Science

The Obama administration's Clean Power Plan has divided the states. It requires carbon emission reductions from power plants, and more than two dozen states have sued to stop it. But many others are in favor. This tug of war is playing out in Colorado and could head to the state Supreme Court.

Rinderpest, or cattle plague, was declared eradicated in 2011. But many research institutes still have samples of the rinderpest virus in storage. Disease experts want those samples destroyed.

Economists talk about moral hazards. When you protect people against risk you prevent bad things from happening. But something curious happens: Some start to take more risks because they feel safer.

Outlawing more than a dozen cannabinoids — chemicals concocted in labs and sprayed on leaves to create this risky street drug — hasn't stopped the problem. Chemists just make new versions.

Even the smartest robot does a miserable job picking up objects it hasn't been programmed to recognize. One way robots may get better at it is to learn by experience, a researcher says.

Facing continued pressure from activists and lawmakers over its shows featuring captive killer whales, SeaWorld is addressing its problems by putting an emphasis on conservation and education.