Science : NPR

NASA Says A Final Goodbye To Plucky Mars Rover

An artist's depiction of NASA's Spirit rover on the surface of Mars. Spirit became unresponsive in March 2010. NASA announced it had ended attempts to communicate with the rover on May 24, 2011. NASA hide caption

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NASA

Space

NASA Says A Final Goodbye To Plucky Mars Rover

May 31, 2011 • Spirit was designed to last only 90 days and travel less than a mile on Mars. Instead, it kept chugging along for more than six years, taking thousands of photos and exploring nearly five miles. The rover has been silent for more than a year, and NASA says it has now abandoned hope of hearing from it again.

Doubts Rise Over Virus As Cause Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

XMRV, a mouse virus, may be an artifact of laboratory experiments rather than the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. Whittemore Peterson Institute hide caption

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Whittemore Peterson Institute

Shots - Health News

Doubts Rise Over Virus As Cause Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

May 31, 2011 • New research findings suggest that a mouse virus thought by some to cause chronic fatigue syndrome is instead a laboratory contaminant. The results led a leading scientific journal to ask for a retraction of an earlier paper proposing the viral link.

Courtesy of Pants Are Overrated

Opinion

Krulwich Wonders...

Calvin, Hobbes And Comic Book Biology

May 31, 2011 • Two artists defy the laws of Cartoon Land, and imagine a world where the stars of beloved comic strips are all grown up.

Sensorium: A Feast For The Senses And Memories

May 31, 2011 • Can you think of a favorite meal you really enjoyed? What if you could remember these special meals — the food and how it tastes? Chef Bryon Brown has created a theatrical dinner project in Washington, D.C. that uses memory science to help diners remember what they eat.

Making Babies: 21st Century Families

Egg Freezing Puts The Biological Clock On Hold

May 31, 2011 • As more women postpone motherhood, they're hitting that age-old constraint: the biological clock. Now, technology is dangling the possibility that women can stop that clock, at least for a while. As one doctor put it, freezing eggs offers the biggest game changer since the birth control pill.

Who Will Shuttle The Last Shuttle? The Crawler Crew

Framed in the doors of the Kennedy Center's Vehicle Assembly Building, the crawler begins the long journey toward Launch Pad 37B with space shuttle Discovery in April 2005. This enormous cross between a tank and a cargo ship is the largest self-powered land vehicle in the world. NASA hide caption

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NASA

The End Of The Space Shuttle Era

Who Will Shuttle The Last Shuttle? The Crawler Crew

May 31, 2011 • What gas guzzler travels 0.8 mph, gets 32 feet to the gallon and carries the pride of America on its back? Meet the crew of "the crawler" — an enormous beast of a machine that will carry the space shuttle to its launchpad Tuesday night for the very last time.

Making Babies: 21st Century Families

Nudging Young Women To Think About Fertility

May 31, 2011 • Getting 20- and early 30-somethings concerned about declining fertility is tough. The average age of women inquiring at one company that specializes in egg freezing is 34 1/2, ideal for putting one's biological clock on hold. But the average age of the women who actually freeze eggs is 37 1/2.

Robot Wars Prepare Kids For Manufacturing Jobs

A student works on her robot gladiator. Courtesy of National Tooling and Machining Association hide caption

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Courtesy of National Tooling and Machining Association

Technology

Robot Wars Prepare Kids For Manufacturing Jobs

May 31, 2011 • Robot battles can be violent, noisy and fun. High-tech companies hope these clashes also turn on students to careers in industries that need their skills. "Getting into this definitely got me interested in the engineering aspect of things," says high school senior Dakotah Cleaver of Bloomsburg, Pa.

Your Health

To Make A Memorable Meal, Start With A Memory

May 30, 2011 • It's easy enough to make a meal delicious, but how do you make it memorable? A supper club called Sensorium set out to do just that, using a little memory science to engage all the senses in the service of the palate.

Study Of Arsenic-Eating Microbe Finds Doubters

A study published in the journal Science last December suggested that a bacterium found in California's Mono Lake was able to substitute arsenic for phosphorous. But that conclusion has many critics. Miss Bliss 55 via Flickr hide caption

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Miss Bliss 55 via Flickr