An image from an electron microscope shows a type II alveolar cell, found in the air sacs of lungs. In the cell's cytoplasm (pink) are lamellar bodies (purple), which contain surfactant. SPL/Science Source hide caption
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An artist's concept shows the WISE spacecraft in its orbit around Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption
Astronomers searching for an undiscovered planet in the outer solar system hope to catch a glimpse of it Thursday through the Subaru Telescope located on top of Hawaii's Mauna Kea mountain. Courtesy of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan hide caption
Rice University's FlatCam is thinner than a dime. Jeff Fitlow/Rice University hide caption
The plastic sheet invented by Stanford University chemical engineer Zhenan Bao and her colleagues can be inserted in lithium-ion batteries to avoid overheating. Zheng Chen/Courtesy of Zhenan Bao hide caption
A building called Sustainability Base, at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., has an energy-efficient design that allows in sunlight. So for most of the year, the interior is illuminated by natural light. Dominic Hart/NASA hide caption
An illustration shows what a helicopter drone would look like on the surface of Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption
Researchers at Brown University's computer science department are studying whether a robot called Baxter can be taught to pick up different objects. Joe Palca/NPR hide caption
An artist's rendering of what Dearcmhara shawcrossi probably looked like in dinosaur times. Todd Marshall/University of Edinburgh hide caption
Current water-filtering technology is costly, but MIT scientists are testing a simpler and cheaper method that uses wood from white pine trees. Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Dr. Jim Olson meets with Carver Faull at Seattle Children's Hospital in August. Carver, now 12, had surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2012. Matthew Ryan Williams for NPR hide caption
