Science

Blocking Iran With A Global Game Of Nuclear 'Keep Away'

7:27pm February 07, 2013

by NPR Staff

Obtaining the materials to make weapons-grade uranium or separated plutonium is harder than making a nuclear weapon, experts say. That's why the U.S. is engaged in a global effort to try to keep the specialized products out of hands it deems dangerous, like Iran.

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A worker makes a cut in the side of a sandstone block at the Cleveland Quarries facility in Vermilion, Ohio, earlier this month. The legal limit on the amount of silica that workers can inhale was set decades ago.

Silica Rule Changes Delayed While Workers Face Health Risks

3:07pm February 07, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Regulations to restrict the amount of silica dust that workers can inhale were set decades ago, and workplace safety experts say that limit needs to be cut in half. A proposal for new rules was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for a 90-day review, but almost two years later, it's still under review.

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More than 400 guns, including these three, were turned in during a Dallas gun buyback program in January. But determining the effectiveness of such programs is difficult due to limits on gun-related research.

Debate Rages On Even As Research Ban On Gun Violence Ends

6:12pm February 06, 2013

by Julie Rovner

President Obama has ordered an end to a 16-year-old ban on federal funding of research on guns and health. But the political controversy that led to the ban in the first place is far from over.

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Trash, much of it believed to be debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami, litters the beach on Montague Island, Alaska, on Jan. 26.

Tsunami Debris On Alaska's Shores Like 'Standing In Landfill'

10:51am February 06, 2013

by Annie Feidt

Wreckage believed to be from the 2011 Japanese tsunami is washing up thousands of miles away in Alaska. The debris isn't just unsightly — it poses environmental worries for the landscape and animals. One conservationist says the problem may be worse than the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

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Health researchers say the proportion of people in their late 40s to 60s with diabetes, hypertension or obesity has increased over the past two decades.

Aging Poorly: Another Act Of Baby Boomer Rebellion

10:40am February 06, 2013

by Rob Stein

Many of them have cut out smoking, and rates of heart attack and emphysema have declined. But baby boomers are burdened with diabetes, hypertension and many other chronic conditions. Researchers say too little exercise and a rise in obesity threaten baby boomers' golden years.

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Out For Lunch? Researchers estimate that billions of birds and small mammals are killed by cats in the U.S. annually.

Science

Killer Kitties? Cats Kill Billions Of Creatures Every Year

2:29pm February 04, 2013

by Véronique LaCapra

There are as many as 47 million pet cats out hunting for prey. Add that to the tens of millions of feral cats and strays, and researchers estimate that the furry felines are responsible for billions of bird and small mammal deaths every year.

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Science

Scientists Discover Dung Beetles Use The Milky Way For GPS

2:29pm February 04, 2013

A team of scientists has discovered that dung beetles climb on dung balls and dance around in circles before taking off. This dance is not one of joy, however — the insects are checking out the sky to get their bearings. Melissa Block and Audie Cornish have more.

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Highly detailed sonar systems aboard the research vessel Pritchard gave researchers a clear view of the sediment on the seafloor off Long Island.

Sand After Sandy: Scientists Map Seafloor For Sediment

2:29pm February 04, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

On the deck of a 27-foot boat off the shore of Long Island, researchers are using sonar to study the sand and sediment that washed away from the system of protective barrier islands and beaches by Hurricane Sandy.

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The reactor room at Babcock & Wilcox's prototype reactor outside Lynchburg, Va. The reactor vessel is behind the orange curtain.

Are Mini-Reactors The Future Of Nuclear Power?

12:15pm February 04, 2013

by Ben Bradford

The prefabricated nuclear reactors, which would be small enough to build in a factory and ship on trucks, would generate about one-tenth the power of a typical nuclear power plant. It's potentially a growth opportunity for American industry, but critics say the reactors carry a host of safety, security, environmental and economic concerns.

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A wood stork soars over its nest in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Fort Myers, Fla., in 2008, as baby wood storks wait in their nest for an adult to bring food.

Wood Stork's Endangered Status Is Up In The Air

6:16pm February 03, 2013

by Greg Allen

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife may upgrade the wood stork's status from "endangered" to "threatened." But some environmentalists and the Audubon Society says that in south Florida, the bird's population is still a long way from reaching a full recovery.

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