Science

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

How can journalists and bloggers avoid some of the pitfalls of communicating science in an online world? Should a website's comments section be moderated, or removed altogether? How has social media changed the blogosphere? A panel of experts joins Ira Flatow to discuss.

When the sun goes down, dung beetles rely on a galactic source--light from the Milky Way--to navigate, according to a recent report in Current Biology. Study co-author Eric Warrant, of Lund University in Sweden, explains how dung beetles see the starry night sky.

A mystery of the animal kingdom: how do owls turn their heads 270 degrees without damaging their blood vessels? At last an answer, published this week in Science. Fabian de Kok-Mercado and Philippe Gailloud dissected and x-rayed owls to discover how the birds do the twist.

Low water upstream threatens cargo traffic, and saltwater has encroached on the mouth of the river. Now, officials up and down the river are talking about the need for a comprehensive water resources plan.