Watch: Mosquitoes Use Six Needles to Suck Your Blood

"It's not just idle curiosity that's got scientists hunting down all the bloody details of a mosquito bite. Bites from these bugs are more dangerous to humans than those of any other animal; mosquitoes kill hundreds of thousands of people each year worldwide, and sicken millions more."

"Male mosquitoes don't bite people, but when the females drink our blood to grow their eggs, they can leave behind viruses and parasites that cause diseases like West Nile, malaria, dengue and Zika."

"Part of what makes mosquitoes so good at getting humans sick, researchers are now learning, is the effectiveness of that bite. The mosquito's mouth, also called a proboscis, isn't just one tiny spear. It's a sophisticated system of six thin, needlelike mouthparts that scientists call stylets, each of which pierces the skin, finds blood vessels and makes it easy for mosquitoes to suck blood."

"And these bugs know just where to bite. Mosquitoes have more than 150 receptors — proteins on their antennae and proboscis that help them find victims or figure out if a particular puddle of water has enough nutrients to support mosquito larvae."

Scientists Say They Hope To Create A Human Genome In the Lab

"A group of scientists say they want work toward being able to create a synthetic version of the entire human genetic code in the laboratory."

"Their hope is that a complete set of synthetic human DNA, known as a genome, could someday lead to important medical breakthroughs."

"'We just had a revolution in our ability to read genomes,' says George Church, a geneticist at Harvard University who is part of the group that outlined the plan Thursday in the journal Science. 'The same thing is happening now with writing genomes.'"

"But science is very far away from being able to create a whole human genome, and the idea of manufacturing human genomes in the lab raises many concerns, critics say."

"The worry is that we're going to be synthesizing entire optimized human genomes — manufacturing chromosomes that could be used ultimately to produce synthetic human beings that they see as improved models," says Marcy Darnovsky, who heads the Center for Genetics and Society."

Tea Pride Mystery For One Family That Fled the Nazis: A Tin Canister Held It All

"It was a rusty tin canister, about the size of a coffee can. Inside — always — were bags of Swee Touch Nee tea, with a distinctive, floral, sweet smell."

"The tea was a hallmark in the home of Guta and Mayer Rak. Eda Rak remembers her parents drinking it out of tall glass cups, with a sugar cube between the teeth. It was more than a little embarrassing, she says."

"Before World War II, Mayer Rak had been a writer in Europe. In the decades after, he worked in the garment industry in the Bronx. In between the two lives, he and his wife spent years fleeing Nazi and Soviet persecution."

"They didn't talk much about that time. And they didn't talk about the tea canister, a humble-looking household object, at all. Until one day, they finally mentioned to their daughter that it might hold something more than tea."

The Search For Tastier Supermarket Tomatoes: A Tale in Three Acts

"One of my fondest childhood memories is of eating tomatoes. We picked them in the garden and ate them in sandwiches, sitting on a picnic table under the trees outside our house. That juicy, acidic taste is forever lodged in the pleasure centers of my brain."

"For anyone with similar memories, supermarket tomatoes are bound to disappoint. Indeed, the classic supermarket tomato — hard, tasteless, sometimes mealy — has inspired countless bitter complaints."

"Take a closer look at the tomato display in your local grocery store, though, and you'll notice some big changes."

Sound the Alphorns: World's Longest, Deepest Tunnel Is Officially Open

"Swiss engineer Carl Eduard Gruner first imagined it in 1947: a massive tunnel, unprecedented in length, buried a mile and a half under Switzerland's symbolic Gotthard mountain range."

"Nearly seven decades later, after redesigns, political disagreements and the long, slow work of drilling beneath the Gotthard massif, as it's called, Gruner's dream is complete."

"The Gotthard Base Tunnel — a record-setting 35.4 miles long, and farther below ground than any other tunnel — was inaugurated Wednesday. The occasion was marked with a celebration that promoted "Swiss values such as innovation, precision and reliability," as the tunnel's website puts it."

