Science

The core of the RBT-3 reactor at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Russia. Some scientists suspect the institute's work on medical isotopes might explain radioactivity detected over Europe.

Clues In That Mysterious Radioactive Cloud Point Toward Russia

3:23pm November 17, 2017

Western scientists say they may never know the source of the cloud of ruthenium-106 that hovered over Europe last month. But what little data there is suggests a research facility inside Russia.

Network Theory has hundreds of applications, says physicist Adam Frank.

Science

The Big Idea Behind Big Data

11:02am November 17, 2017

by Adam Frank

As we find our way in a world shaped by Big Data, it's not the reams of information we gather but the networks they illuminate that's the newest addition to science's index of things, says Adam Frank.

Amos Winter: How Do You Build An All-Terrain Wheelchair For Under $200?

9:38am November 17, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

In many countries, uneven and unpaved roads make it hard to get around in a standard wheelchair. MIT engineer Amos Winter describes his design for a lever-powered all-terrain wheelchair under $200.

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Mileha Soneji: Can Simple Innovations Improve The Lives of Parkinson's Patients?

9:29am November 17, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

When designer Mileha Soneji's uncle got Parkinson's, his quality of life deteriorated rapidly. Mileha couldn't cure her uncle's disease, so she designed simple ways to improve his everyday life.

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Tian Tian receives laser therapy treatment during a full veterinary exam.

Science

National Zoo Panda Tian Tian Gets Checkup For Weight Loss And Sore Shoulder

9:12am November 17, 2017

by Scott Neuman

Veterinarians performed laser treatment and acupuncture for what they initially thought was a touch of arthritis in the panda's left shoulder.

A technician examines the mirror on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. Scientists at two national laboratories are currently building the components for an enormous digital camera that will capture images from the telescope.

The Largest Digital Camera In The World Takes Shape

5:00am November 17, 2017

by Joe Palca

A two-story tall, digital camera is taking shape in California. It will ultimately go on a telescope in Chile where it will survey the sky, looking for things that appear suddenly or change over time.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — and its controversial center for innovation — is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and has its headquarters outside D.C., in Woodlawn, Md.

Canadians Root For An Underdog Health Policy Idea From The U.S.

5:00am November 17, 2017

by Shefali Luthra

A center created by the Affordable Care Act to foster innovations in health care is at risk in Donald Trump's U.S. But some Canadian health analysts see it as a model for curbing health care's cost.

A protest sign sits in the proposed path of the Keystone XL Pipeline in Silver Creek, Neb.

Keystone Pipeline Oil Spill Reported In South Dakota

8:20pm November 16, 2017

by Richard Gonzales

The oil leak occurs just a few days before Nebraska state regulators will decide on the fate of TransCanada's controversial sister project, the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Screen shot from a YouTube video clip from the film Mountain Gorilla: A Shattered Kingdom.

Science

Video: An Interspecies Flying Lesson

5:16pm November 16, 2017

by Barbara J. King

Gorilla naturalist? Barbara J. King suggests watching this young male gorilla in the Virunga Mountains during his close-up encounter with a baby owl.

Martha (right), the last known passenger pigeon, died in 1914. Her preserved body is now on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Science

Why Did The Passenger Pigeon Go Extinct? The Answer Might Lie In Their Toes

4:55pm November 16, 2017

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Billions of these birds once flew over North America, but the last known passenger pigeon died in 1914. To try to figure out what happened, scientists analyzed DNA from the toes of birds in museums.