- Brian Vastag
- Reporter
Brian Vastag is a science reporter at The Washington Post, where he covers general science, the environment, climate change, and space. He covered the 2011 Japanese earthquake and the subsequent meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant; the heavy storms that battered the Southeast in 2011; parrot conservation efforts in Qatar; and the final launch of the space shuttle. From 2004 to 2010, Vastag freelanced for some 40 publications, including U.S. News & World Report, New Scientist, Health, Nature, Science, Scientific American, Science News and National Geographic News. From 2000 to 2004, Vastag served as Washington news editor for the Journal of the American Medical Association. Vastag has made live radio appearances on BBC World Service, WNYC, and Public Radio International’s The World, and television appearances on MSNBC and CNN Headline News.
- Experts disparage use of test for prostate cancer, but many men may reject advice
- SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docks with international space station
- With milestone launch, SpaceX aims to make space cheap — and cool
- Starship dreamers launch 100-year mission with DARPA grant
- Government task force discourages routine testing for prostate cancer
- ‘Radical’ bill seeks to reduce cost of AIDS drugs by awarding prizes instead of patents
- Paralyzed woman moves robotic arm with her thoughts
- Black men who have prostate cancer surgery fare worse than white men
- FDA panel recommends approval of drug to prevent HIV infection
- Mayan prophecy: The world won’t end, as a newfound calendar goes on and on and on
- IUDs are the most effective emergency contraceptive
- Previously unreleased photographs show impact of BP oil on endangered sea turtles
- Group pulls plug on billboard linking global warming believers to terrorists
- SpaceX launch of Dragon capsule to space station to put NASA strategy on display
- Astronaut joins effort to profit from harvesting raw materials in space
- Tireless tracker rewrote the book on dinosaurs in Maryland
- Space shuttle Discovery gets red-carpet treatment at Air and Space Museum
- NASA’s Discovery shuttle wows Washington in 45-minute flyover
- Space shuttle Discovery flies into Washington at 10 a.m.
- Scientists become superstars as TEDMED moves to Washington
- ‘What a phenomenal vehicle’: Discovery’s pilots recall amazing rides
- Space shuttle Discovery takes the ground crew’s hearts with it
- Discovery space shuttle: Where to watch the D.C. flyover
- Discovery’s last flight sends it to Smithsonian
- Doctors groups call for end to unnecessary procedures
- Reports link heat waves, deluges to climate change
- Sit at your peril
- NASA probe offers new view of Mercury: an alien world right in our back yard
- Stomach surgery more effective than medicine for diabetes, studies find
- James Cameron ‘bearing witness’ in the deepest dark
- James Cameron becomes first solo explorer to reach the deepest point of ocean
- Chile mountain blasted to make way for Giant Magellan Telescope (live video)
- Hidden data show that antipsychotic drugs are less effective than advertised
- Not so fast: Second experiment refutes faster-than-light particles
- Environmental groups call for tighter regulation of ‘extreme genetic engineering’
- Extreme photographer captures aurora borealis
- Space scientist at NASA helped get the U.S. back on the road to Mars
- Solar storms ramp up, take aim at Earth
- Onslaught of solar flares bring space weather storms to Earth
- Radical theory of first Americans places Stone Age Europeans in Delmarva 20,000 years ago
- Kennedy Space Center at 50: A spaceport in transition
- John Glenn’s flight, 50 years ago, made history
- U.S. will lead new effort to cut global warming from methane, soot
- Budget boosts National Science Foundation
- Mars program takes a hit in NASA’s flat budget
- Obama’s budget would cut Mars program, solar system exploration
- Castaway lizards put evolution to the test
- NASA: More space station delays as Russian vehicle fails ground test
- Recommendation to censor bird flu research driven by fears of terrorism
- 45 years after America’s first space tragedy, lessons linger
- To spy a black hole, astronomers will build a virtual globe-spanning telescope
- Panel allows ‘leap second’ to keep clocks aligned with Earth’s rotation
- Biggest solar storm since 2005 underway, will peak Tuesday
- Sun shoots a fastball at Earth, but minimal impact expected
- CDC expands ‘bush meat’ tests for viruses
- Incoming space junk: Failed Russian Mars probe expected to crash this weekend
- Study: Simple measures could reduce global warming, save lives
- U.S. pledges $1.8 million in response to unethical Guatemalan medical studies
- Study: Routine prostate cancer testing does not save lives
- NASA’s lunar probes will test theory of why one side of the moon is lopsided
- Avastin for ovarian cancer slows tumors but fails to prolong life
- Study linking virus to chronic fatigue syndrome retracted amid controversy
- Astronomers detect first Earth-size planets orbiting another star
- NIH temporarily bans new chimpanzee research
- Higgs boson: Scientists say they are homing in on ‘God particle’
- Scientists close in on linchpin of physics, the ‘God particle’
- Smithsonian’s scan man in high demand
- Russia gives up on failed Mars probe, braces for crash landing next month
- Newest alien planet is just the right temperature for life
- Telescope images present a history of the universe at the Smithsonian
- At the bottom of the world, a controversial search for cosmic leftovers
- Debris passes by space station without forcing astronauts to seek shelter
- NASA and National Science Foundation are spared from big budget cuts
- Congress kills request for National Climate Service
- Second experiment confirms faster-than-light particles
- Jupiter’s moon Europa: Lake theory boosts hopes for life
- Congress tells NASA to finish space telescope and build a new rocket
- Crews rush to save Russian Mars probe stranded in Earth orbit
- Rare asteroid will fly by Earth on Tuesday evening
- Mysteries of space are discussed by theoretical physicist S. James Gates Jr.
