Science

By Making A Game Out Of Rejection, A Man Conquers Fear

7:56am January 20, 2015

by Alix Spiegel

Jason Comely's fear of rejection was so strong that he'd become completely isolated. So he set out to get himself rejected at least once a day, every day. Funny thing is, it worked.

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New Justice Department Environment Chief Takes Helm Of Gulf Spill Case

7:37am January 19, 2015

by Carrie Johnson

John Cruden returns to the department as litigation over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill intensifies. He'll also defend Obama climate change rules and try to protect wildlife while in the post.

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Science

A Fish Gets A New Eye And An Edge In The Tank

10:02pm January 17, 2015

Nothing worse than being bulled in school, especially if you're a fish. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Dr. Martin Haulena from the Vancouver Aquarium about a fish that was picked on by schoolmates.

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Science

Are Stripes A Zebra's Cooling System?

11:57am January 17, 2015

by Scott Simon

Scientists say they are closer to knowing how, or rather why, the zebra got its stripes. It's an answer that would impress even Rudyard Kipling.

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Science

WATCH: SpaceX Booster Crashes On Barge

5:25pm January 16, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The company's resupply mission to the International Space Station went off without a hitch last week, but an attempt to land the spent booster on a floating platform didn't go as well.

January–December 2014 blended land and sea surface temperature anomalies in degrees Celsius.

It's Official: 2014 Was The Hottest Year On Record, NOAA Says

11:17am January 16, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The annually-averaged temperature was 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit over the 20th century average, and easily broke the records set in 2005 and 2010.

Martin Pistorius sometime between 1990 and 1994, when he was unable to communicate.

Trapped In His Body For 12 Years, A Man Breaks Free

10:43am January 16, 2015

by Lulu Miller

Martin Pistorius spent more than a decade unable to move or communicate, fearing he would be alone, trapped, forever. NPR's new show Invisibilia tells how his mind helped him create a new life.

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An image sent by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Scientists have concluded that it shows the Beagle 2 Mars lander, which went missing in 2003.

Science

Long-Lost European Spacecraft Spotted On Mars By NASA Probe

10:30am January 16, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The Beagle 2 Mars lander was lost in December 2003. Today, scientists confirmed their spacecraft was found partially deployed on the surface of the Red Planet.

Tilda the orangutan, relaxing between gabfests at the Cologne Zoo.

From The Mouths Of Apes, Babble Hints At Origins of Human Speech

8:56am January 16, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

You say banana; this orangutan says ... well, it's hard to tell what she's saying. But the rhythmic, speechlike sounds of the zoo-dwelling ape have started scientists talking.

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Geniuses in movies aren't always played by Benedict Cumberbatch, but they are almost always men.

Do Fictional Geniuses Hold Back Real Women?

8:39am January 16, 2015

by Geoff Brumfiel

A new study finds that the academic disciplines most associated with "geniuses" are also the fields in which women are underrepresented.

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