Science

Science

Researchers Use Genetic History To Answer Mutation Questions

6:58am August 20, 2013

by Tristan Ahtone

In the Southwest, a rare genetic disorder known as Common Hispanic Mutation has haunted those of Spanish-colonial descent for nearly 400 years. They call it El Frio or the cold. A majority of people with the disorder reside in New Mexico.

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If someone like Lang Lang were starting out now, the energetic concert pianist could nail every piano competition without the judges ever hearing a note, according to a new study.

How To Win That Music Competition? Send A Video

5:13am August 20, 2013

by Shankar Vedantam

A new study shows that judges base musical performances more on sight than on sound.

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The olinguito (right) was discovered while a researcher was sifting through specimens at The Field Museum in Chicago. On the left is a North American raccoon.

Science

Meet The Olinguito, The Newest Member Of The Raccoon Family

5:44pm August 19, 2013

by Rhitu Chatterjee

This cousin of the raccoon is the first new carnivore discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. Native to the Andes Mountains of Colombia and Ecuador where it's still living, the olinguito was actually first identified in a Field Museum specimen storage room in Chicago.

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This NASA diagram shows the two Voyager spacecraft inside the magnetic bubble around the sun. But Marc Swisdak believes it's already crossed the heliopause into interstellar space.

Has Voyager 1 Left The Solar System?

2:52pm August 19, 2013

by Geoff Brumfiel

For the past decade or so, scientists have been waiting for the Voyager 1 spacecraft to cross into deep space. New research suggests it already has — over a year ago.

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Dolphin Deaths Alarm Scientists

7:35am August 18, 2013

The animals are washing ashore at a higher rate than the last 26 years. Host Scott Simon speaks with Charley Potter, collection manager for marine mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, about the response along the Mid-Atlantic.

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N. America's Oldest Known Petroglyphs Discovered In Nevada

6:22pm August 16, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

The carvings etched into limestone boulders near Pyramid Lake in western Nevada show that the early North Americans were surprisingly creative artists. The carvings, which are at least 10,000 years old, are abstract, geometric designs including shapes that look like diamonds and trees.

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New Drug Study Revives Debate Over Prostate Cancer Screening

8:40am August 16, 2013

Robert Siegel speaks with Dr. Michael LeFevre, professor at University of Missouri Medical school and co-vice chair of the United States Preventive Services Task Force, about how the new drug study revives a debate over the need for a controversial prostate cancer screening tool, the PSA test.

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Of Neurons And Memories: Inside The 'Secret World Of Sleep'

2:13pm August 15, 2013

Think of everything your brain processes in a single day: your breakfast, a stain on a book cover, a meeting at work. If you remembered all those things, your brain would reach capacity. Author and neuroscientist Penelope Lewis says sleep helps sort through the memories that are worth keeping.

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Dave Dierig, research leader at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, stands among the ceiling-high shelves that hold the 600,000 seed packets in this cold storage vault.

Colorado Vault Is Fort Knox For The World's Seeds

7:59am August 15, 2013

by Luke Runyon

At Colorado State University, billions of seeds and other genetic material sit inside a giant storage vault. They're kept there in case of a loss of plant or animal life on a regional or global scale. But the investigation into GMO wheat in Oregon has raised questions about security at the facility.

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A Closer Look At Elon Musk's Much-Hyped Hyperloop

7:59am August 15, 2013

by Elise Hu

Existing concepts in science like linear induction motors and magnetic levitation are back in the spotlight thanks to Elon Musk's proposal for a rail system that can travel faster than the speed of sound.

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