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Urushiol, the chemical in poison ivy, is also harvested from the Japanese lacquer tree to coat lacquerware. Here, a rash caused by lacquerware that likely was not properly cured.

Spray Lights Up The Chemical That Causes Poison Ivy Rash

Researchers have developed a clever new method to detect the chemical that causes the annoying itch. But urushiol isn't all bad. It's also behind the shine of beautiful Japanese lacquerware.

Volunteers Labor To Get Early Voters Out In Iowa

Early voting is underway in Iowa, a battleground state where the most recent polls give President Obama a very narrow lead in a tight race. Four years ago, Obama carried Iowa with help from a massive ground organization that far outpaced what the GOP was doing. This year, Republicans say that won't be repeated.

Video From Syria Alerts Activist To His Father's Death

Fadi Zeidan disseminates activist videos from Syria, and his dead father was in one of them.

Felix Baumgartner of Austria as he jumps out of the capsule during the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos on Sunday.

A Day Later, The Space Jump Guy Is OK, But How About The Rest Of Us?

Watching Felix Baumgartner's "space jump" on Sunday was exciting, riveting and unnerving. And it does make you wonder: What if something had gone wrong?

Mystery Solved: 'Softball-Sized Eyeball' Likely Belongs To A Swordfish

Experts say based upon the straight-line cuts around the eye, it's likely a fisherman removed it. Swordfish can weigh hundreds of pounds.

Divine Fits On World Cafe

The band features Spoon's Britt Daniel and members of Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs and New Bomb Turks.

Voting stickers at the Miami-Dade County elections office on Oct. 10. A study of online conversations finds that voters in the large, diverse county are discussing issues differently from those in other parts of Florida.

What They're Saying In Swing Counties

A study of online conversation finds some big differences in geographically distinct parts of Florida around the issue of unemployment. This kind of information could be important to President Obama and Mitt Romney in how they shape their messages while visiting the state, and in advertisements.

Chicano Activist Sees Dream Live On In Her Sons

Rosie Castro was a Mexican-American civil rights activist during the 1970s. She passed down her passion for change to her children: Texas State Representative Joaquin Castro and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. For Hispanic Heritage Month, Rosie Castro speaks with host Michel Martin about the Chicano movement and raising her twin sons.

An artist's illustration of PH1, a planet discovered by volunteers from the Planet Hunters citizen science project. PH1, shown in the foreground, is a circumbinary planet and orbits two suns.

Citizen Scientists Discover A Strange Planet In Four-Star System

PH1 orbits two stars and has a second pair of stars revolving around it. Scientists are confused because such a hostile environment should tear apart the world.

Many people infected with polio don't show any symptoms. Some become temporarily paralyzed; for others, it's permanent. In 1952, the polio epidemic reached a peak in the U.S.: almost 58,000 reported cases and more than 3,000 deaths.

Wiping Out Polio: How The U.S. Snuffed Out A Killer

During the early 20th century, polio killed thousands of American children each summer and paralyzed many more. Now, as the world fights to eradicate the virus globally, we look back at the development of the polio vaccine and its successful deployment around the world.

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