Science

Wind-blown soil fills a ditch between a road and the fields of Gunsmoke Farms, a large organic farm northwest of Pierre, S.D., in early March.

A Giant Organic Farm Faces Criticism That It's Harming The Environment

6:45pm May 03, 2021

by Dan Charles

A huge organic farm that's backed by General Mills is facing accusations that it's doing more environmental harm than good. The project shows the difficulties of delivering on green promises.

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Refrigerators on sale in 2018 in Pennsylvania. The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to phase out the use of cooling chemicals that are powerful greenhouse gases.

Science

EPA Moves To Cut A Group Of Powerful Greenhouse Gases

1:08pm May 03, 2021

by Rebecca Hersher

The EPA plans to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which are used in refrigerators and air conditioners. When HFCs are released into the atmosphere, they are extremely good at trapping heat.

Elvis Presley got his polio vaccination from Dr. Harold Fuerst and Dr. Leona Baumgartner at CBS' Studio 50 in New York City on Oct. 28, 1956. The chart-topping singer took part in a March of Dimes campaign to convince teens to get vaccinated.

Can't Help Falling In Love With A Vaccine: How Polio Campaign Beat Vaccine Hesitancy

9:00am May 03, 2021

by Susan Brink

This isn't the first big vaccine rollout, and the past holds lessons for the pandemic present. Here's a look at how the polio vaccine overcame U.S. hesitancy.

In this image taken by the Mars Perseverance rover and made available by NASA, the Mars Ingenuity helicopter, right, flies over the surface of the planet on Friday.

Science

NASA Makes New Plans For Ingenuity Helicopter On Mars

6:47pm May 01, 2021

by Elena Moore

NASA announced Friday that it would be increasing operational testing on its Ingenuity helicopter following four successful test flights off the surface of Mars.

Coastal communities are racing to restore marshes, like these in San Francisco Bay, to provide a barrier against storm surges and rising seas.

Got Mud? For Coastal Cities, Humble Dirt Has Become A Hot Commodity

8:00am May 01, 2021

by Lauren Sommer

Coastal communities will need massive amounts of mud and dirt to protect their shorelines from rising seas. One federal agency has it, but most is disposed of instead of reused.

New Tiny Computers Could Have A Huge Impact

4:38pm April 30, 2021

by Geoff Brumfiel

It seems like computers are getting smaller all the time. Now some companies are betting big on new ones that run at the atomic level — tiny machines that could have a huge impact.

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Tia Tate is a computational biologist currently working in a postdoctoral position at a federal agency in North Carolina.

Science

Why Having Diverse Government Scientists Is Key To Dealing With Climate Change

4:38pm April 30, 2021

by Rebecca Hersher

Climate and health policies rely on scientific expertise. But the federal science workforce has been shaped by decades of political interference, underfunding and race and gender bias.

An image taken by NASA's Aqua satellite as it passes over Indonesia, captures evidence of an internal wave in the same general area where the KRI Nanggala submarine disappeared earlier this month.

What Is An 'Internal Wave'? It Might Explain The Loss Of An Indonesian Submarine

3:43pm April 30, 2021

by Scott Neuman

No cause has been established for the sinking earlier this month of the KRI Nanggala with 53 people aboard, but officials have suggested that it may have been due to an undersea wave.

Science
Arts

'Fresh Air' Remembers Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins

1:43pm April 30, 2021

by Terry Gross

Collins, who died April 27, orbited in Apollo 11 while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their historic moon walk. Speaking to Fresh Air in 1988, he described his solo orbit as "completely serene."

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Fragile X syndrome involves changes in the X chromosome, as pictured in the four columns of chromosomes starting on the left. The fifth column, on the far right, shows two normal X chromosomes.

An Alzheimer's Drug May Boost Cognition In People With Fragile X Syndrome

8:44am April 30, 2021

by Jon Hamilton

An experimental medicine seems to ease symptoms of Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disorder that is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disabilities and autism.

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