Science

Researchers use the 120-foot tower atop Mauna Loa in Hawaii to collect air samples and measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Mauna Kea looms in the distance.

Atop A Hawaiian Mountain, A Constant Sniff For Carbon Dioxide

1:22pm May 14, 2013

by Joe Palca

Since 1958, researchers have been measuring the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the Mauna Loa Observatory. The remote outpost has just reported a carbon dioxide level of 400 parts per million — the highest it has climbed in the modern age.

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The Plymouth County Beekeepers Association distributed more than 500 crates of honeybees this spring.

For Year-Round Buzz, Beekeepers 'Fast-Forward Darwinism'

6:51pm May 12, 2013

by Katherine Perry

Honeybees are in trouble across the U.S., but one association in Massachusetts is hoping to boost the population in its own area. The bees it currently uses have a hard time surviving the winter and battling other foes that have been killing bees nationwide. So beekeepers in Plympton decided to breed their own.

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Beyonce took the stage at this year's Super Bowl halftime show. Imagine a scientist instead. Perhaps dressed differently.

Science

Schools? How About A Science Laureate At The Super Bowl?

10:11am May 11, 2013

by Mark Memmott

There's a move in Congress to name a science laureate. Astronomer Mike Brown hopes that person would do much more than visit schools to encourage kids to consider careers in science. He'd like to see a laureate reach out to the public in all sorts of ways.

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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.

Buzz Aldrin's Case For A 'Mission To Mars'

2:40pm May 10, 2013

In Mission To Mars, astronaut Buzz Aldrin lays out his plans for getting Americans on Mars by 2035.

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Science

Exploring An Ever-Expanding Universe

1:23pm May 10, 2013

Saul Perlmutter shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery that the universe was expanding at an accelerating rate. Perlmutter explains how supernovae and other astronomical artifacts are used to measure the expansion rate, and explains what physicists are learning about "dark energy" — the mysterious entity thought to be driving the acceleration.

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The Myth Of Multitasking

1:23pm May 10, 2013

How long can you go without checking email, or glancing at your smartphone? Clifford Nass, a psychology professor at Stanford University, says today's nonstop multitasking actually wastes more time than it saves--and he says there's evidence it may be killing our concentration and creativity too.

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Microexpressions: More Than Meets The Eye

1:23pm May 10, 2013

David Matsumoto, a psychology professor at San Francisco State University, trains national security officials and police officers to recognize "microexpressions"--fleeting, split-second flashes of emotion across someone's face. Matsumoto says those subtle cues may reveal how an interview subject is feeling, helping officials to hone their line of questioning.

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One contemporary analysis links the increase in gender equality in a society with increased sexual empowerment of women and less sexual coercion. But there's more to it than that.

Science

What Does 'Sexual Coercion' Say About A Society?

11:46am May 10, 2013

by Shankar Vedantam

Anthropologists have long documented the differences in the extent of sexual coercion — including rape — in different human societies. But is it a vestige of evolutionary history, indicative of cultural activity or governed by power dynamics between females and males?

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Students associated with the group Brown Divest Coal protested in front of the Brown University president's office during a rally May 3. The group is demanding that the university stop investing in certain oil and coal companies.

College Divestment Campaigns Creating Passionate Environmentalists

11:04am May 10, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

Taking a page from the playbook of decades past, college students are once again pressuring schools to pull investment funding from specific sectors. This time it's big oil and coal companies. But these campaigns have effects beyond the university — they're launching a new generation of activists.

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Cy Maramangalam gives a presentation about climate change for the Alliance for Climate Education.

Filling In The Gap On Climate Education In Classrooms

2:50pm May 08, 2013

by Jennifer Ludden

Science education standards, issued in April, recommend teaching climate change for the first time. But one nonprofit says kids aren't learning enough, soon enough, about how their world will change in the coming decades. The group aims to remedy this with presentations in schools nationwide.

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