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The central parts of our galaxy, the Milky Way, as observed by the NACO instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope. S. Gillessen et al./ESO hide caption

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S. Gillessen et al./ESO

The Planets We Don't Have

January 31, 2016 • Last week, astronomers said they discovered evidence of a ninth planet in our solar system. It may be a super-Earth, something scientists didn't think we had here, says astrophysicist Adam Frank.

What Might Rouhani Have Missed When Rome Boxed Up The Nudes?

Ahead of a press conference with Premier Matteo Renzi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, wooden panels were erected around some Roman statues in Rome's Capitoline Museums. Giuseppe Lami/AP hide caption

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Giuseppe Lami/AP

Simon Says

What Might Rouhani Have Missed When Rome Boxed Up The Nudes?

January 30, 2016 • NPR's Scott Simon wonders if Iranian President Hassan Rouhani might have appreciated a moment to gaze at the many works of art in Rome's Capitoline Museum, rather than seen the naked statues boxed up.

What Might Rouhani Have Missed When Rome Boxed Up The Nudes?

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Getting Science Right In Film: It's Not The Facts, Folks

Actor Matt Damon, who stars as NASA Astronaut Mark Watney in the film The Martian, center, makes hand prints in cement at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Mars Yard in Pasadena, Calif. in Aug. 2015. Damon is shown with Mars Science Lab Project Manager Jim Erickson, left, and NASA Astronaut Drew Feustel. Bill Ingalls/AP hide caption

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Bill Ingalls/AP

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Getting Science Right In Film: It's Not The Facts, Folks

January 30, 2016 • When films capture the method of science, that's when magic happens: It matters more than getting the facts right, says blogger Barbara J. King.

DNA, Genealogy And The Search For Who We Are

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

DNA, Genealogy And The Search For Who We Are

January 29, 2016 • Family history is one thing and DNA-based ancestry is another: You just can't map beautiful, defining, important family stories onto a DNA tree, says blogger Alva Noë.

Amid A Lost Love, A Son And Father Finally Speak The Secret Between Them

Andy Goodling, with his father, Scott, on a recent visit with StoryCorps. StoryCorps hide caption

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StoryCorps

Amid A Lost Love, A Son And Father Finally Speak The Secret Between Them

January 29, 2016 • It was a love long hidden, and cut short all too soon. But it was only around the time Andy Goodling's boyfriend died that he was finally ready to tell his father: "Bryan was my everything."

Amid A Lost Love, A Son And Father Finally Speak The Secret Between Them

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Teenage 'Eagle Huntress' Overturns 2,000 Years Of Male Tradition

A still image from the documentary The Eagle Huntress. The film follows teenager Aisholpan Nurgaiv, the first female in a traditionally male role, as she trains a golden-eagle chick to hunt in Mongolia. Asher Svidensky/Kissaki Films hide caption

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Asher Svidensky/Kissaki Films

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Teenage 'Eagle Huntress' Overturns 2,000 Years Of Male Tradition

January 28, 2016 • A charismatic teenage girl from Mongolia inspires this year's Sundance Film Festival. Aisholpan Nurgaiv and her family talk with anthropologist Barbara J. King.

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Locating The Cradle Of Life

January 27, 2016 • Given that there are trillions of worlds in our galaxy alone, circling hundreds of billions of stars, it would be a true statistical fluke if Earth were the only harbor for life, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Journal Editors To Researchers: Show Everyone Your Clinical Data

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Shots - Health News

Journal Editors To Researchers: Show Everyone Your Clinical Data

January 26, 2016 • The world's leading medical journals have a proposal that could transform medical science: Researchers would have to publicly share their clinical data to get their studies published.

Journal Editors To Researchers: Show Everyone Your Clinical Data

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NPR Public Editor

NPR's Error-Filled Map: An Explanation

January 25, 2016 • An editor says inattention led to a map that excluded Israel, among other mistakes

Sex Won't Make You Dance Better; Sex In A Pool Won't Prevent Pregnancy

Hanna Barczyk for NPR

Goats and Soda

Sex Won't Make You Dance Better; Sex In A Pool Won't Prevent Pregnancy

January 25, 2016 • That's what health care educator Jane Otai had to tell a group of teenage girls to correct their mistaken ideas about being sexually active.

Science Can Quantify Risks, But It Can't Settle Policy

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Science Can Quantify Risks, But It Can't Settle Policy

January 25, 2016 • Recognizing this doesn't mean we should give up on evidence-based policy, or that anything goes; instead, it invites us to recognize our values and subject them to scrutiny, says Tania Lombrozo.

For Some, Powerball's Promise Wasn't Just A Big Payout — But Stability, Too

Demonstrators protest the police shooting of Michael Brown in August 2014 in Ferguson, Mo. A Justice Department report found the police in Ferguson levied excessive fines for small infractions. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Can I Just Tell You?

For Some, Powerball's Promise Wasn't Just A Big Payout — But Stability, Too

January 24, 2016 • Forget the fantasy of luxury. NPR's Michel Martin says that, when small fees can be more common — and more crippling — for many African-Americans, the notion of financial security is fantasy enough.

For Some, Powerball's Promise Wasn't Just A Big Payout — But Stability, Too

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Young People Surprised By Risky Synthetic Drugs They Considered Safe

A man prepares to smoke synthetic marijuana on a street in East Harlem in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Politician Takes To Tinder To Ignite Voters' Interest

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Soaking Up Wisdom From Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson poses backstage at the Television Academy's Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 12, 2015, in Los Angeles. Dan Steinberg/AP hide caption

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Dan Steinberg/AP

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Soaking Up Wisdom From Neil DeGrasse Tyson

January 22, 2016 • Some intellectuals bring out the immense complexity behind simple phenomena and others, like the estimable Dr. Tyson, excel at bringing complicated ideas down to earth, says Alva Noë.

Sunday January 31, 2016

Saturday January 30, 2016

What Might Rouhani Have Missed When Rome Boxed Up The Nudes?

Friday January 29, 2016

Amid A Lost Love, A Son And Father Finally Speak The Secret Between Them

Thursday January 28, 2016

Wednesday January 27, 2016

Tuesday January 26, 2016

Journal Editors To Researchers: Show Everyone Your Clinical Data

Monday January 25, 2016

Sunday January 24, 2016

For Some, Powerball's Promise Wasn't Just A Big Payout — But Stability, Too

Saturday January 23, 2016

Politician Takes To Tinder To Ignite Voters' Interest

Friday January 22, 2016