Science

Google charmed by grandma's polite searches
It's been a rough week in the news. So take a few minutes to consider an unusual story -- of good manners. On the Internet!
Russia launches world's biggest, most powerful icebreaker
The 568-foot-long Arktika is powered by two nuclear reactors and capable of breaking through ice 13 feet deep. Russia's interest in the Arctic is rising along with global temperatures.
Scientists say they've unearthed a completely new kind of meteorite
Scientists say that in a Swedish quarry, they've uncovered a meteorite unique among the 50,000 known on Earth today. They say it could hold clues about the history of the solar system.
U.S. appeals court holds up net neutrality rules in full
The idea of net neutrality is that phone and cable companies should treat all of the traffic on their networks equally. The court rejected a lawsuit by telecom, cable and wireless industry associations against the new FCC rules.
MPR's Kerri Miller hosts science writer Mary Roach for the latest edition of the 'Thread' series. Roach is the author of books with such intriguing titles as "Stiff," "Spook" and "Gulp." Her newest book is "Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans At War."
Microsoft to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in cash
The per-share price of $196 equals $26.2 billion -- or to put it in terms runners will understand, roughly $1 billion for each mile of a marathon.
Hello, nihonium: Scientists name 4 new elements on the periodic table
The new superheavy, radioactive elements were added to the periodic table last year but given temporary and unremarkable names: ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium and ununoctoium.
Fossils suggest island life shrank our 'Hobbit' relatives
Scientists say tiny bones dating back 700,000 years on the Indonesian island of Flores shine new light on how these mysterious, 3-foot-tall creatures got that way.
Mayo Clinic is starting the process of finding a developer for Discovery Square. It will be a big bio-research campus, part of the Destination Medical Center. Tom Weber talked with Mayo's President and CEO, Dr. John Noseworthy.
Watch: Mosquitoes use 6 needles to suck your blood
Beyond pesky, mosquitoes kill hundreds of thousands of people worldwide each year. And the bites aren't random. A mouth packed with sensors, drills, spears and straws guides the bug to blood.