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Scientists say biochar can help dry, sandy soils, like the one pictured here, retain water and nutrients.

How Homegrown Charcoal May Get Your Garden Through A Drought

Biochar has enjoyed a certain revival because it can pull and store the carbon in greenhouse gases from the air. Everyone from California grape growers to home gardeners on YouTube are trying it out.

Republican presidential candidate, former Sen. Rick Santorum, speaks at a campaign rally in West Monroe, La. on Friday.

While Santorum Shoots Gun, Woman Shouts, 'Pretend It's Obama'

The GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum quickly called the remarks "terrible and horrible."

'Losing Control' In The Movies

A new romantic comedy opens in theaters this week, and it stars a scientist as the likeable, and only slightly nerdy, main character. The film's writer and director, former scientist Valerie Weiss discusses Losing Control, and why she made the shift from lab bench to big screen.

The red dots are <em>Bordatella pertussis</em> bacteria, the cause of whooping cough.

Whooping Cough Bacteria May Be Changing Their Ways In Australia

Whooping cough has reappeared in the U.S. and other developed countries in recent years, despite widespread use of vaccines. Researchers in Australia offer a partial explanation: they say the vaccine isn't tailored to fight some of the most common strains of the bacteria.

Connie Marrero, age 100, was a major league all-star who struck out the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. He returned to his native Cuba after his career ended. He's now the oldest living ex-major leaguer and is finally getting a pension payment. He's shown here at his apartment in Havana.

At 100, Cuban All-Star To Get A Pension At Last

The oldest living former major league baseball player lives in Cuba. Conrado "Connie" Marrero pitched for the Washington Senators in the 1950s. Now blind and unable to walk, Marrero still remembers striking out Joe DiMaggio. And the former pitcher is finally getting a pension.

Dissecting Santorum's Ominous 'Obamaville' Ad

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum released what may be the hardest-hitting ad of the 2012 campaign. "Welcome to Obamaville," shot and scored like a trailer for a Hollywood horror film, features a split-second flash of President Obama's face superimposed over the image of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Guest host Laura Sullivan speaks to NPR's David Folkenflik about the ad.

Thousands of people try to cross the desert from Mexico into the United States every year.

'Living, Breathing Archaeology' In The Arizona Desert

Every year, thousands of migrants cross the border from Mexico to Arizona, leaving behind artifacts from their journeys. Some of the items end up in trash bags, others in a museum. Still others end up in the morgue.

Artyom Savelyev, now 9, plays with a Matryoshka doll in a children's hospital in Moscow in 2010. The American woman who adopted him sent him back to Russia two years ago.

In Contentious System, Hope For A Russian Orphan

Artyom Savelyev's adoptive mother in Tennessee put him on a plane two years ago and sent him back to his homeland, unaccompanied. Now, he's living with a foster mother near Moscow. The 9-year-old's journey highlights the challenges both within Russia and between Russia and the U.S. over how to care for orphans.

Louisa McQueeney manages a small business in Lantana, Fla., shipping gift food and produce. She believes the new health care law could bring down her employee health care costs, but Florida Gov. Rick Scott disagrees, and he's leading the battle to strike down the law in court.

Sunshine State Bets On Sunset For Health Care Act

While most states are scrambling to comply with the Affordable Care Act, Florida has a different, high-stakes strategy. Republican leaders are betting that the Supreme Court will strike down the law, and have rejected and returned federal grants to help develop a health care exchange.

Supreme Court Doesn't Budge On Push For Cameras

Not one second of the six hours of arguments on the health care law will be either seen or heard in real time by anyone not at the Supreme Court. The nation's highest court has turned down requests to allow live broadcasts of this week's historic proceedings.

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