Space
NASA Shoots Legos, Worms And Squid Into Space
3:12
On Science Podcast
The Science Podcast is produced each week by the NPR Science Desk. Hear a selection of science stories as well as conversations with our correspondents.
Updated May 20, 2011
Learning juicy details about someone can change the way you see them — literally, according to a new study.
Psst! The Human Brain Is Wired For Gossip
()Learning negative information about people can change the way you see them — literally, according to a new study. It's an unconscious response orchestrated by your brain's visual processing system, and it may have helped early humans exploit gossip to get ahead.
Research News
The Nose Knows()
May 20, 2011 Humans aren't the only brainiacs around — most mammals have large brains for their body size. But how did we get so darn cerebral? Turns out mammalian brain evolution went hand in hand with developing an excellent sense of smell.
Animals
Presumed Extinct, The Red-Crested Tree Rat Returns()
May 19, 2011 The red-crested tree rat hadn't been seen by scientists for more than a century — until this May. The guinea pig-sized creature, with a fiery-red patch of fur on its head and a long black and white tail, was spotted by two conservationist volunteers working in Columbia.
Space
If E.T. Phones, Will We Hear? SETI Loses Key Funding()
May 16, 2011 Astronomers at the SETI Institute say California's budget crisis has forced the shutdown of the Allen Telescope Array, a powerful tool in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
