S. The great canine has rebounded since it was reintroduced to the northern Rockies in the 1990s and is continuing to spread into the Pacific Northwest. But biologists warn that if these wolves loses federal protection, they will not be able to return to some places, such as Colorado, where the ecosystem sorely needs them.

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Ripening fruit in a grove in Plant City, Fla., this month. Florida citrus growers are worried about citrus greening, which causes bacteria to grow on the leaf and fruit, eventually killing the tree.

Time Is Running Out To Save Florida's Oranges

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by Greg Allen

Scientists and growers are in a bitter fight against citrus greening, a disease that has devastated Florida's orange and grapefruit crops. They fear that unless scientists find a cure for greening soon, it's just a matter of time before economic realities and the disease force growers out of business.

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(Clockwise, from left)Yuanzai; Mei Huan; Happy Leopard; Mei Lun; Xing Bao; Bao Bao.

Science

Beyond Cuteness: Scientists Deliver A Panda Baby Boom

8:02pm December 24, 2013

by Andrea Hsu

Forty-two of the 49 panda cubs born in captivity in 2013 have survived — a record number that says a lot about how far captive breeding programs have come. But while captive pandas are faring well, panda researchers warn that much more needs to be done to protect the wild population.

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Astronauts On Spacewalk Begin Space Station Repair

10:28pm December 21, 2013

Saturday morning, astronauts on the International Space Station carried out the first of three urgent spacewalks to repair a cooling line. They finished the work early, but there's still more to be done.

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NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy performs a spacewalk in May to inspect and replace a pump controller box on the International Space Station. On Saturday, two astronauts will perform the first in a series of similar spacewalks to fix a broken cooling line on

Science

Astronauts Ready For Marathon Spacewalks

6:46pm December 21, 2013

by Geoff Brumfiel

NASA astronauts will be heading out to conduct critical repairs on the International Space Station early Saturday morning. The 6 1/2-hour spacewalk, the first in a series, will replace a faulty piece of cooling equipment.

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Study: Commuting Adversely Affects Political Engagement

12:04pm December 17, 2013

Researchers think an increase in commuting may be partly to blame for widespread political disengagement among many Americans. As stressed-out commuters disengage, they leave the political arena to the most partisan voters.

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Science Becomes 'Sexy' With Fast Cars And Gangsta Physics

6:19pm December 14, 2013

Can science be cool? This week, Ozy co-founder Carlos Watson tells NPR about a gangster-turned-astrophysicist and a race car driver working to making science "sexy" again. Plus, a look at the changing landscape of African art — no tribal masks allowed.

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