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A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that roughly 1 in 5 stars, like our own sun, have an Earth-like planet orbiting around it. That's about 40 billion planets that could support life in the Milky Way galaxy. Melissa Block talks to co-author Geoff Marcy, an astronomy professor at the University of California-Berkeley, about the latest numbers.

Recently, a few musical alchemists have been tweaking popular songs, converting minor keys to major ones and raising questions about how the human brain processes music.

A New Jersey fire department has hired 43 military veterans on to the force this year. The fire chief says their background makes them well-suited to the job, and the recruits say firefighting gives them the sense of camaraderie and responsibility they've missed.

In a not-too-distant future, an artificial intelligence entity determines the fate of the accused in Mercy, starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson.

Scientists are developing new gigapixel cameras that take extremely high-resolution images with astonishing detail. Who needs to see the world with this kind of super-eye?

Utah's surprise decision to legalize same-sex marriage caps a landmark year for gay rights. The last 12 months saw a huge string of victories, from state legislatures, to Congress, to the Supreme Court.

Nigerian Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram claimed credit for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls. The girls remain missing, and parents are pressing the government to find and bring them home.

Recruiters for political parties say it's hard to get women to run for office. They're happy to join a campaign and raise money for others, but put themselves forward? That's a tougher proposition.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan announced a bipartisan budget proposal Tuesday. For more details on the plan, Steve Inskeep speaks with Murray, who led her party in the negotiations.

The once-sleepy tourist town of Noel, Mo., in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, is now home to hundreds of immigrants and newly arrived refugees, thanks largely to the huge Tyson Food Inc. poultry plant. And since the town lacks the infrastructure to serve these new residents, schools have become the de facto safety net.