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The bacterium D. radiodurans can survive thousands of times more radiation than any other living creature -- because it has a unique ability to repair genetic damage extremely efficiently. Scientists have been trying to discover how the bug pulls of this nifty trick for 40 years. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports.

Carmakers consult the atlas and the thesaurus in the search for exotic new vehicle names.

Ed Ward profiles guitar prodigy Link Wray.

The escalator arrives in Cambodia, and it's catching on -- though some shoppers need a little help figuring out how to use it.

In the first of a three-part series on cloning, NPR's Joe Palca reports on the stem cell research that's being conducted at publicly funded research labs in Britain. The stem cells are derived from human embryos that are discarded by in-vitro fertilization clinics. Scientists around the world oppose the use of cloning techniques to create human babies. But they support the cloning of embryos for stem cell research, which has the potential to produce new treatments for various diseases.

NPR's Richard Gonzales reports that thousands of California's convicted sex offenders have failed to register their addresses with local police, despite a requirement that they do so every year. An analysis by the Associated Press shows that close to half of rapists and child molesters have failed to register since the state set up a database in compliance with a 1996 federal law. National victims' rights groups said they believe the problem is not limited to California.

A chain of Hong Kong health clubs emphasizes modesty -- or perhaps vanity -- in an age of instant information. Also, they name hurricanes, don't they? Well, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson has a plan to personalize a much different -- and more local -- form of natural disaster.

NPR's Ivan Watson reports al Qaeda and Taliban fighters have stepped up infiltrations into Afghanistan from Pakistani border provinces. U.S. commanders say they will exercise their right of pursuit if the fighters cross back into Pakistan.

The Food and Drug Administration suspends more than two dozen gene-therapy studies after a second child in a French genetic experiment is diagnosed with leukemia. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Richard Knox.

Prosecutors in Northern Virginia ask a juvenile court to rule that John Lee Malvo, 17, be tried as an adult for the murder of FBI employee Linda Franklin. Malvo is one of two suspects in a series of sniper-style shootings -- mostly in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. -- that left 13 people dead. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.