Science : NPR

Hongfeng Yu/Argonne National Laboratory

Space

See Galactic Disorder And Death!

July 31, 2009 • If you could see inside a dying star — and if your eyes were tuned to perceive that ephemeral property of the universe called entropy — this might be what you would see. This computer simulation shows how disorder, aka entropy, spreads through a supernova.

Review

Book Reviews

A Scientist Homes In On Our Sense Of Direction

July 31, 2009 • You Are Here delves into the physiology and folklore of wayfinding. Alternating between scientific experiments and real-world examples, psychologist Colin Ellard bares the brain's algorithms for finding the body's location on the planet.

Art & Design

Art, Science Converge In Museum Displays

July 31, 2009 • Creating realistic and accurate museum exhibitions requires close collaboration between artists and scientists. Ira Flatow talks with exhibit designers about what is involved in recreating animals and environments that disappeared long ago.

SEAPLEX Mission To Visit 'Garbage Patch'

July 31, 2009 • Grad students from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography will visit the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," where plastics and other refuse collect. Chief scientist Miriam Goldstein outlines what the researchers hope to learn about the material dumped in the ocean.

Technology

Who Really Owns Your Digital Data?

July 31, 2009 • Tech columnist Randy Stross discusses whether users really own the digital books and music they purchase, or merely rent them. Computer scientist Hank Levy talks about privacy software that causes e-mails and documents on remote servers to self-destruct after eight hours.

Research News

Scientists Say Some Fisheries Are Recovering

July 31, 2009 • A new report in the journal Science, crediting good management, says some over-fished ecosystems are improving and fish numbers are up. Marine biologist Boris Worm — who in 2006 warned that without action many fish populations could be gone by 2048 — describes the study's findings.

Imperiled Fisheries Make A Comeback, Study Shows

A commercial fishing boat pulls in its net near Seattle. Strict federal fishing laws have cut back significantly on overfishing in the United States. S.Froebe/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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S.Froebe/iStockphoto.com

Animals

Imperiled Fisheries Make A Comeback, Study Shows

July 30, 2009 • In many areas, fishermen are pulling fish out of the seas faster than the populations can withstand, and some fisheries are heading toward collapse. But a major new study shows that all fisheries aren't doomed. In fact, some are on the mend.

Scientists use laser fluorescent technology and squirts of dye to test how this jellyfish moves ocean water. K. Katija & J. Dabiri/California Institute of Technology hide caption

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K. Katija & J. Dabiri/California Institute of Technology