Science

2015 Becomes Warmest Year On Record, NASA And NOAA Say

7:57pm January 20, 2016

2015 was the hottest year on record, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Deke Arndt of NOAA about their findings.

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Science

For The Next Month, 5 Planets Will Align In Early Morning Sky

7:03pm January 20, 2016

As of today, you can see all five planets that are possible to see in the sky with the naked eye early in the morning. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with astronomer Jackie Faherty about why this is happening.

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The imagined view from "planet nine" back toward the sun. Astronomers think the huge, distant planet is likely gaseous, similar to Uranus and Neptune.

Scientists Find Hints Of A Giant, Hidden Planet In Our Solar System

7:03pm January 20, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Something very big, out beyond Neptune, is warping the orbits of small, icy objects circling our sun. Astronomers haven't seen it yet, but say the culprit could be a planet with 10 times Earth's mass.

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A computer registered the current largest prime in September, but such numbers are considered "discovered" only when a human notices.

Science

Ready For Prime Time: A Number With 20 Million-Plus Digits

6:03pm January 20, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The largest-ever prime number has been discovered at the University of Central Missouri. It breaks the previous record by almost 5 million digits.

2015 was the warmest year on record — and by the widest margin ever, according to a new analysis by NASA and NOAA.

A 'Scorcher': 2015 Shatters Record As Warmest Year, NASA And NOAA Say

3:54pm January 20, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The Northern Hemisphere saw the biggest rise in land temperatures, finishing 2.59 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the 20th century average.

Dr. Hans Asperger with a young boy at the Children's Clinic at the University of Vienna in the 1930s.

Was Dr. Asperger A Nazi? The Question Still Haunts Autism

2:43pm January 20, 2016

by Steve Silberman

Hans Asperger identified autism as a spectrum of disorders in the 1930s, but his work was ignored for decades because he went on to work under the Nazis. Research and treatment suffered as a result.

In researching their book, Caren Zucker and John Donvan tracked down Donald Gray Triplett (center), the first person officially diagnosed with autism. Now in his 80s, Triplett has had a long, happy life, Donvan says, maybe partly because his hometown embr

'In A Different Key' Traces History And Politics Of Autism

2:13pm January 20, 2016

by NPR Staff

Authors John Donvan and Caren Zucker say parents have been "unsung heroes" in spurring more research on autism, and in getting many more kids out of institutions and into schools.

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The plastic sheet invented by Stanford University chemical engineer Zhenan Bao and her colleagues can be inserted in lithium-ion batteries to avoid overheating.

Batteries With A Less Fiery Future

1:58pm January 20, 2016

by Joe Palca

Overheated lithium-ion batteries have been a problem for airplanes, cars and even "hoverboards." A chemical engineer at Stanford University thinks she has a solution to the problem.

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Indian Capital Suspends Odd-Even Car Experiment To Curb Pollution

7:07pm January 19, 2016

by Julie McCarthy

The government of India's capital New Delhi tried an odd-even scheme for cars to curb growing air pollution. But now it says it is placing the scheme on hold for a number of months.

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Science
Arts

Aztec Gold: Watch The History And Science Of Popcorn

5:11pm January 19, 2016

by Adam Cole

Popcorn has been around at least 4,000 years. The Aztecs even had a word for the sound of kernels popping — totopoca. On National Popcorn Day, ponder the story of this beloved snack.

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