"The $12 billion project was completed on time, The Associated Press notes."

Solving the Mystery of the Disappearing Quasar

"If this were a Sherlock Holmes story, its title would surely be 'The Case of the Disappearing Quasar.'"

"In this case, however, the mystery wasn't solved by an aging Victorian-era detective, but by a young American astronomer at Penn State University named Jessie Runnoe and her colleagues. They study quasars, some of the brightest objects in the universe."

"Quasars aren't stars. 'They're the result of gas and material falling into a supermassive black hole,' Runnoe says. The gas heats up as it falls in, causing the region to glow brightly."

"The case began early last year."

"Runnoe and her colleagues were studying the properties of the light coming from quasars, something known as the quasar's spectral signature. They wanted to know how the spectral signature changed over time."

Pandemic: Asks, Is A Disease That Will Kill Tens of Millions Coming?

"As public health officials struggle to contain the Zika virus, science writer Sonia Shah tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies that epidemiologists are bracing themselves for what has been called the next "Big One" — a disease that could kill tens of millions of people in the coming years."

"Citing a 2006 survey, Shah says, 'the majority of ... pandemic experts of all kinds, felt that a pandemic that would sicken a billion people, kill 165 million people and cost the global economy about $3 trillion would occur sometime in the next two generations.'"

"In her new book, Pandemic: Tracking Contagions from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond, Shah discusses the history and science of contagious diseases. She notes that humans put themselves at risk by encroaching on wildlife habitats. 'About 60 percent of our new pathogens come from the bodies of animals,' she says."

Hunting Snakes In the Everglades To Protect Native Species

"Florida's Everglades is known for its alligators, and in recent years, pythons. Burmese pythons aren't native to the Everglades. But over the last two decades, the snakes, which can grow up to 20 feet, have become established there and taken a big toll on native wildlife."

"With the pythons, there's another new Florida species — the python hunter. They've been featured on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. And hunters are descending on the Everglades this month for a competition — the Python Challenge."

"Several hundred people have signed up to take part in the month-long python hunt. This weekend, Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a kickoff event where they showed prospective hunters how best to corral a 10-foot long snake."

Food Mood Connection: How You Eat Can Amp Up Or Tamp Down Stress

"Eat more when you're stressed? You're not alone. More than a third of the participants in a national survey conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health said they change their diets during stressful times."

"And many of us are quick to turn to either sugary foods or highly refined carbohydrates such as bagels or white pasta when the stress hits."

"'There can be a bit of a vicious cycle,' says David Ludwig, a professor of pediatrics and nutrition at Harvard University and a researcher at Boston Children's Hospital. 'When we feel stressed we seek foods that are going to comfort us immediately, but often times those foods lead to surges and crashes in hormones and blood sugar that increase our susceptibility to new stresses.'"

"Now, of course, we can't control lots of the events and circumstances that lead to stress. But, Ludwig says, 'our body chemistry can very much affect how that stress gets to us.'"

Norway's National Library Discovers Rare Atlas

"Anders Kvernberg was deep in the vaults of the National Library of Norway when a beautiful atlas caught his eye."

"So, you know. 'It was an ordinary day at work,' he says."

"As a reference librarian, Kvernberg spends his days digging through the library's collections to answer questions from the public — on absolutely any topic. Writing a history book and want to know when a train would run from city A to city B on a particular year? 'We find the old timetables,' he says."

"He was chasing down an unrelated request last month when he saw the atlas. He couldn't read the title or any of the text, but he could make out the printing year, and could identify it as an Ottoman atlas — a very, very early Ottoman atlas."

"And on top of that it was a beautiful copy — it was hand-colored, it had very nice printing, so it was fascinating," he said.

