The Two-Way
1:57 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

'Softball-Sized Eyeball' Washes Up In Florida; Can You I.D. It?

Credit Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Quite a baby blue.

Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 7:41 am

Tell us you can resist clicking on this headline from Florida's Sun Sentinel:

"Huge Eyeball From Unknown Creature Washes Ashore On Florida Beach."

It's big, it's blue and the newspaper says "among the possibilities being discussed are a giant squid, some other large fish or a whale or other large marine mammal."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has sent the eye off for study.

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Shots - Health Blog
1:51 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

Among Disciplined Nurse Aides, Criminal Records Turn Up

There are two ways to look at results of a recent investigation of nursing homes by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Both are pretty disturbing.

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Music Interviews
1:50 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

'Looper': A World Of Musical Clicks And Pops

Originally published on Tue January 8, 2013 11:19 am

When you think about the great music of science fiction, a few staples spring to mind — say, the theme from the classic Star Trek series, or John Williams' compositions for the Star Wars movies.

Nathan Johnson, the composer for the new time-travel thriller Looper, wanted to break with tradition. Instead of going for that slick, orchestral sound, he immersed himself in the world of the film to find his source material.

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The Salt
1:23 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

How A Sleepy Pennsylvania Town Grew Into America's Mushroom Capital

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 2:13 pm

Here's an astonishing fact: Half of America's mushrooms are grown in one tiny corner of southeastern Pennsylvania, near the town of Kennett Square.

But why? It's not as though this place has some special advantage of climate or soil, the kind of thing that led to strawberry fields in Watsonville, Calif., or peach orchards in Georgia. Mushrooms can grow indoors. They could come from anywhere.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:58 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

How Cellphones Helped Researchers Track Malaria In Kenya

Cellphones are popping up all over in health care these days. They're monitoring our blood sugar, tracking the flu season and even mapping the junk food we eat at night.

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It's All Politics
12:34 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

How Ohio Could Swing The Election

Credit Mary Altaffer / AP
A campaign charter flight carrying Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan arrives in Ohio, which has seen nearly nonstop visits from the candidates in recent weeks.

Originally published on Thu October 11, 2012 1:52 pm

Kentucky may be the site for tonight's debate between the vice presidential candidates, but the monster swing state of Ohio remains the focus of White House dreams for President Obama and Mitt Romney.

Both the incumbent and his challenger have been in and out of the state with increasing frequency; GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan plans a trip to the Buckeye State on Friday, after his tangle with Vice President Joe Biden.

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The Two-Way
12:31 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

Panda Cub's Death Due To 'Lung And Liver Damage'

Credit Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times /Landov
Mei Xiang at the National Zoo earlier today. Her cub died last month.

Originally published on Thu October 11, 2012 12:27 pm

The giant panda cub born at Washington's National Zoo did, as first suspected, die on Sept. 23 because of "lung and liver damage" stemming from problems with her development, zoo officials say.

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Election 2012
12:29 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

Proposition 34: Death Penalty Repeal

Credit Casey Christie / The Californian

Our series on the initiatives Californians will be voting on next month continues with a look at Proposition 34, which would repeal the death penalty.

Both sides of the capital punishment debate actually see eye to eye on one thing – the current system isn’t working.

“We haven’t put somebody to death in six years. It is simply a broken system that’s wasted $4 billion or $5 billion," says Steve Smith with the Yes on 34 campaign. 

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The Two-Way
12:18 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

Very Fancy: Scientists Detail A Diamond Encrusted Super-Earth

Credit Haven Giguere / via Yale University
Illustration of the interior of 55 Cancri e — an extremely hot planet with a surface of mostly graphite surrounding a thick layer of diamond, below which is a layer of silicon-based minerals and a molten iron core at the center.

Originally published on Thu October 11, 2012 3:39 pm

Scientists have discovered a world much fancier than our homely, little Earth.

New research that will published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters details a planet that is eight times heavier than Earth and with twice its radius. But instead of being covered in water and granite, it is encrusted in graphite and diamond.

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