The zombie fungus from 'The Last Of Us' is real — but not nearly as deadly This species of fungus, Ophiocordyceps, is known for using "mind control" on insect hosts. Humans, however, are immune. Giulia Heyward
Hear it again: Discovering the mysteries rumbling beneath our feet Seismographs are picking up rumblings from sources other than earthquakes all the time. In those cases, scientists have to become detectives to track down just what created those "exotic events." Libby Denkmann
Earth will have 'a very close encounter' with an asteroid tonight, NASA says There's no reason for alarm — but, a NASA engineer calls it "one of the closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded." It will be only 2,200 miles above the Earth's surface. Bill Chappell
A deadly disease is threating honeybees, but a new vaccine could help A first of its kind vaccine for honeybees is close to coming to market to fight a disease that currently means burning infected hives. It's a little extra help as bees try to deal with climate change. Emily Jones
Parasites have a bad rap but play an important role in the animal kingdom New research points to a steep decline of parasites in Puget Sound fish. Climate change is the likely culprit. Hans Anderson
Why architectural marvels from Ancient Rome are still standing NPR's Scott Simon talks to Admir Masic, professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT, about what made concrete used by Ancient Romans so incredibly durable. Scott Simon
First orca to be stranded in southeast U.S. in decades showed signs of illness A killer whale more than 20 feet long died after beaching itself in Palm Coast, Fla. This is the third known orca to be stranded in the southeastern U.S. and the first since 1956, an official says. Kaitlyn Radde
The UAE names the head of its main state oil company to lead COP28 The United Arab Emirates is preparing to host this year's global U.N. climate summit, but its pick to lead the talks is raising eyebrows. Aya Batrawy
NASA's Webb telescope has discovered its first exoplanet The exoplanet was found using a satellite and spectrography. It has a similar size as Earth, but is much hotter and completes its orbit around its star in two days. Ayana Archie
Extreme weather, fueled by climate change, cost the U.S. $165 billion in 2022. The U.S. endured 18 separate billion-dollar disasters in 2022, highlighting the growing damages of human-caused climate change. Nathan Rott
