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Priska Neely
International Space Station Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore holds up the first object made in space with 3-D printing on Nov. 25.

International Space Station Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore holds up the first object made in space with 3-D printing on Nov. 25. NASA hide caption

itoggle caption NASA

All Tech Considered

To Boldly Go Where No 3-D Printer Has Gone Before: Yep, Space

NASA 3-D printed an object on the International Space Station for the first time this week. It's an important step toward long missions — like to Mars — where all necessary items won't fit on board.

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One of these penguins is not like the others — the chick in front is really a rover, designed by filmmakers and used by scientists to gather data.

One of these penguins is not like the others — the chick in front is really a rover, designed by filmmakers and used by scientists to gather data. Huddle/John Downer Productions/BBC hide caption

itoggle caption Huddle/John Downer Productions/BBC

All Tech Considered

WATCH: The Robotic Baby Penguin That Spies For Scientists

The emperor penguins of Antarctica are adorable. They're also pretty skittish when humans come around to collect data. Researchers at the University of Strasbourg have a solution: a penguin rover.

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A venture capital firm is using the power of big data to target entrepreneurs before they even create startups.

A venture capital firm is using the power of big data to target entrepreneurs before they even create startups. iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

All Tech Considered

Fortune-Tellers, Step Aside: Big Data Looks For Future Entrepreneurs

A venture capital firm is trying to target entrepreneurs before they create startups, or even have a business idea. There's no crystal ball involved — just public data and predictive analytics.

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On Wednesday, Lifetime premiered BAPs, a reality show that follows "an exclusive, privileged and affluent group of African American friends from St. Louis who self-identify as 'BAPs' — Black American Princesses and Princes."

On Wednesday, Lifetime premiered BAPs, a reality show that follows "an exclusive, privileged and affluent group of African American friends from St. Louis who self-identify as 'BAPs' — Black American Princesses and Princes." Richard Knapp hide caption

itoggle caption Richard Knapp

Code Switch

Hoping To Reach A Wider Audience, Lifetime Breaks Out Of Familiar Formula

Lifetime's general manager says the channel is trying to reflect "the true breadth" of America. It recently launched a reality show called BAPs — which stands for "Black American Prince or Princess."

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An artist's concept shows the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, in July 2015.

An artist's concept shows the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, in July 2015. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute hide caption

itoggle caption Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Space

Mark Your Calendars: In A Year, We'll Arrive At Pluto

It takes a long time to travel 3 billion miles. On July 14, 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will finally get a flyby glimpse of the dwarf planet, as part of a mission launched in 2006.

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A mini-drone lands with a 12-pack of beer for ice fishing anglers in Minnesota in January. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded future deliveries when they learned of the service.

A mini-drone lands with a 12-pack of beer for ice fishing anglers in Minnesota in January. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded future deliveries when they learned of the service. AP/Courtesy Lakemaid Beer hide caption

itoggle caption AP/Courtesy Lakemaid Beer

All Tech Considered

Keeping Robots In Line With The Law

Attendees at the annual We Robot conference are peering into the future, pondering questions like, do robots have rights? What kinds of laws do we need to regulate unmanned drones?

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Karen Marie Richardson (right) plays the title role in the Long Beach Opera's staging of Queenie Pie, the jazz opera Duke Ellington left unfinished when he died in 1974.

Karen Marie Richardson (right) plays the title role in the Long Beach Opera's staging of Queenie Pie, the jazz opera Duke Ellington left unfinished when he died in 1974. Bryan Frank/Long Beach Opera hide caption

itoggle caption Bryan Frank/Long Beach Opera

Music News

Duke Ellington's Lost Opera, Forever A Work In Progress

When the prolific composer died in 1974, he left one of his most ambitious projects unfinished. Forty years later, admirers are still trying to fill in the blanks.

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Stickboy, Compressorhead's four-armed drummer rocks out in front of thousands of fans at the Big Day Out music festival.

Stickboy, Compressorhead's four-armed drummer rocks out in front of thousands of fans at the Big Day Out music festival. Shar Try/ekto23 hide caption

itoggle caption Shar Try/ekto23

All Tech Considered

Musical Robots Take The Stage For Harmony, Not Domination

When it comes to heavy metal, one group has claimed the title of "world's heaviest metal band." The humans tinkering with the robots say the goal isn't to replace human musicians.

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Standing on the center console of the Martin Jetpack, a pilot straps in and uses the joysticks to control flight.

Standing on the center console of the Martin Jetpack, a pilot straps in and uses the joysticks to control flight. Lee Howell/Martin Aircraft Co. hide caption

itoggle caption Lee Howell/Martin Aircraft Co.

All Tech Considered

Out Of The Comics, Into Reality: Jet Pack Moves Closer To Market

A New Zealand-based aviation company has been granted permission to conduct piloted tests of the one-person flying machine. It plans to have the jet pack on the market in 2014.

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Marquee painted by Norma Jeanne Maloney on "Honky-tonk Row" in Nashville, Tenn.

Marquee painted by Norma Jeanne Maloney on "Honky-tonk Row" in Nashville, Tenn. Faythe Levine and Sam Macon/Princeton Architectural Press hide caption

itoggle caption Faythe Levine and Sam Macon/Princeton Architectural Press

The Picture Show

'Sign Painters': A Close-Up Focus On An Endangered Art

Before the age of computers and vinyl printers, sign painters worked by hand to illustrate storefronts, billboards and banners. Sign Painters, a new book and documentary by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon, captures the work of artists around the country who are keeping the art alive.

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