Science

A nematode worm glows as it nears death in this screenshot from a YouTube video showing the work of researchers in London.

Worms' Bright Blue Death Could Shed Light On Human Aging

7:50pm August 03, 2013

by NPR Staff

Researchers are getting clues about the human life cycle from studying the death of tiny worms, which internally release a blue fluorescent dye in the waning hours of their lives. The glowing chemical travels from one end of the creature to the other. One researcher calls it "reminiscent of the soul departing the worm."

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Wildlife Sound Archivist Remembered

1:46pm August 03, 2013

Twenty years ago Saturday, Ted Parker, one of the world's greatest field biologists and sound archivists, died in a plane crash. He made nearly 11,000 wildlife recordings, and could identify some 4,000 different bird species by just the sound of their vocalizations. In this audio montage from Cornell Lab of Ornithology, director John Fitzpatrick offers a remembrance.

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The offshore wind farm in the North Sea near Borkum, Germany, is nearly complete. The Riffgat facility, seen here on June 23, includes 30 turbines, each with a generating capacity of 3.6 megawatts.

Sold! First Parcels Auctioned For Future Offshore Wind Farms

6:01pm August 02, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

The federal government held its first ever auction for the right to build offshore wind farms on Wednesday. After 11 rounds, a Rhode Island company was the highest bidder, at $3.8 million.

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A side view of the new ant species Eurhopalothrix zipacna. Mounting glue and paper appear beneath the ant, one of 33 new species discovered in Central America by Jack Longino, a biologist at the University of Utah.

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Jack Longino, 'The Astonishing Ant Man,' Finds 33 New Species

6:01pm August 02, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

All told, the scientist has discovered 131 new species of animals in his career, and some are so scary-looking, he's named them after demons. It's a task that's taken more than 30 years of crawling through rain forests to accomplish, and Longino says he's still only scratched the surface.

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The label for the berry blend recalled in June because of pomegranates linked to a hepatitis A outbreak.

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What Poisoned Pomegranates Tell Us About Food Safety

5:48pm August 01, 2013

by Dan Charles

The Food and Drug Administration recently announced a plan to try and prevent American food companies from importing contaminated produce from abroad. The case of the poisoned pomegranates from Turkey shows that our safety systems for imported food, however helpful, are not foolproof.

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Science

For Some Mammals It's One Love, But Reasons Still Unclear

11:11am July 30, 2013

by Richard Harris

Scientists are squaring off yet again on the question of why some mammals are monogamous. A new paper argues that monogamy is most likely the result of males trying to protect their youngsters from murderous rivals. A second study says monogamy in mammals evolved in species where females were scattered about.

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The Ivanpah solar project in California's Mojave Desert will be the largest solar power plant of its kind in the world.

Massive Solar Plant A Stepping Stone For Future Projects

12:33pm July 29, 2013

by Lauren Sommer

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California's Mojave Desert will power about 140,000 homes and be a boon to the state's renewable energy goals. But it was no slam dunk. Now, California is trying to bring conservationists and energy companies together to create a smoother path for future projects.

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Echolocation is second nature to animals such as bats and dolphins. Can humans also find their way using sound as a tool?

'Batman' Style: How We Can See With Sound, Too

11:30am July 29, 2013

by NPR Staff

Echolocation: Birds do it, bats do it, and now even educated people do it. A team of researchers has devised an algorithm that could give the rest of us a way to discover our surroundings without using our eyes.

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Tossing and turning in the light of the full moon? Maybe it's not just the light.

Don't Blame Your Lousy Night's Sleep On The Moon — Yet

3:10pm July 26, 2013

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Over drinks in the light of a full moon, a group of Swiss sleep researchers recently realized they could put a bit of folklore about the moon's disruptive effect on sleep to the test. The answer surprised them and didn't quite win over some other scientists in the field.

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La. Flood Board Sues Oil Industry Over Wetlands

11:49am July 25, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

Since the 1930s, Louisiana has steadily been losing land that protects it from hurricanes and other disasters. The government board charged with protecting New Orleans from flooding sued the oil and gas industry Wednesday, arguing they are responsible for a big part of the problem.

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