Herman Wouk Says He's A Happy Gent At 100

"Herman Wouk has written a lot of well loved novels like The Winds of War, War and Remembrance and The Caine Mutiny, which won him a Pulitzer Prize. But his latest achievment is a rare one — Wouk reached a milestone that few of us will ever see: the age of 100."

"Many years ago, a well known biographer approached Wouk about writing his life story. He gave her access to his journals, but after reading them, 'she said, your literary career would be wonderful material and I'd love to do it,' Wouk recalls. 'But there is a spiritual journey running through your volumes which only you can do.'"

"Now, Wouk has written that story. He calls it Sailor and Fiddler — the sailor representing his life as a writer, the fiddler his spiritual side. Growing up in the Bronx, Wouk knew he wanted to be a writer, but Judaism was always important to him as well. He loved Mark Twain and Alexandre Dumas, and he also fondly remembers listening to his father read the stories of Sholem Aleichem on Friday nights."

Plan For Cuba Ferry Terminal Reveals Shift In Miami Politics

"It won't be long until passengers will be able to take a ferry to Cuba from Miami, an idea that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago in a city that's home to Cuban exiles who fled from the Castro regime. The Obama administration approved licenses last year to companies that want to run ferries to Cuba. Several are interested. Still, it came as a surprise last week when the port of Miami said it's considering building a new ferry terminal on land that had been slated for development."

"'For me, it seems to be a very logical opportunity,' Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez says. 'There is interest.'"

"There was criticism from some in the Cuban-American community, but compared to the firestorm anything involving Cuba has often sparked in the past, it's a sign that in Miami, times have changed."

Everyday Life In A Bronze-Age Village Emerges In UK Excavation

"What did villagers in England eat for dinner 3,000 years ago? And what were they wearing?"

"These are the kinds of questions that archaeologists believe they can answer with a Bronze Age-era discovery at the Must Farm Quarry, some 80 miles north of London."

"'What's special about this is, it's not the archaeology of the important people. It's not burial mounds. This is the archaeology of the home,' David Gibson from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit says in an interview with All Things Considered."

"The research team says say these circular Bronze Age homes were perched on stilts above a river. Archaeologists believe that when a fire started, the residents fled, and their dwellings sunk into the river where they were preserved by the silt, creating a unique snapshot of everyday life thousands of years ago."

"Among this treasure trove are whole pots with food inside, textiles made from plant fibers, a longboat, weapons and colorful beads."

60's Dish Maggie Smith Says That Was Never Me

"Many Americans know Dame Maggie Smith as the elegant and formidable Dowager Countess of Grantham. But at 81, Smith is now starring in a role that's a long way from Downton Abbey. In The Lady in the Van, Smith is Mary Shepherd — a homeless woman who lived in a derelict van parked in playwright Alan Bennett's driveway for 15 years."

"'She was quite happy on the street,' Smith tells NPR's Renee Montagne. 'But I think Alan was so distressed watching her outside his window all the time that he thought he just had to help.'"

"He never expected her to stay — but she did. And though Shepherd and Bennett didn't become friends by any stretch, the playwright was 'obviously fascinated by her,' says Smith."

"Smith talks with Montagne about the characters she's inhabited in her decades of acting, from 1960s Broadway to Downton Abbey."

British Rock Musician David Bowie At 69

"Legendary rock musician David Bowie, who influenced generations of musicians and fans, died on Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday."

"A statement posted on his Facebook page and confirmed by his publicist, Steve Martin, said Bowie died peacefully, 'surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer.'"

"On Friday, his birthday, Bowie released an album, Blackstar, that he made in collaboration with a quintet of jazz musicians. The surreal music video for one song on the album, "Lazarus," is quintessential Bowie: It features a dead astronaut, creepy figures, strange religious overtones and Bowie singing — at first, blindfolded."

