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Zoo Crafts Love Nest To Save Ozark's Salamanders

Credit Jeff Briggler / Missouri Department of Conservation

An adult Ozark hellbender is typically brown or green with black markings that help it blend in with its rocky river-bottom habitat.

Credit Veronique LaCapra / St. Louis Public Radio

Two outdoor raceways, or artificial streams, are home to 16 adult Ozark hellbenders at the Saint Louis Zoo. The screens keep the hellbenders in –- and unwanted predators like raccoons out.

Credit Mark Wanner / Saint Louis Zoo

Ozark hellbender embryos developing in their eggs at the Saint Louis Zoo.

By Veronique LaCapra

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It's flat. It's slimy. And it hides under rocks on the river bottom. It's the Ozark hellbender, and at up to two feet in length, it's one of the world's largest salamanders.

But Ozark hellbenders are disappearing: Fewer than 600 are left in the rivers of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Scientists have been making a huge effort to get them to breed in captivity. And now, thanks to a major effort at the Saint Louis Zoo, 2012 could be the year of new hope for hellbenders.

2:57 pm

Thu January 5, 2012

How A Computer Scientist Tried To Save Greece

Credit Flickr user: MyThoughtsMindMaps

Diomidis Spinellis used a mind map like this to find tax cheats.

By editor

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 10:13 am

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It's like a bad joke. Why did the Greek government borrow so much money?

Because it couldn't get its own citizens to pay taxes.

The Greek government estimates that one third of taxes owed never get paid. And apparently it was far easier to borrow money even at outrageous rates than to make Greeks pay what they owe.

So in 2009, the Greek finance ministry called in an unlikely hero: A methodical, computer science professor at Athens University, Diomidis Spinellis.

2:48 pm

Thu January 5, 2012

Spotlight Shines On Late Riser Rick Santorum

Credit Alex Wong / Getty Images for Meet the Press

Then-Sen. Rick Santorum is interviewed after a debate with his Democratic challenger, Bob Casey, in 2006. Santorum later lost the Senate seat to Casey.

By Andrea Seabrook

Rick Santorum has been upsetting elections from the beginning.

He was only 32 years old when he toppled a seven-term incumbent in a majority Democratic district in western Pennsylvania.

Just four years later, Santorum rode the Republican wave of 1994 into the Senate representing Pennsylvania. And from the beginning, Santorum has stood for unwavering social conservatism, especially on the issue of abortion.

"Give the baby a chance to live," said Santorum while delivering a speech on the Senate floor in 1997.

2:40 pm

Thu January 5, 2012

Fears Grow Over Faulty French-Made Breast Implants

Credit Sebastien Nogier / AFP/Getty Images

French-made breast implants produced by Poly Implant Prothese company (shown here in a photo taken Jan. 1 in Saint Raphael, southeastern France) have been found to be faulty and are at the heart of a growing health scandal.

By Eleanor Beardsley

A scandal involving French-made breast implants continues to widen.

The implants contain industrial-grade silicone that cause abnormally high rupture rates, according to critics. They have been sold in many countries in Europe and beyond, though not in the United States. Now, the French government has opened a criminal investigation into the company.

French television showed footage on Thursday of investigators and a judge searching the factory of the Poly Implant Prothese company, or PIP, in southern France.

2:35 pm

Thu January 5, 2012

Dog Trained As Ultimate Whale Pooper Snooper

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Credit Ashley Ahearn / KUOW

Trainer Liz Seely looks on as Tucker takes to the bow and sniffs the waves.

Credit Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images

Orca poop is a "treasure trove of information," says Sam Wasser, the director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington.

By editor

Originally published on Sat January 7, 2012 4:33 pm

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Killer whales in Puget Sound aren't doing very well. They were placed on the endangered species list in 2005, and there are several hypotheses for why they're not recovering.

In Puget Sound, a team of researchers is relying on a secret weapon with a killer nose to figure out what's wrong with the orcas in Northwestern waters.

'A Treasure Trove Of Information'

Scientists suspect lack of food, boat traffic and pollution are to blame, but no one knows for sure. Some think the answer might be found in the whales' wake — specifically, their poop.

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3:11 pm

Thu January 5, 2012