Science

It looks as though Minnesota's Iron Range could be in for a business boom. Five years ago, many Minnesotans might have been ready to write off the Iron Range, as LTV Steel Mining Co. closed its sprawling taconite mine in Hoyt Lakes. But now, half a dozen new industries may be coming to the Range.

The new Minneapolis library, its 365,000 square feet filled with three million books, 300 public computers and an art gallery, expects 20,000 visitors when it opens Saturday.

This weekend Millipede, Mangler and Borg Queen Barby will battle at Mechwars 9 in Minneapolis. It's a biannual competition between remote control robots fighting to obliteration. Design, engineering and fun all go into making the 'bots, but destruction is the only thing that makes a winner.

Response to the newest exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota has been overwhelming. According to the museum, in just the first weekend, over 12,000 people have seen "Body Worlds." All Things Considered host Tom Crann toured the exhibit with Dr. Jon Hallberg.

Movie depictions of people in comas are so inaccurate one Mayo Clinic doctor says it's almost funny. Almost. His research indicates poor representations may affect how people deal with coma in their own lives.

The Body Worlds exhibit features the world's first anatomical presentations of real human bodies.

The Internet population is growing again after a period of stagnation, according to a new poll from the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Gas prices are headed up. Analysts say we'll be paying upwards of $3 a gallon at the pump before Memorial Day. Will people start looking to electric cars, reaching for the ethanol and springing for the latest hybrids to save money?

Spurred on by President Bush, several companies are racing to build the nation's first biomass ethanol plant. A group of Minnesota and South Dakota farmers hope to win the contest.

Researchers are working to develop a foolproof technology to detect when people are lying. But while such a device could help solve crimes and protect the nation against terrorism, it could also have profound social implications.