"Bowie's work often addressed inner truths and existential questions. He was always morphing his sound and his look. He even changed the name he was born with: David Robert Jones. Born on Jan. 8, 1947, in South London, Bowie was the son of a waitress and a nightclub owner. In 2003, he told Fresh Air's Terry Gross that as a child, he wanted to be a baritone saxophone player in the Little Richard band. He talked about getting blinded in one eye when he was 13."

Geography of Genius Explores How Surroundings Influence Ideas

"When Eric Weiner sat down to write his new book he had to tackle a big question first: How do you define genius?"

"'That's not as easy as it sounds,' he tells NPR's Rachel Martin. 'I have a slightly unusual definition ... that a genius is someone we all agree on is a genius. It's a social verdict.'"

"Weiner traveled all over the world — to Greece, Italy, Scotland and Silicon Valley — to investigate how genius takes root and grows. His book The Geography of Genius is an exploration of how great thinkers are affected by the places and times in which they live."

Surrounded By Troubled Neighbors, Turkey's Conflict At Home Escalates

"Turkey seems to be surrounded by conflicts these days — in neighboring Syria and Iraq, and tensions are running high with Russia. The fight getting the least attention is the one taking place on Turkey's own soil."

"Turkish security forces resumed operations against minority Kurdish fighters last summer after peace talks broke down. The fighting in the southeast has escalated, with Kurdish areas locked down under military curfews and deadly risks facing those who do venture out."

"Medical workers have been among the recent victims, says Fadime Kavak with the Turkish Medical Chamber. The latest casualty was Abdul Aziz Yural, a nurse who was shot by a sniper while treating a neighbor in the town of Cizre."

"Another nurse, Eyup Ergen, was killed by a sniper while trying to get home, she adds. In addition, 'an ambulance driver, Seyhmuz Dursan, was killed, also by a sniper, while out on an emergency call.'"

Stomach Of Ancient Iceman Held Microbes Like Ours

"Researchers have looked in the stomach of an ancient ice mummy and found the remains of the bacteria that lived in his gut. The results, published in the journal Science, suggest that the community of microbes living on and in humans has existed for millennia."

"Roughly 5,300 years ago, this particular man was hiking across the Oetztal Alps between what's now Italy and Austria when somebody shot him in the back with an arrow. The remains of the fellow, who came to be called Oetzi the Iceman, made headlines when discovered in 1991."

"'He's very well-preserved. You can see that all his tissues and also his skin is still preserved,' says Albert Zink, the head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy."

"Years of study revealed details about the iceman's diet, health and genetic heritage."

New Dietary Guidelines Crack Down On Sugar But Red Meat Gets A Pass

"With January comes lots of diet advice."

"And today comes the official advice from the U.S. government: The Obama administration has released its much-anticipated update to the Dietary Guidelines."

"The guidelines, which are revised every five years, are based on evolving nutrition science and serve as the government's official advice on what to eat."

"One concrete change: Americans are being told to limit sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily calories."

"As we've reported, lots of Americans consume up to 22 teaspoons a day. To meet the new 10 percent target, they'd need to cut their sugar intake by nearly half — to no more than 12 teaspoons a day on a 2,000-calorie daily diet."

400 Years After Death Shakespeares First Folio Goes Out On Tour

"One of the world's most precious volumes starts a tour on Monday, in Norman, Okla. The  Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is sending out William Shakespeare's First Folio to all 50 states to mark the 400th anniversary of the bard's death. Published seven years after he died, the First Folio is the first printed collection of all of Shakespeare's plays."

"The Folger has 82 First Folios — the largest collection in the world. It's located several stairways down, in a rare manuscript vault. To reach them, you first have to get through a fire door ... (if a fire did threaten these priceless objects, it would be extinguished not with water — never water near priceless paper — but with a system that removes oxygen from the room)."

"A massive safe door comes next — so heavy it takes two burly guards to open it, and then yet another door, which triggers a bell to alert librarians that someone has entered. After that, there's yet another door and an elevator waaaay down to a vault that nearly spans the length of a city block, says Folger director Michael Witmore."