Life is tough these days at NASA, the space agency that can’t launch anyone into space. It wrestles with basic questions: Where to go? How to get there? When? And for what purpose? It killed a plan to return to the moon and now is building a jumbo rocket to go to . . . well, it’s unclear. Maybe to an asteroid: a rock to be named later. Read full article > >

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NASA’s science missions bring the universe into sharper focus even as agency struggles with manned flight

After initially telegraphing optimism about President Obama’s decision Friday to amend the religious exemption for mandatory birth-control and sterilization coverage, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has declared total opposition to any compromise on the issue. Read full article > >

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U.S. bishops blast Obama’s contraception compromise

The amount of trans fat in the American bloodstream fell by more than half after the Food and Drug Administration required food manufacturers to label how much of the unhealthful ingredient is in their products, according to a new study . Read full article > >

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Trans-fat blood levels plummet after FDA food-labeling regulation

It’s nine months until Election Day, but President Obama is already bringing out the big guns. Specifically, he is shouldering the Extreme Marshmallow Cannon . Obama walked into the State Dining Room at midday Tuesday and encountered 14-year-old Joe Hudy and the compressed-air cannon he invented to launch marshmallows as part of a science fair. Read full article > >

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Obama’s lucky break

Can American doctors say “No” to an aggressive and high-tech treatment they’re used to providing even when it turns out a less heroic and cheaper one works just as well? It’s an important question. The affordability of American medical care in the future will depend, in part, on the ability of physicians to simplify and economize, which are two things they’ve never been good at. With national health expenditures amounting to $2.6 trillion a year — 45 percent of it paid by government — prosperity and political stability may also be at stake. Read full article > >

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Why do cardiologists often pass up safe, low-tech treatments for chest pain?

THE QUESTION Blood pressure checks usually involve inflating and then deflating a cuff that’s wrapped around the upper part of one arm or the other. Might checking the pressure in both arms be valuable? Read full article > >

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Measuring blood pressure in both arms can reveal potentially serious conditions

Russian scientists have drilled into the vast, dark and never-before-touched Lake Vostok 2.2 miles below the surface of Antarctica, according to a source quoted Monday by Ria Novosti, a state-run Russian news agency. Read full article > >

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Russians drill into previously untouched Lake Vostok below Antarctic glacier

When Hurricane Frances swept through the Caribbean in 2004, it wiped out populations of little anole lizards living on seven tiny islands in the Bahamas. Instead of mourning the loss, Harvard University biologist Jonathan Losos spied an opportunity: He could, for the first time, test a controversial 70-year-old idea in evolutionary biology. Read full article > >

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Castaway lizards put evolution to the test

Donors reacting to the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood contributed $650,000 in 24 hours, nearly enough to replace last year’s Komen funding, Planned Parenthood executives said Wednesday. Read full article > >

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Planned Parenthood says Komen decision causes donation spike

Reconstruct words based on brain waves.

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Scientists Listen In on Thoughts

Every child learns this sad and basic truth about nature: The snake eats the rabbit. But in the southernmost part of the Florida Everglades, things have taken a really wild turn. Pythons and anacondas are eating everything. The most common animals in Everglades National Park — rabbits, raccoons, opposums and bobcats — are almost gone, according to a study released Monday. Read full article > >

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In Florida Everglades, pythons and anacondas dominate food chain

“ Men in Black ” was flickering on the screen, and Laura Cossolotto and her husband were enjoying a rare night at the movies in their home town of Centerville, Iowa, when her brother-in-law rushed into the darkened theater. Read full article > >

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Medical Mysteries: Seizures hit baby girl soon after she had routine shots

CAPE CANAVERAL — Friday marks the 45th anniversary of a launchpad fire that killed three NASA astronauts during testing of the then-new Apollo capsule. Reviews found that the early design of the craft was fatally flawed. Among other problems, engineers saved weight by filling the capsule with pure, low-pressure oxygen instead of air, which is 80 percent inert nitrogen. Read full article > >

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45 years after America’s first space tragedy, lessons linger

Graphene, often described as a “miracle material”, can be used to distil alcohol, according to a new study in the Science journal.

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More uses for ‘miracle material’

According to psychology study.

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Report: Prejudice Linked to Low IQ