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January 28, 2013 Echolocation isn't just for bats and dolphins: pioneering human echolocators and new research reveal the remarkable adaptability of the human perceptual system. Commentator Tania Lombrozo explores the implications.

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January 28, 2013 Nathaniel, a young Berkeley biologist, met a beautiful yeast who promised opportunity and adventure, but once they got together, Nathaniel was clumsy, the yeast not what he'd hoped, and their romance? Well, it didn't work out. It's now a song. Sung by Nathaniel. The yeast, lacking vocal chords, is silent.

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January 28, 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to hold a referendum on whether his country will remain in the European Union. Joep Bertrams thinks the Conservative Party leader can't stomach the organization, while Patrick Chappatte doubts the remaining member nations would be happy with the leftovers.

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January 28, 2013 When author Ally Carter found out that S.E. Hinton had been a teenager when she wrote The Outsiders, something inside her clicked. It was the first moment she realized she could be a writer. Is there a book that has inspired you to write? Tell us in the comments.

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January 28, 2013 The "affection" Republicans have had for Hillary Clinton the past four years — feelings no doubt expressed in order to contrast how they felt about President Obama — seems to have come to an end, now that she may become their opponent in 2016. And it's also splitsville between Fox and Sarah Palin.

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January 27, 2013 Along the East Coast, wild oysters have been decimated over the years by man and nature. Food commentator Bonny Wolf says oyster farming is exploding, and raw oyster bars are all the rage.

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January 27, 2013 Author Teddy Wayne writes that the 1967 French novel Emmanuelle taught him not only about good sex, but also about good writing.

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January 27, 2013 House Speaker John Boehner charged that President Obama wants to "annihilate" the Republican Party. Bob Englehart thinks the GOP is facing a far worse threat from within its own ranks, while Rick McKee suspects the President may have the appetite for the job.

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January 26, 2013 Long before becoming managing editor of Ebony magazine, Hans Massaquoi yearned to be a Hitler Youth. His rare story came to an end when Massaquoi died this week at the age of 87.

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January 26, 2013 The streets of Paris are marred by messes from dogs whose owners haven't cleaned up after them. There's a fine, but the culprits have to be caught in the act (or lack thereof). In this personal essay, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley goes after one thing about the city that she finds very, very wrong.

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January 26, 2013 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is lifting the ban on women serving in combat. Gary Varvel isn't comfortable with all the roles women may come to fill, while Mike Keefe wonders if their combat experience will help women break through the military's glacis ceiling.

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January 25, 2013 In the story The Little Prince, a boy from a tiny planet lands on Earth. The boy is tall, the planet small, and you worry he might fall off. In real life, real Earthlings once had a hint of this experience. It was 1972, and you can go there with them.

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January 25, 2013 The Senate has made changes to the filibuster rule, but not the major alterations many had hoped for. The action fits within Pat Bagley's view of the body, while Jeff Danziger provides a rationale for why sweeping changes weren't made.

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January 25, 2013 Bryan Wilmoth grew up in a strict, religious household where all of his siblings either ran away or were kicked out. He was the first to go, after his father discovered he was gay. Years later, Wilmoth tried piecing the family back together and assuming the big brother role once again.

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