Science

'Nightmare Bacteria' Defy Even Last-Ditch Drugs

3:04pm March 21, 2013

'Nightmare bacteria,' strains of superbugs resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics, have quadrupled in number in the last decade--and have been found lurking in hospitals in 42 states. NIH epidemiologist Tara Palmore and infectious disease specialist Brad Spellberg discuss how to find and contain these bugs, and a few ways we might outsmart them.

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The Star Jet roller coaster sits in the water on Feb. 19 after the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J., collapsed from the forces of Superstorm Sandy.

'Temperature Rising': Will Climate Change Bring More Extreme Weather?

2:10pm March 21, 2013

In a series for The New York Times, environmental reporter Justin Gillis has been exploring whether harsh weather events are connected to global warming or if they are simply the random violence nature visits upon us.

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Social worker Nuria Casulleres shows a portrait of Audrey Hepburn to elderly men during a memory activity at the Cuidem La Memoria elderly home in Barcelona, Spain, last August. The home specializes in Alzheimer's patients.

Alzheimer's 'Epidemic' Now A Deadlier Threat To Elderly

7:44am March 20, 2013

by Jon Hamilton

Deaths from the disease have increased by 68 percent between 2000 and 2010. One reason: We're living longer, and deaths from other causes, like heart disease and prostate cancer, are going down.

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Science

What Is The Effect Of Asking Americans To Think About The Greater Good?

10:42am March 19, 2013

Often times politicians pitch "the common good" when proposing changes to social policy. Psychologists now think this kind of appeal may backfire and actually unmotivate Americans. What is the effectiveness of different kinds of public appeals?

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Saber-toothed cats went extinct after the ice age; paleontologists are not sure what caused their extinction. This cat was brought to life by a puppeteer: It's a creation of Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Body puppet, George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar

Science
Arts

It's Called 'De-Extinction' — It's Like 'Jurassic Park,' Except It's Real

9:30am March 19, 2013

by Claire O'Neill

Science writer Carl Zimmer says we're not going to bring back dinosaurs. But we might be able to resurrect other extinct species.

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'Bones' Inspires A New Generation Of Crime Fighters

1:03pm March 15, 2013

Kathy Reichs, the writer and scientist behind the TV show Bones, is back with a new novel for young adults. Code: A Virals Novel stars Tory Brennan, great-niece of Reich's famed crime-solving heroine Tempe Brennan. Reichs discusses the book, co-written with Brendan Reichs.

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Improving Healthcare, One Search At A Time

1:03pm March 15, 2013

By combing through 100 million search queries on Bing, Yahoo and Google, Microsoft Research Lab co-director Eric Horvitz and his colleagues were able to discover a previously unknown interaction between two commonly prescribed drugs. Horvitz says the method might detect dangerous drug interactions earlier than the FDA's warning system.

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Science

Curiosity Hits Paydirt: New Clues To Life On Mars

1:03pm March 15, 2013

Microbes may once have happily existed on the surface of Mars, according to chemical analysis of a sedimentary rock in the Red Planet's Gale crater. NASA geologist and exobiologist David Blake discusses evidence for an ancient freshwater lake in the crater, and describes the mineral-chomping microbes that may have thrived there.

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Science

Scientist Gets Research Donations From Crowd Funding

11:44am March 15, 2013

by Joe Palca

What do you do when you're a scientist and you have no job and no money for your research? If you're Ethan Perlstein, you try crowd funding. He raised $25,000 to investigate where the drug methamphetamine is stored in the brain.

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Samantha Grimaldo was born with a rare disorder, Perisylvian syndrome, and has never been able to speak.

New Voices For The Voiceless: Synthetic Speech Gets An Upgrade

1:23pm March 13, 2013

by Alix Spiegel

For those who rely on technology to speak, there are a limited number of voices. "Perfect Paul" sounds robotic, and "Heather" can seem too old for some. Now, a researcher is using sound samples from people who have never been able to speak to create new, personalized voices for them.

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