- Budget pressures squeeze the dreams of Mars explorers
- As asteroid flies by, scientists will stare
- Nuclear power plant remains offline after August earthquake
- Deep reef ‘twilight zones’ slowly yield their secrets to explorers
- Budget fight rages over James Webb Space Telescope
- Dangerous exotic animals turned loose, hunted down in Ohio
- Army to phase out animal nerve-agent testing
- South African cave yields paint from dawn of humanity
- Marijuana study of traumatized veterans stuck in regulatory limbo
- Tevatron atom smasher’s close ends era of big science
- Particles faster than light: Revolution or mistake?
- Dinosaur hunters make curious find in Prince George’s County
- From ‘Star Wars’ to reality: Astronomers discover Tatooine world with two suns
- College Park resident finds a fossil first: a hatchling armored dinosaur
- New ‘super-Earth’ that is 36 light-years away might hold water, astronomers say
- Va. nuclear plant experienced ‘strong’ shaking in Aug. 23 quake
- Possible human relative, 2 million years old, a ‘snapshot of evolution in action’
- NASA needs more astronauts, report says
- NASA releases new high-resolution images of moon landings
- At North Anna nuclear plant, reassurances but no final data on quake impact
- Brightest supernova in decades serves up cosmic clues for astronomers
- Quake shifted nuclear storage containers at Virginia plant
- Inspectors check Virginia nuclear plant for earthquake damage
- Earthquake brought seismometer of ‘citizen scientist’ to life in Charlottesville
- What damage could Hurricane Irene’s strong winds do?
- Field tests show bacterial oddball can be a dengue destroyer
- For central Virginia’s seismic zone, quake is an event of rare magnitude
- NIH finalizes financial conflict of interest rules
- Oldest ‘microfossils’ raise hopes for life on Mars
- National Zoo elephant has an ‘aha’ moment
- Plants and animals migrating upward as climate changes
- Mammal self-portraits highlight value of rain-forest conservation
- Chimpanzee research an endangered species as experts debate usefulness, ethics
- DNA building blocks found in meteorites
- NASA’s Jupiter probe will peer back to beginning of solar system
- Destination asteroid: NASA probe arrives at ancient ‘mini moon’
- Tighter U.S. nuclear safety rules proposed
- Final shuttle spacewalk: sublime, and yet a little dull
- Post-launch letdown
- Qatari sheik takes endangered bird species under his wing
- Space shuttle Atlantis takes off on final launch
- Atlantis shuttle launch: Watch live video and tweets
- Stars in their eyes, fans gather for last space shuttle launch
- A last chance to live the space dream
- NASA space shuttles have traveled more than 500 million miles since 1976
- As shuttle era ends, questions loom for shrinking astronaut corps
- After solar max, a long, deep rest for the sun
- As the sun awakens, the power grid stands vulnerable
- Nuclear waste dump is mired in inertia
- White House pushes policies to upgrade nation’s aging electrical network
- NASA’s salt-sniffing climate satellite successfully launched
- At USDA, a plate usurps the food pyramid
- Reports: Mouse virus doesn’t cause chronic fatigue syndrome
- Debate over arsenic-based life enters a new chapter
- Japanese scientist: Fukushima meltdown occurred within hours of quake
- NASA mission will ‘kiss’ an asteroid to get vital information on life’s origins
- Storm season on deadly path; Obama to visit Joplin
- Researchers see a pattern in rise of deadly tornadoes
- Climate-change aid to developing world difficult to track, report says
- Mammals win by a nose: Sense of smell drove evolution of big brains
- To save Louisiana’s lowlands, officials want to re-engineer the Mississippi
- Nuclear watchdog points to gaps in U.S. safety regulations
- In Louisiana, a choice between two floods
- Floods along the Mississippi River lead to renewed calls for a change in strategy
- Floods along the Mississippi River lead to renewed calls for a change in strategy
- Report: Global warming already crimping crop production, pushing prices higher
- Space shuttle Endeavour launch postponed because of mechanical problems
- Shuttle mission includes the launch of a physics experiment
- The incredible floating fire ant
- BP makes $1 billion down payment on gulf restoration
- What’s in a carbon footprint? Depends.
