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Some 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci noted that branches on trees split with mathematical precision. Recently, physicists studying this phenomenon have discovered it has important implications for the way wind flows around and through trees.

Ann Powers talks to Steve Inskeep about the musical stories we didn't cover in 2011.

Holiday gift card or money burning a hole in your pocket? Want to buy an electronic gadget? Linda Wertheimer talks to Rich Jaroslovsky, tech columnist for Bloomberg News, about his top gadget picks for 2011.

If Iowans feel they've been bombarded by political ads in recent weeks, that's nothing compared to what the next eight days will be like. With the caucuses only a week from Tuesday, the ad wars are changing gears for the final stretch.

Newt Gingrich's campaign likened his failure to make the Virginia ballot to Pearl Harbor and vowed to find "alternate methods" to compete for the state's 49 delegates.

Fallon is thankful for slow walkers, people named Lloyd and the word "moist." The comedian and host of Late Night collects more than 100 nuggets of gratitude in his book called Thank You Notes. He talks with Terry Gross about giving thanks and doing impressions.

The Kemp's ridley sea turtle, which hopped a ride aboard floating seaweed, made the 4,600 mile journey from the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of Portugal in 2008. Nicknamed Johnny Vasco de Gama, after the Portugese explorer, the now-rehabilitated turtle will be reintroduced into Gulf waters Tuesday.

In our sixth annual obituary show, we remember extraordinary people whose deaths didn't make headlines, but whose lives made indelible impact. Talk of the Nation reached out to colleagues and friends at NPR who responded with personal stories about the people who inspired them.

Remember those 2011 new year's resolutions? If you haven't contributed to your child's college savings plan or spent your use-it-or-lose-it flexible savings account funds, there are still a few days left to get it done. Chicago Tribune columnist John McCarron shares tips on taking care of business.

Iowa voters will go to local caucus meetings on Jan. 3 in the first round of the presidential nominating process. In the Republican race, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul lead the polls, but it's unclear whether there will be a big winner in Iowa, Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving tells Robert Siegel.