All Tech Extra

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.

NASA Uses Lessons From Space To Design An Efficient Building

7:24pm November 30, 2015

by Joe Palca

Named Sustainability Base, a NASA facility in California is a model for energy-efficient federal buildings. It's powered by a fuel cell like those used on spacecraft and recycles water for flushing.

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These tiny Proteus digital sensors and a wearable patch keep track of how patients take their prescribed medications. It's one example of the growing field of ingestible medical devices.

Health & Safety

The Future Of Nanotechnology And Computers So Small You Can Swallow Them

7:50pm November 23, 2015

by NPR Staff

How tiny can a computer get and what can it do? Digital sensors are already traveling inside human bodies. Will shrinking sizes eventually do away with the bulky devices we use now?

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CIA Director John Brennan made this case against encryption on Monday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

After Paris Attacks, Encrypted Communication Is Back In Spotlight

6:38pm November 16, 2015

Security officials say the Paris attacks are an example why law enforcement needs to access encrypted data. Privacy advocates and the tech industry say such "back doors" are not the best solution.

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Amazon is struggling to track down and eliminate catfishing scams on Kindle e-books and is suing people who allegedly wrote fake reviews on its site.

Books

Don't Necessarily Judge Your Next E-Book By Its Online Review

7:16pm October 26, 2015

Online scams known as catfishing and astroturfing produce fake reviews for e-books published under fake names or generate false praise for restaurants. In either case, it pays to be skeptical.

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