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Marina owner Mitzi Richards carries her granddaughter in September as they walk on their boat dock at the dried up lake bed of Huntington Lake in California, which was at only 30 percent capacity as a severe drought continued. The state was in the grip of

2014 To Be Warmest Year On Record, U.N. Weather Agency Says

11:10pm December 04, 2014

by Scott Neuman

The World Meteorological Organization says that so far, 2014 is 1.03 degrees Fahrenheit above a benchmark average. It would be the 38th consecutive year with an above normal global average, it says.

The 1962 Nobel Prize Medal in Medicine or Physiology that James Watson won has been sold at auction.

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DNA Pioneer Watson's Nobel Prize Sells For $4.75 Million

7:54pm December 04, 2014

by Bill Chappell

The Nobel Prize that James Watson won for helping explain how DNA is structured has a new owner. Watson has said he'll donate much of the $4.75 million sales price to educational institutions.

HIV is like a jack-in-the-box: When it binds to a cell, its shell (yellow) pops open, and its genetic material (reds) comes out.

Is HIV Evolving Into A Weaker Virus?

3:05pm December 04, 2014

by Michaeleen Doucleff

In parts of southern Africa, HIV has picked up mutations that slow down its ability to grow inside a person's blood. That's a good sign. But will it be enough to make a difference in the epidemic?

NASA's Orion spaceship early Thursday in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

NASA Scrubs Launch Of Orion Spacecraft

2:38pm December 04, 2014

by Scott Neuman

After several issues, including high winds, stuck engine valves and a boat downrange of the launch site, the space agency said it would cancel today's planned launch of the new vehicle.

Blind From Birth, But Able To Use Sound To 'See' Faces

2:04pm December 04, 2014

by Jon Hamilton

The area of the brain that recognizes faces can use sound instead of sight. That recent discovery suggests facial recognition is so important to humans that it's part of our most basic wiring.

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Country representatives listen to opening remarks at the start of the United Nations' Conference of the Parties on Climate Change in Lima, Peru.

World Climate Talks In Lima Aim To Move Beyond Kyoto Treaty

11:47am December 04, 2014

by Christopher Joyce

Unlike the 1997 Kyoto treaty, the plan on the negotiating table in Lima this week asks every country, developed and developing, to limit carbon emissions. Each nation would set its own target.

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Taking Stock Of America's Toxic Sites And The Millions Living Near Them

11:12am December 04, 2014

A National Geographic article looks at toxic waste sites in the U.S. and the more than 49 million Americans who live near them. NPR's Eric Westervelt talks with writer Paul Voosen about his piece.

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NASA To Test Orion Spacecraft For Long Future Missions

10:34am December 04, 2014

by Geoff Brumfiel

NASA plans to launch an unmanned capsule named "Orion" from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday. NASA hopes that Orion will one day carry astronauts beyond Earth's orbit and even to Mars.

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The Orion capsule is poised to make its first test flight Thursday. If all goes as planned, the unmanned vehicle will orbit Earth twice before splashing into the Pacific Ocean.

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NASA Prepares To Test New Spacecraft (That You've Likely Never Heard Of)

3:43pm December 03, 2014

by Geoff Brumfiel

The new vehicle, named Orion, is designed to carry humans into deep space. But most Americans aren't aware it exists.

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Several countries, including Australia, Japan and Great Britain, already encourage blood donations from some gay men.

FDA Considers Allowing Blood Donations From Some Gay Men

11:50am December 03, 2014

by Rob Stein

The lifetime ban on blood from any man who has had sex with men dates to the 1980s, before there was a good test to screen for HIV. Critics say the policy is outmoded and needlessly discriminatory.

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