How We Learned That Frogs Fly
Two Harvard professors. One on a rooftop with a bucket of frogs. The other in the front yard, down below. Ready? Get set. Throw!
Bye-Bye To The Home Of A Favorite Internet Conspiracy Theory
The U.S. military is closing a facility scientists have used to study the edge of Earth's atmosphere. Conspiracy theorists suspect it's also been used for nefarious activity — like mind control.
Doctors Don't Know What Women Want To Know About Birth Control
Doctors tend to think it's most important to discuss how to use contraceptives and whether they're effective, a survey found. But women care more about safety and side effects.
The Salad Frontier: Why Astronauts Need To Grow Lettuce In Space
With the help of grow lights and air exchange fans, NASA is growing lettuce on the International Space Station. The scheme could help keep food costs down — and keep astronauts happy tending plants.
Spiders Tune In To Web's Music To Size Up Meals And Mates
Pluck the silk of a spiderweb and it vibrates like a guitar string, scientists say. By strumming the strands and detecting the tune via sensors in its legs, a spider gets key information.
How Coal Industry Jobs Coexist With Rising Sea Levels In Virginia
Virginia is dependent on coal mining and export, but it also faces routine flooding from rising sea levels. That irony is a very real, day-to-day problem for residents.
Human Or Machine? AI Experts Reportedly Pass The 'Turing Test'
A program by two Russian artificial intelligence experts is said to have passed the iconic test by fooling a group of judges into thinking they were talking to a 13-year-old boy.
To Put Two Rovers On Mars, Scientists Had To Get Clever With Packing
To fit in their shipping container, two Mars rovers had to be folded up into a tiny package and then unfolded — a prime example of what NPR science correspondent Joe Palca calls "unfolding science."
James Cameron-Backed School To Terminate Meat And Dairy
A private school in Malibu Canyon supported by director James Cameron and his wife is set to go vegan. Meanwhile, Congress is debating whether to delay healthy school lunch rules for the rest of us.
Big Moments Get Less Weighty: Whatever Happened To Stiff Paper?
It had weight. It lasted. It got punched, torn, reused. It got us into ballparks, airplanes, buses, theaters. I'm talking about stiff paper — and it's vanishing.
Stuck In The Machine Zone: Your Sweet Tooth For 'Candy Crush'
The mobile game, with its flow of moving candies, has reeled us in. The endless repetition — without a plot or character development — can be mesmerizing. Psychologically, why can't we stay away?
Photos: After A Storm, A Red Sky, Double Rainbow Over Atlanta
Sunset and a strong storm happened at just the right time for a celestial treat. The resulting rainbows were so stunning, they were documented all over Twitter.
Doughnut Day Downer: Palm Oil In Pastries Drives Deforestation
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.
New Look At Apollo Rocks Finds Evidence Of Moon's Birth
An examination of rocks collected by Apollo astronauts shows a peculiar type of oxygen indicating a massive collision between Earth and another object 4.5 billion years ago that formed the moon.
Can Farmed Fish Feed The World Without Destroying The Environment?
Farmed fish production will have to more than double by 2050 to keep up with global demand, a report finds. And aquaculture can be far more sustainable than meat production, the researchers say.
Is Space Tourism Finally About To Take Off?
Entrepreneur Richard Branson shares his vision for private, commercial space travel.
How Do You Make New York's Mean Streets A Little Nicer?
Former New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan says cities can tackle the challenges of tomorrow by completely re-imagining our streets today.
If We Want to Live In Cities, Will We Have To Share Cars?
Zipcar co-founder Robin Chase makes the case for car-sharing as the solution to global gridlock.
How Does Henry Ford's Great-Grandson Envision The Future?
Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford describes how we can create a green future of smart roads and smart cars.
Can The Sun Fuel A Flight Around The World?
Explorer Bertrand Piccard explains why he's aiming to carry out an unprecedented mission: to circle the planet in a solar-powered airplane.
