Science

Plastic floats ashore in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Plastics Don't Disappear, But They Do End Up In Seabirds' Bellies

8:33pm June 17, 2014

by NPR Staff

When bottles and bags are cast out to sea, the debris never truly goes away — it just gets smaller. And these plastic particles, called microplastics, are ready meals for fish and birds.

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Science

Moving Beyond The Turing Test To Judge Artificial Intelligence

6:17pm June 14, 2014

A computer program known as "Eugene Goostman" passed the Turing Test by convincing a group of people, via chat, that it was actually a 13-year-old boy. Cognitive scientist Gary Marcus argues that the Turing Test needs an update for the 21st Century.

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Stanford Dumps Its Holdings In Coal, With Climate In Mind

9:59am June 10, 2014

by Melissa Block

Stanford says it will its divest holdings in coal companies over climate change concerns. It's the most prominent of the roughly one dozen colleges that have decided to sell off fossil fuel holdings.

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Clint Muhlfeld, an aquatic ecologist with the USGS, holds a native Westslope cutthroat trout in Glacier National Park.

Hybrid Trout Threaten Montana's Native Cutthroats

9:53am June 10, 2014

by Christopher Joyce

Climate change in the West is luring rainbow trout to higher elevations, where the fish are mating with native cutthroats, genetic evidence shows. Biologists and anglers worry cutthroats could vanish.

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Doctors used a rapid DNA test to identify a Wisconsin teen's unusual infection with Leptospira bacteria (yellow), which are common in the tropics.

Quick DNA Tests Crack Medical Mysteries Otherwise Missed

9:07am June 07, 2014

by Richard Harris

Scientists used high-powered DNA sequencing to diagnose infections missed by usual lab tests. The pricey method is still experimental, but might offer a way to identify tough-to-diagnose infections.

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Doughnuts at a Krispy Kreme store in Washington, D.C. An environmental coalition says leading doughnut companies like Krispy Kreme source palm oil from suppliers who are clear-cutting rain forests and destroying wildlife habitat.

Doughnut Day Downer: Palm Oil In Pastries Drives Deforestation

7:29pm June 06, 2014

by Allison Aubrey

An environmental group is blasting Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme for buying palm oil from suppliers who destroy rain forest and peatlands. The group says sustainable palm oil should be used instead.

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Science

How A Scientist Of Psychedelics Became The 'Godfather Of Ecstasy'

7:18pm June 04, 2014

The man known as the "godfather of ecstasy" has died at the age of 88. Scientist Alexander Shulgin rediscovered a chemical known as MDMA, which was eventually adopted as the club drug ecstasy.

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Close-up of a star coral rescued by Coral Morphologic from a reef in Miami's shipping channel.

An Underwater Race To Transplant Miami's Rare Corals

7:18pm June 04, 2014

by Greg Allen

A group of scientists is on an urgent mission: It's rushing to save as many corals as it can from Miami's shipping channel before the creatures are destroyed in an underwater excavation project.

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Science

The Scientist Who Makes Stars On Earth

9:34am June 04, 2014

by Joe Palca

An astrophysicist is using something called the Z machine at Sandia National Lab to recreate the conditions on a white dwarf star — only for a few nanoseconds, but still, enough to study.

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Bursts Of Light Create Memories, Then Take Them Away

4:38pm June 03, 2014

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists seem to have answered a fundamental question about the nature of memory. They have found compelling evidence that memories are made by strengthening connections between certain brain cells.

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