Where does all that dust under your couch come from? It turns out that most household dust comes from outside — and may contain some pretty harmful stuff, according to a recent study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. Full Story »
The Environmental Protection Agency has outlined a new effort to help protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, the nation's largest estuary. And it targets the root causes of the trouble: runoff. Full Story »
As the world prepares for crucial climate-change talks in Copenhagen next month, there is a growing rift between the United States and some of the world's poorest nations. The gap grew wider this past week, at the final official pre-Copenhagen talks in Barcelona. Full Story »
Scientists studying a crevasse in the Ethiopian desert say we may be witnessing the birth of a future ocean. In 2005, a 35-mile-long rift broke open as two parts of the African continent separated. Researchers from several countries have confirmed that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world's oceans. They say it is likely the beginning of a new sea. Host Liane Hansen talks with Professor Cynthia Ebinger of the University of Rochester about the event. Full Story »
A team of scientists is studying mud, ooze and other material from the bay's bottom to help the EPA crack down on pollutants. The tubes of glop they've collected from throughout the Chesapeake Bay are like biopsies — they indicate where the bay is healthy and where it's dying. Full Story »
At the 2009 International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, undergraduates from all over the world unveiled the living machines they'd created with snippets of DNA, from bacteria that change color when they detect pollutants to ones that secrete non-toxic superglue. Full Story »
Vast new natural gas fields have opened up thanks to an advanced drilling technique. While natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal or petroleum, extracting it is still hard, dirty work. Some people who live near the massive Barnett Shale gas deposit in north Texas, have complaints. Health and environmental concerns are prompting state regulators to take a closer look. Full Story »
The cost of decoding a human's genes has fallen to just a few thousand dollars, making the long-promised era of personal genomes feasible. Full Story »
A new study reveals that the melody of a newborn's cries seems to be influenced by the sound of the parents' native tongue. The findings suggest that crying infants may be imitating the patterns of the language they heard before they were born. Full Story »
French scientists report that two boys treated with gene therapy for a rare but fatal genetic disease have shown improvements. These results mark a high point for the field of gene therapy. Shown here, the area of the brain that was treated. Full Story »
