Science

In all the talk about the space shuttle Discovery, now set to blast off July 26, not much has been made of the fact that two women are part of the crew, including Discovery's commander, Eileen Collins. Twenty-two years ago, when Challenger astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space, it was very big news. Ride spoke about her historic mission recently at the Commonwealth Club of California.

The Benjamin Noble disappeared into Lake Superior an April 1914 storm, and it's been the target of a lot of unsuccessful searches over the years. But now a few people know exactly where it is.

Low water on the Missouri River means more shoreline exposed. That also means there are more artifacts exposed. Looters are hitting the jackpot and law enforcement is cracking down.

Transit received mostly good news from the long legislative session. Midmorning discusses the future of service, fares and mass transportation.

A new study says hands-free cell phones still pose distractions that lead to accidents. This comes at a time when the Minnesota legislature may pass a law to penalize teenaged drivers who use cell phones.

Though it is highly speculative this far in advance, a recent Zogby International poll shows that if Democrats had to choose right now, they'd likely nominate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., as their 2008 presidential candidate. Clinton avoided talking presidential politics in a speech Sunday at the Aspen Ideas Forum in Aspen, Colo., focusing her remarks on the importance of science in the global economy.

Author David Plotz explores the history of the Repository for Germinal Choice, a sperm bank exclusively for Nobel Prize winners. The writer tracks down the clinic's offspring and their donor "parents."

Two of the top researchers in the fields of planetary science and study of the universe talk about the recent advances.

Two of the top researchers in the fields of planetary science and study of the universe talk about the recent advances.

One of the newest fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is a Minnesotan and custodian of Jane Goodall's data from the Gombe Chimpanzee Reserve.