China launched an experimental spacecraft from the Gobi desert this week. The unmanned Tiangong-1 (which means "Heavenly Palace-1") is expected to orbit Earth for two years. Journalist Miles O'Brien discusses planned docking missions for the craft and China's space program.

In the new movie "Contagion" virologist W. Ian Lipkin served as both a technical advisor for the film, and as the inspiration for one of its main characters (a virus hunter named "Ian"). Lipkin discusses his role in the film and his own work identifying real-life viruses.

Kevin Shea is a retired New York City firefighter with an unorthodox home. He lives in a 93,000 cubic-foot-geodesic dome, equipped with solar panels, a wind turbine, and a geothermal system. The home is on the grid, but outside the box.

David Attenborough has produced dozens of shows and books about how plants and animals live. But his latest, Flying Monsters 3D, takes a look at creatures that have been extinct for around 65 million years--pterosaurs, or flying reptiles--and examines why they may have evolved to fly.

Analysts say manufacturer First Solar needs federal support to keep its competitive edge and to drive down the cost to produce solar panels, a key factor to industry success. But the kind of federal loan guarantees given to failed energy company Solyndra are increasingly unpopular in Washington.

NASA's most accurate census yet of near-Earth asteroids suggests that astronomers already know the location of more than 90 percent of the largest asteroids that could cause mass extinctions. The survey also suggests there are far fewer midsize asteroids than expected, but scientists don't know where most of these are.

Though the Illinois Department of Natural Resources can only guess at the number of skunks in the state by counting roadkill, officials and residents of Chicago say they see — and smell — a dramatic increase in the number of skunks.

Analyzing the tweets of millions of users suggested cross-cultural, Earth-wide trends in peoples' moods across days and weeks: We're more positive in the morning and late evening. The results point to new ways that academic research might tap into social media.

The chemicals in rotting fruit excites male fruit flies, even before they catch a whiff of their future mates. After they mate on the fruit and leave the eggs behind, their larvae can hatch into a nutrient-rich world.