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Following a lengthy debate on science and life, the House passes a ban on all human cloning. The measure covers clones created for medical research, and envisions stiff fines and prison sentences for violators. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

How do tiny creatures weighing about as much as two pennies survive the brutal winters of northern climes? It's a question that fascinates biology professor Bernd Heinrich. His recent book, Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival., tackles that and many other mysteries of the natural world in winter. NPR's Andrea de Leon caught up with the author in the snowy woods of western Maine.

Melissa Block talks to Rob Cockerham, who finds creative ways to quantify the contents of everyday containers. These include containers for toothpaste, Magic Shell, and shaving cream. He takes photos of his projects and posts them online.

NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on a two-day meeting convened by the National Cancer Institute to talk about early events in pregnancy and the risk of breast cancer. Much of the meeting is closed to the public, and there's considerable discussion about abortion and the risk of breast cancer. The N.C.I. altered its scientific summary of the risks, changing its position that the risk is all-but-non-existent to a stance that science supports a risk. Critics charge that politics are influencing science on this topic, but opponents of abortion say the institute is finally interpreting the science correctly.

With his writing partner, Fred Ebb, Kander wrote the music for the original Broadway musical Chicago. The movie version of Chicago is nominated for 13 Academy Awards this year. Kander and Ebb are nominated for their song "I Move On." Kander and Ebb also wrote the music for the shows Cabaret, The Act, Woman of the Year, and Flora the Red Meance, and the Martin Scorsese movie musical New York, New York. Both Chicago and Cabaret have recently been revived on Broadway.

NASA releases e-mails demonstrating that a day before space shuttle Columbia's demise, engineers privately worried about the impact of tile damage sustained at launch. The e-mails explored prophetic "what-if" scenarios that concluded the orbiter could lose its left wing and break up high in the atmosphere. Hear NPR's Richard Harris.

His new book is What Liberal Media? The Truth about Bias and the News. While most critics of the media say reporters are too liberal, Alterman contends the opposite is true, and that the bulk of reporting is quite conservative. Alterman currently writes for The Nation and the Altercation weblog. He's been a contributing editor or writer for Worth, Rolling Stone, Elle, Mother Jones, World Policy Journal and The Sunday Express (London).

A criminal investigation is under way in the wake of a fire that left at least 96 people dead at a Rhode Island nightclub. Owners of The Station say the band Great White, whose performance at the club included a pyrotechnics display, is responsible for the disaster, but investigators have yet to assign blame. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

Investigators in Rhode Island try to learn why last week's blaze spread so quickly inside a West Warwick nightclub, killing at least 97 patrons. The state attorney general wants answers from the club's owner. Among the issues: whether rock band Great White had permission for pyrotechnics. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.

Iraq says it is studying a U.N. order to dismantle its Al Samoud 2 missile program, but withholds making a decision on the order. Meanwhile, as the possibility of war with Iraq increases, the Bush administration's new new office of postwar planning scrambles to organize a strategy. Hear journalist Paul Eedle and NPR's Jackie Northam.