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Scientists at the University of Leeds are exploring ways to use magnetic bacteria to build biocomputers of the future. Meanwhile, another group of researchers, reporting in Science, write that they have unearthed deep-sea microbe that live off nutrients from the dinosaur age.

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. For the rest of the hour, a look at an extraordinary life and a heartbreaking loss. In his new memoir "Immortal Bird," Doron Weber takes us to the inner circle of his family, where we meet his son Damon, a smart, likeable, aspiring actor born with a congenital heart defect. At 16, Damon undergoes a heart transplant, and his short life ends not long after in the ICU of a hospital that, according to Doron, seemed to botch his care in multiple and unimaginable ways.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied claims made by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton that Russia is "in effect, propping up" the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"We don't supply weapons that can be used in civil conflicts," Putin told reporters in Berlin after he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Pedro Hernandez was recently charged for the 1979 death of 6-year-old Etan Patz. The New York Times reports that Hernandez confessed to his Catholic prayer group in the 1980s, but no one went to authorities. Host Michel Martin explores the legal and religious aspects of confession with lawyer Daniel Van Ness and Father Robert Kaslyn.

Host Michel Martin and Tell Me More editor Ammad Omar open up the inbox for listener comments. They discuss reactions to a story on the auto industry offering subprime loans to car buyers, and they hear feedback to an emotional conversation about the impact that absent fathers have on black girls.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Now it's time for our weekly visit to the Barber Shop, where the guys talk about what's in the news and what's on their minds.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, we will talk about the painful new questions being raised by a long-ago crime. A man was recently arrested for murdering a little boy nearly 30 years ago but now it's been reported that the suspect may have confessed to a church group years before, but no one went to the authorities.

Mitt Romney gets enough delegates, in some counts, to go over the top in his bid for the GOP nomination. But his celebration gets distracted by more Donald Trump "birtherism." Plus, the Texas GOP goes into overtime to find a Senate nominee, Rep. Thad McCotter plans a write-in campaign in Michigan in hopes of keeping his own job, and a look ahead to the Wisconsin recall.

NPR's Ken Rudin and Ron Elving have the latest political news in this week's roundup.

On Saturday, the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure will be run and walked in Washington. This year, the field won't be so crowded.

In Florida, a battle is heating up on several fronts over who will be allowed to vote in the upcoming primary and the November general election.

In Tallahassee, a federal judge has blocked state elections officials from enforcing tough restrictions on groups that conduct voter registration drives.

And in Washington, the Justice Department has sent a letter to Florida telling it to immediately halt efforts to purge from the voting rolls people suspected of being noncitizens.