Two of the most important human footsteps ever taken -- one on the moon in 1969, the other over three million years ago --  have both been preserved thanks to extraordinary circumstances. They reveal the curious nature of humanity.

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Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a sudden trauma to the brain caused by force. A severe TBI can leave a person almost incapable of functioning. But even a mild TBI, a concussion, can lead to a range of debilitating symptoms.

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For years, trombone player Scott Bean had a cough that wouldn't quit. A doctor later figured out that mold and bacteria living in his trombone caused him to develop a condition that's being called "trombone players' lung."

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The retired admiral tells Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep about challenges he's faced as national incident commander for the spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

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The oil giant's 193-page report says a sequence of failures led to the massive Gulf of Mexico spill that fouled waters and shorelines for months. The company's findings are far from the final word on possible causes of the explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon drill rig.

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A federal judge ruled the government is wrong about a "parade of horribles" that a stay on funding of researcher involving human embryonic stem cells would have on the field. He refused to lift a preliminary injunction imposed last month.

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Government scientists say they are seeing a zone in the Gulf of Mexico that has below-normal levels of oxygen. That indicates bacteria in the area are consuming some of the oil that spewed from BP's well.

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The Food and Drug Administration could approve genetically modified salmon for human consumption. Anne Kapuscinski, professor of Sustainability Science at Dartmouth College, offers her insight.

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Much of the scientific effort that has followed the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has focused on how much oil escaped and where it's gone. But many biologists say they're puzzled by the lack of an organized research effort to measure the damage.

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The Mississippi River has been consistently changing its path across the American landscape. But the shape-shifting river made it not only fascinating and beautiful, but also deadly.

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People's emotional well-being -- happiness -- increases along with their income up to about $75,000, researchers report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Infants and preschoolers who don't get enough nighttime sleep have higher odds of being obese as they grow up. And napping isn't a substitute. Over the past three decades, obesity rates have doubled among children age 2 to 5, and tripled among 6- to 11-year-olds.

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Millions of years ago, the natural environment was shaping us into the species we are now and humans evolved by natural selection.  But as humans continue to evolve, we've turned the notion of natural selection on its head. Nature isn't the only force that picks the genes. Humans are doing it too.

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Wind power, one of the largest segments of the renewable energy market, will experience a sharp decline in growth this year. The slowdown comes as a surprise because the stimulus bill included $43 billion for energy projects -- a big boost for renewable forms of electricity.

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Humans are still evolving, but cultural evolution is far outpacing genetic evolution. Our environment and technology are changing so rapidly that genetic adaptations can't keep up. So we're adapting by learning new things and passing that knowledge onto the next generation.

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An unusual sleepover camp brings together about 20 people who have dementia for a weekend of music, dance, reminiscing and other activities that emphasize strengths instead of losses. While the campers typically won't remember details of the retreat, it lifts their mood, camp staffers say.

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Keeping an active mind helps stave off the development of dementia. But being mentally active might speed up Alzheimer's once it hits, according to new research from Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.

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Bjorn Lomborg, the controversial Danish economist, has pushed his way back into the global warming debate with a book that proposes "smart solutions" to climate change. Those promised solutions rely heavily on R&D aimed at making clean energy cheap, rather than attempts to shut down dirty energy sources. Lomborg says his views haven't changed, but more people are willing to listen to him because international negotiations on limiting greenhouse emissions have accomplished so little.

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With no climate change legislation coming out of the Senate, Sierra Club head Michael Brune says it's time to try a new strategy to fight global warming. Author Bill McKibben says it's time to get angry. Brune and McKibben discuss their ideas for curbing climate change.

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A new study says men who reported having insomnia and who slept less than 6 hours a night were four times more likely to die over a 14-year period when compared to men who reported sleeping well. Sleep researcher and psychiatrist Alexandros Vgontzas explains the finding.

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