NPR People: Jon Hamilton

Clairvoyant computers may be nearer to reality than you'd think. In a new study, a computer program that analyzes brain scans was able to detect participants' thoughts — or at least their memories of a short film they were thinking about.

Every few decades, the sun experiences a particularly large storm that can release as much energy as 1 billion hydrogen bombs. Officials from Europe and the U.S. say an event like that could leave millions on Earth without electricity, running water and phone service.

People who struggle to remember faces can blame their parents. The ability to remember a face is inherited, according to a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Rom Houben became famous for supposedly communicating his innermost thoughts through a trained facilitator after doctors initially concluded that a car accident had left him in a vegetative state. Now, Houben's doctor says those reports appear to be false.

A new study reveals that ancient Egypt's best known pharaoh, Tutankhamen, was born with a clubfoot, a cleft palate and a severe bone disease. Researchers say he probably spent much of his life in pain before dying at 19 from the combined effects of malaria and a broken leg.

Driving a Toyota may seem like a pretty risky idea these days. For weeks, there have been reports about sudden acceleration, failing brakes and car recalls. Beliefs that these problems are greatly increasing the risk of driving, has a lot more to do with emotion than statistics. A risk specialist says people think something is more dangerous if it's imposed on them — like a recall.

Driving a Toyota may feel pretty risky these days, but experts say that has more to do with emotion than statistics. A very small fraction of deaths in Toyota crashes can be linked to accelerator problems. Many more are caused by serious — yet avoidable — risks that drivers engage in daily.

Researchers have referred to Asperger's as high-functioning autism for years, but it's never been listed officially as a form of autism by the American Psychiatric Association. But an updated edition of a mental health disorder guide now says Asperger's really is a form of autism — and some of those with Asperger's are objecting.

Scientists have shown that our aversion to losing money is all in our heads — specifically a part of the brain called the amygdala. A study of two people with damage to the amygdala, but no other part of the brain, found they had no problem taking risky bets that most people would avoid.

Airlines are checking the weather in space these days before taking some of their longest flights. That's because thousands of flights each year now cross the poles, where cosmic storms can interfere with communication and navigation systems, or even expose travelers to worrisome doses of radiation.

Scientists attending the American Meteorological Society meeting in Atlanta say the field has weathered a storm created two months ago when hackers released e-mails from some prominent climate scientists. They say the e-mails revealed bad behavior by a small number of researchers and revealed some weaknesses in the scientific process. But the scientists say the e-mails did nothing to undermine the data showing that climate change is real.

Scientists have confirmed that men are still evolving — or at least the male chromosome is. Y chromosome is what makes men men. A few years ago, scientists began wondering whether it was in trouble. When they compared it to the X chromosome, which is carried by both men and women, the Y chromosome didn't seem to measure up.

The Transportation Security Administration is about to put hundreds of high-tech scanners in U.S. airports to deter terrorists. The scanners use a technology called backscatter X-ray. It's impressive, but some say it's far from perfect

A study of blind people has revealed how bright light can intensify the pain of a migraine headache. The finding also could help scientists explain why some migraine sufferers are sensitive to certain smells and sounds.

Researchers in California have identified 10 regional clusters where autism rates are roughly double that of surrounding areas. Most of the clusters are in places where parents have higher-than-average levels of education and researchers found no evidence of environmental risk factors.