- Ancient hunts drove gazelle toward extinction
- Four companies get NASA funding for space vehicles
- A year after BP oil spill, fate of gulf ecosystem remains murky
- Brain differences may explain varying behavior of bonobos and chimpanzees
- Wired to chill? Brains of peaceful apes differ from those of aggressive chimps.
- As Fukushima fallout circles the globe, nuclear sleuths sift it for clues
- Radiation levels at Japan nuclear plant reach new highs
- Robots designed to deal with nuclear accidents await duty in Europe while Japan asks: Where are ours?
- Electricity connected to Daiichi reactors as Japanese evacuees struggle for normalcy
- Physics, geometry explain low radiation risks beyond Fukushima evacuation zone
- Nuclear crisis solutions simple but not easy
- U.S. urges Americans within 50 miles of Japanese nuclear plant to evacuate; NRC chief outlines dangerous situation
- New fire reported at nuclear plant as Japan races to avert catastrophe
- Ultimate impact of damage to Japan nuclear reactors still unknown
- Japan a leader in engineering earthquake-proof structures, helping to limit damage
- Ice sheets melting faster than earlier estimates
- Study: Ice sheets melting, sea level rising faster than previously thought
- Shifting spring: Arctic plankton blooming up to 50 days earlier now
- Report: Peer into the 'deep past' to divine future warming
- ‘Nerd Nite’ draws crowds to D.C. club
- ‘Callous-unemotional’ children often grow up to lie, fight, and bully, study finds
- Dolphin cold case: Investigators say cause of calve die-off may never be known
- Bacteria devoured methane gas from gulf oil spill, scientists say
- Scientists: Oldest human found in Alaska is a child, cremated 11,500 years ago
- 'Callous-unemotional' children often grow up to lie, fight, and bully, study finds
- U.S. urged to safeguard supply of 'energy-critical elements'
- U.S. urged to safeguard supply of 'energy-critical elements'
- Bear hibernation study finds surprises in search for clues to help human health
- Bear hibernation study finds surprises in search for clues to help human health
- Obama asks for science boost; Republicans look for cuts
- Obama asks for science boost; Republicans look for cuts
- Devastating 2010 Pakistan floods highlight difficulties in sounding alarm
- Devastating 2010 Pakistan floods highlight difficulties in sounding alarm
- Documenting the ‘digital age’: Study charts huge growth in computing capacity
- Exabytes: Documenting the 'digital age' and huge growth in computing capacity
- Giffords’s husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, will command space shuttle Endeavour
- Rep. Giffords's husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, will command space shuttle Endeavour
- EPA reverses Bush-era water safety standards, will regulate contaminants
- EPA reverses Bush-era water safety standards, will regulate contaminants
- Reputable auction houses try to get all (arti)facts before selling antiquities
- Reputable auction houses try to get all (arti)facts before selling antiquities
- Egyptian antiquities chief reports damage but no theft at Cairo museum
- Amid protests and looting, officials work to preserve Egypt's treasures
- Dinosaur survivor debate lives on
- Geologist claims a few dinosaurs survived extinction event
- Obama's call for innovation follows slump in most sectors
- Obama's call for innovation follows slowdown in most sectors, scholars say
- Has Hubble found a galaxy far, far away?
- Hubble spots presumed oldest galaxy: Hot, faint, and 13 billion years old
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