Science & Technology

Pages

NPR Story
10:57 am
Fri February 1, 2013

Dung Beetles Use Cosmic GPS to Find Their Way

Originally published on Fri February 1, 2013 12:03 pm

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Now for a surprising find from the insect world. The dung beetle, that insect known for sculpting little balls of animal feces that they roll around and later feast on. Well, it turns out that these beetles have a built-in cosmic GPS that helps them navigate around. Dung beetles use light - listen to this - use light from the Milky Way to orient themselves at night. It's all in a paper published earlier this month in the journal Current Biology.

Read more
Shots - Health News
2:27 pm
Thu January 31, 2013

How Owls Spin Their Heads Without Tearing Arteries

Originally published on Mon February 4, 2013 6:56 am

The human neck is a delicate stem. Torque it a bit too much, and the carotid and vertebral arteries can rip, causing deadly strokes. People have torn their neck arteries riding roller coasters, doing yoga, going to the chiropractor, being rear-ended in the car – even leaning back for a beauty-parlor shampoo.

Read more
All Tech Considered
2:18 pm
Thu January 31, 2013

What's Next, A Patent For The Lines Around Apple Stores?

Credit U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Apple has trademarked its minimalist store design.

Officially as of last week, there's nothing quite like Apple's stores. After an array of patents of its products, Apple has decided to go whole hog and trademark its minimalist store design. The trademark was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 22, Reuters reported.

Read more
The Two-Way
12:29 pm
Thu January 31, 2013

Portugal's Monster: The Mechanics Of A Massive Wave

Originally published on Fri February 1, 2013 10:07 am

The Picture Show
9:45 am
Thu January 31, 2013

Google Street View Takes A Hike. So?

A few months back, Google released a few of its engineers into the wild with a camera called the Google Trekker.

Read more
The Two-Way
7:09 am
Thu January 31, 2013

Hack Attack On 'New York Times' Looks Like Part Of Chinese Campaign

Credit Ramin Talaie / Getty Images

Originally published on Thu January 31, 2013 3:57 pm

  • From 'Morning Edition': Renee Montagne speaks with reporter Nicole Perlroth

This news ...

"For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times, infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees."

... appears to be "part of a broader campaign against American media reporting on Chinese leaders," NPR's Louisa Lim reports from Beijing.

Read more
Business
4:49 pm
Wed January 30, 2013

After Struggling, Blackberry Unveils Two New Smartphones

Originally published on Wed January 30, 2013 5:18 pm

Melissa Block speaks with Steve Henn about the reinvention of Samsung and Blackberry.

Shots - Health News
4:28 pm
Wed January 30, 2013

Gut Microbes May Play Deadly Role In Malnutrition

Originally published on Fri February 1, 2013 3:19 pm

There's a part of our body that's only now getting mapped: the trillions of microbes, mostly bacteria, that live in our guts.

Some scientists describe this community as a previously unnoticed vital organ. It appears to play a role in how quickly we gain weight and how well we fight off disease.

A study published in the journal Science suggests that changes in this community of microbes also may cause kwashiorkor, a kind of deadly malnutrition.

Read more
Krulwich Wonders...
1:11 pm
Wed January 30, 2013

Pale Blue Blobs Invade, Freeze, Then Vanish

The Two-Way
11:29 am
Wed January 30, 2013

BlackBerry Maker Unveils New Phones, New Corporate Name

Credit Leon Neal / AFP/Getty Images
A member of the RIM team poses with one of the new touchscreen Z10 Blackberry devices.

Originally published on Wed January 30, 2013 11:34 am

It's no secret that Research In Motion is in trouble. The tablet device it released in 2011 did so poorly the company took a $485 million hit. Android phones and Apple's iPhone have left the company in the technology graveyard.

Read more

Pages