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The diabolical ironclad beetle can withstand being run over by a car. Now scientists have figured out what makes its exoskeleton so tough — and that insight could help people build tougher aircraft.

About two dozen women marched in Kabul chanting "bread, work, freedom," "we want political participation" and "no to enslavement," just days before the one-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover.

The Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda formed in a basement in Baghdad under the Saddam Hussein regime — not exactly the easiest place to play thrash metal. The group, featured in the 2007 documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad, just released its first EP, called Only the Dead See the End of the War.

Jazz drummers leading their own bands often feature intricate rhythms and brisk, driving momentum. Paul Motian, with his slow tempos, loose timing and tunes that go with rainy days, is so self-effacing, he's almost an anti-drummer. A little rustle of brushes and the faint boom of a bass drum may be all he'll use to nudge the music on.

Merle Haggard's new album is called I Am What I Am, a phrase that recalls the pugnaciousness of the cartoon character Popeye. But rock critic Ken Tucker says that Haggard's new album is neither combative or passively nostalgic — it's a collection of new songs, all of them written by Haggard, that prove how thoughtful the 73-year-old country star remains.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews a tribute album to country-folk singer John Prine -- with covers by bands including My Morning Jacket, the Drive-By Truckers, The Avett Brothers and Deer Tick. Tucker also listens to Prine's new live album, John Prine: In Person & On Stage.

The former American Idol winner has just released her fifth album, Stronger. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the record doesn't contain Clarkson's strongest material, but still shows off her powerful vocal cords.

Bruno Mars is a 25-year-old singer, songwriter and producer who's worked on hit singles for numerous hip-hop and soul artists. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Mars' new album, Doo-Wops and Hooligans, is "an impressive, varied and intense experience."

Plant's new solo album is called Band of Joy. That's the name of a group he was in back in 1967, before Led Zeppelin, with drummer John Bonham. Rock critic Ken Tucker says that if the album title suggests nostalgia for older musical styles, there's nothing musty about the results.

Banga is Smith's 11th studio album, her first collection of original material since 2004 and the first record she's released since the publication of her memoir Just Kids. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the music on Banga is marvelously uneven and frequently transporting.