A 2009 White House memorandum protects federal scientists from political interference. But a watchdog group alleges that federal officials allowed politics to affect the design of a scientific study — exactly the sort of abuse the directive was designed to prevent.

Businesses' desire to make sense of vast troves of data means mathematicians are in high demand, creating a recruiting war for talented analysts. DJ Patil, a "big data" expert who now recruits for a venture capital firm, compares raw data to clay: shapeless until molded by a gifted mathematician.

The 1997 treaty was supposed to be a first step toward more ambitious actions on climate change. But it's now on the brink of fading into irrelevance as unified, global actions on climate policy have been almost nonexistent.

Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku describes some of the inventions he thinks will appear in the coming century — including Internet-ready contact lenses, space elevators and driverless cars — in his book Physics of the Future.

Up to now, food waste hasn't been a big priority for Unilever, though it's one of the central flaws in the global food system. Now, the company is realizing that it's a big concern among diners.

Smart electric meters are being installed in homes across the country. The wireless devices replace old meters and transmit electricity usage data wirelessly to utilities. But there are concerns about accuracy and safety. Guy Raz talks to David Baker, energy reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, for more.

A presidential pledge to reduce emissions two years ago went nowhere in Congress. Today, the U.S. is spewing more carbon dioxide than ever into the atmosphere. Without meaningful U.S. action on emissions, a global pact seems unlikely to emerge from U.N. climate talks under way in Durban, South Africa.

A 71-year-old amnesiac in Germany has become well known in medical circles there. Even though the patient has lost nearly all memory of his past and has difficulty planning anything in the present or for the future, new research shows the former concert cellist is still able to learn new music. Audie Cornish speaks with Dr. Carsten Finke, a neurologist at The Charite university hospital in Berlin, about the unique patient.

NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Saturday. The MSL is five times heavier than the rovers currently on Mars and has twice as many scientific instruments. It will take nine months for the spacecraft to reach the Red Planet, and there's plenty of things for it to do before then.