The ISS was launched in 1998, and now it’s getting old and rusty and needs renovation. An addition will be added with a BEAM (Bigelow Expandable Activity Module), which is a kind of balloon that is carried up to space flat and blown up after it arrives. Robert Bigelow is the man behind the famous NIDS ranch (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show).

Once we can spend more time in space, who knows what we’ll discover?
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Is homosexuality genetic? It’s a long-running debate. This is an important question, because if this was proven (and accepted by lawyers and lawmakers), then discrimination against gays, such as state bans on gay marriage, would be ruled unconstitutional.

Now researchers say they’ve found a clue that may unlock the mystery. It lies in something called epi-genetics–how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches. They found that the transmission of sex-specific epi-marks may signal homosexuality.
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Sudden stratospheric warming has split the polar vortex in two. The polar vortex, which forms as the atmosphere loses heat to space in long Arctic winter night, was split in two by massive heating from below, as a series of intense storms in the far north Pacific intensified. Energy went upwards from the lower atmosphere around the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau and broke into the stratosphere, causing major sudden warming.

But wouldn’t that make it warmer instead of colder? Surprisingly, no–this creates SEVERE winter weather.
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