Around the Nation
Maine Hit By Tiny Earthquakes
[4 min 30 sec]
Science
Soldiers with traumatic brain injury clear improvised explosives on a mock mission while taking fire from pretend insurgents armed with paintball guns.
Returning To The Battlefield, With A Brain Injury WPLN
()Many soldiers leave Iraq and Afghanistan with a mild traumatic brain injury, but months or years later want to deploy again. Using combat simulations and other tests, doctors at Fort Campbell in Kentucky are testing these soldiers' readiness for a return to war.
Volunteers Moved To Help In Earthquake Study SCPR
Monitors measure ground movement and then send measurements to the USGS over the Internet.
()NASA Sets Endeavour Launch For May 16
It will be the second attempt; a launch was scuttled April 29 because of an electrical problem.
()Latin America
Cuba's Hunt For Oil Raises Questions For U.S.()
May 9, 2011 Drilling is set to begin this fall off Cuba's north coast, where geologists believe there could be nearly 5 billion barrels of oil. A significant find could affect the 50-year-old U.S. trade embargo, but it also may present new environmental threats for Florida.
Environment
World's Farmers Feel The Effects Of A Hotter Planet()
May 7, 2011 As world grain prices hover near record highs, a new study finds that rising temperatures have already harmed corn and wheat production. Analysts predict even higher food prices due to damage from climate change, and the poor in developing countries will be hurt the most.
Environment
Florida Budget Woes Mean Environmental Cuts()
May 6, 2011 Florida is cutting spending on the environment to help close a $4 billion budget shortfall. It's slashed spending on Everglades restoration and eliminated the budget for other environmental programs. Conservation groups fear the state is rolling back the clock on protections that used to enjoy bipartisan support.
Hidden World Of Girls
A Termite Queen And Her Ultimate Sacrifice()
May 6, 2011 The termite queen may be the mother who makes the ultimate sacrifice for her swarms of children. Isolated in an earthen capsule, she lays more than a quarter-billion eggs in her lifetime. On the eve of Mother's Day, NPR honors this species' story of struggle, rebirth and death below ground.
Krulwich Wonders…
Dirty Dancing, A Gallant Spider Goes All The Way()
May 5, 2011 Male spiders (and males across the animal kingdom) will often court anything that even vaguely resembles a female. One in particular — the jumping spider — has a snazzy technique to catch their mate: dance their hearts out.
Asia
Workers Enter Japan Nuclear Reactor Building()
May 5, 2011 This is the first time workers at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant have been inside the reactor building at Unit 1 in about two months. They're connecting ventilation equipment in hopes that it'll absorb the radiation inside. The operation should take up to five days.
Decoding The Platypus Of The Plant Kingdom()
May 5, 2011 Amborella is the first known flowering plant and, like the platypus, a genetic dead end. Selaginella's relatives are the fossils in fossil fuel. Now, scientists are studying the genes of these plants, looking for clues about evolution and compounds that might be applied to medicine or agriculture.
Krulwich Wonders…
A Cosmonaut's Fiery Death Retold()
May 3, 2011 Many readers — and space historians — cried out in rage in response to a post last month recounting a new book's take on the 1967 death of Soviet spaceman Vladimir Komarov. Here, we revisit the tale — with footnotes. What really happened?
Space
No Monday Launch For Space Shuttle Endeavour()
May 1, 2011 On Sunday, NASA officials said there was no way Endeavour could blast off Monday on its final voyage. A new launch date was not set. But officials said it appeared that the work needed to repair a faulty heater system in the shuttle would push the launch to the end of the week, at best.
The Picture Show
Bangladesh: A Present-Day Water World()
May 1, 2011 Bangladesh isn't waiting for climate change to cause rising waters; they're already dealing with it.
