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Researchers say there's plenty the beef industry can do to use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions. But producers may need to charge a premium to make those changes.

Researchers say there's plenty the beef industry can do to use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions. But producers may need to charge a premium to make those changes. iStockphoto.com hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto.com

The Salt

Do We Need A New 'Environmental Impact' Label For Beef?

Labels like "organic" and "grass-fed" don't capture the beef industry's true environmental impact, researchers say. Why not have a label that assesses water use, land use and greenhouse gas emissions?

Corn farmer Jerry McCulley sprays the weedkiller glyphosate across his cornfield in Auburn, Ill., in 2010. An increasing number of weeds have now evolved resistance to the chemical.

Corn farmer Jerry McCulley sprays the weedkiller glyphosate across his cornfield in Auburn, Ill., in 2010. An increasing number of weeds have now evolved resistance to the chemical. Seth Perlman/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Seth Perlman/AP

The Salt

New GMOs Get A Regulatory Green Light, With A Hint Of Yellow

Farmers will be able to plant types of corn and soybeans that can tolerate doses of two weedkillers. It may be one of the most significant developments the world of weedkilling in more than a decade.

Isabella Beukes, of Santa Rosa, Calif., has been legally blind for more than 40 years. An experimental treatment derived from embryonic stem cells seems to have enabled her now to see not just color but also some shapes.

Isabella Beukes, of Santa Rosa, Calif., has been legally blind for more than 40 years. An experimental treatment derived from embryonic stem cells seems to have enabled her now to see not just color but also some shapes. Tim Hussin for NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Tim Hussin for NPR

Shots - Health News

Embryonic Stem Cells Restore Vision In Preliminary Human Test

Cells derived from embryos appear to have improved vision in more than half of the 18 patients who had become legally blind because of two progressive, currently incurable eye diseases.

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Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues found an enzyme in bacteria that makes editing DNA in animal cells much easier.

Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues found an enzyme in bacteria that makes editing DNA in animal cells much easier. Cailey Cotner/UC Berkeley hide caption

itoggle caption Cailey Cotner/UC Berkeley

Shots - Health News

In Hopes Of Fixing Faulty Genes, One Scientist Starts With The Basics

Jennifer Doudna used to worry that her science wasn't doing anything important. Then some basic research led her team to a discovery that could one day be crucial in healing some genetic diseases.

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And so continues Code Switch's battle with illustrating studies about the subtle biases that inflict our email outboxes.

And so continues Code Switch's battle with illustrating studies about the subtle biases that inflict our email outboxes. iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

Code Switch

What's In A Name? It Could Matter If You're Writing To Your Lawmaker

To test subtle biases, researchers sent state legislators identical emails about voting requirements. Some emails came from a man with a "Latino" name, and others from an "Anglo" name.

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In the northwestern United States, this crayfish would be just a friendly bit of local fauna. But in Scotland, it's an invasive species wreaking havoc on trout streams.

In the northwestern United States, this crayfish would be just a friendly bit of local fauna. But in Scotland, it's an invasive species wreaking havoc on trout streams. Ari Shapiro/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Ari Shapiro/NPR

Animals

American Intruder Lurks In Scottish Streams, Clawed And Hungry

Scotland has some of the best trout fishing in the world. Now the North American signal crayfish is taking over waterways, threatening to wipe out native populations of insects those trout eat.

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Tattoo artist Peter van der Helm, shown in his studio in Amsterdam in December 2013, has set up a business to preserve the tattoos of the dead.

Tattoo artist Peter van der Helm, shown in his studio in Amsterdam in December 2013, has set up a business to preserve the tattoos of the dead. Michael Kooren/Reuters/Corbis hide caption

itoggle caption Michael Kooren/Reuters/Corbis

Humans

Extra-Permanent Ink: Preserving Your Tattoos After Death

Got a killer tat? There's no reason for it to die with you. Thanks to a Dutch tattoo artist, if you sign the right forms and pay the right price, a lab can preserve your body art after you die.