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Talk of the Nation Science Friday (Science-Technology)

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  • Host: Ira Flatow
  • Each week, we focus on science topics that are in the news and try to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join Ira Flatow to discuss science - and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.
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One-Woman Show Explores Human Side Of Health Care

Fri, Nov 13 Listen
Actress Anna Deavere Smith traveled across the country interviewing people about their thoughts on health care. From an injured bull rider to a medical school dean, she recounts what she heard through monologues in her latest documentary-style theater production, Let Me Down Easy.

Two Graphic Novels Explain Science, Colorfully

Fri, Nov 13 Listen
Moving beyond traditional superheroes, two new graphic novels recount the epic tales of scientists and the research that made them famous. Ira Flatow talks with authors Michael Keller and Apostolos Doxiadis about their graphic novels on natural selection and logic.

Clone That Smile, Digitally

Fri, Nov 13 Listen
Researchers have figured out how to track the facial expressions of one person and map those movements onto a digital image of another person's face in real time. The result is something like a digital video puppet, which psychologists say may reveal something about human nature.

Therapists Split On Multiple Personalities

Fri, Nov 13 Listen
Can people develop different personalities in response to abuse? Some therapists say up to one percent of the population suffer from dissociative identity disorder. Others say the disease doesn't exist, or is very rare. Two therapists discuss the controversial diagnosis.

Sailing Through Space, On A Starboard Tack

Fri, Nov 13 Listen
In the vacuum of space, photons — not wind — may someday fill the sails of lightweight spacecraft, propelling them without need for engines or fuel. Louis Friedman, executive director of The Planetary Society, discusses the society's plans for a sailing spaceship prototype.

Do Moon Craters Harbor Caches Of Water Ice?

Fri, Nov 13 Listen
A NASA rocket slammed into a lunar crater in October. A second spacecraft followed minutes later, taking inventory of kicked-up debris and sending data to Earth. Scientists have now analyzed those data, which may reveal whether the moon harbors significant quantities of water ice.

Considering Values In The Health Care Debate

Sat, Nov 7 Listen
As health care legislation moves through Congress, bioethicist Thomas H. Murray asks if enough attention is being paid to concepts such as justice, fairness and liberty. Murray and health care economist Len Nichols discuss the role of values in the health care debate.

Giving Athletes A Heads-Up On Concussions

Sat, Nov 7 Listen
Football players take a lot of hits, but when does hard-headed play go too far? New research suggests that head trauma can do lasting damage. Two brain researchers talk about what happens in the brain when a player gets hit, and how athletes can better protect themselves.

Students Build Living Microbial Machines

Sat, Nov 7 Listen
At the 2009 International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, undergraduates from all over the world unveiled the living machines they'd created with snippets of DNA, from bacteria that change color when they detect pollutants to ones that secrete non-toxic superglue.

Can Oceans Survive The Human Appetite For Seafood?

Sat, Nov 7 Listen
Faced with declining fish stocks, many nations are looking for sustainable ways to have their fish — and eat it too. But how much fishing is too much? Oceanographer Sylvia Earle discusses this and other topics in her book The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One.

Building A Better Lightbulb

Sat, Nov 7 Listen
The U.S. Department of Energy is offering $10 million to the first individual or company to develop an energy-efficient LED replacement for the standard 60-watt incandescent bulb. DOE lighting program manager James Brodrick discusses the L Prize, and what makes a better bulb.

A Head-Shrinker Studies The Zombie Brain

Fri, Oct 30 Listen
Psychiatrist Steven Schlozman recently expanded his practice from humans to the inhuman. Poring over his library of classic zombie films, he came up with neurobiological explanations for the behavior of the undead, such as lack of a frontal lobe and an overactive amygdala.

Halloween: A Holiday For Gadgets

Fri, Oct 30 Listen
For gadget lovers, Halloween is more geeky than spooky. Mark Frauenfelder, editor-in-chief of Make Magazine, talks about the geekiest do-it-yourself Halloween costumes and decorations, from spray foam guts and singing pumpkins to a fortune-teller costume built on a Segway.

People ... People Who Eat People

Fri, Oct 30 Listen
In her book Dinner With a Cannibal, writer Carole Travis-Henikoff documents the long — and often hidden — history of cannibalism in humans. Travis-Henikoff notes that cannibalism wasn't always taboo, whether it be eating loved ones out of respect or eating enemies out of disdain.

Why Runners Like To Feel The Burn

Fri, Oct 30 Listen
What compels hundreds of thousands of runners to compete in marathons every year? Ira Flatow and guests discuss running research — from how humans are adapted specifically for long-distance running to why working up a sweat might be good for the brain, as well as the body.

Happy Birthday, Internet

Fri, Oct 30 Listen
On Oct. 29, 1969, around 10:30 P.M., a message from one computer was sent over a modified phone line to another computer hundreds of miles away. Some say the Internet was born that day. UCLA computer scientist Leonard Kleinrock, who was there, gives his account.

Examining Gene Therapy As Treatment For Blindness

Fri, Oct 30 Listen
Reporting in The Lancet, doctors found success in treating Leber's congenital amaurosis, a rare type of blindness, with gene therapy. Study author Katherine High explains how injecting a gene-carrying virus into the eye has improved vision in a handful of patients.

Did Algae Contribute To Mass Extinctions?

Fri, Oct 23 Listen
Forget asteroids — a new theory says algae were the key to the dinosaurs' extinction millions of years ago. Ecotoxicologist John Rodgers details the evidence for the theory and explains why some algae can be harmful in large quantities, even to present day animal populations.

Seeing The Softer Side Of Nature

Fri, Oct 23 Listen
In his new book, The Age of Empathy, Frans de Waal says nature has been wrongly depicted to justify a "survival of the fittest" attitude in humans. Drawing on examples from his primate observations, de Waal says it's time for humans to rethink how we treat each other.

Natural Selection Works On Humans, Too

Fri, Oct 23 Listen
Mining data from the Framingham Heart Study, scientists say they've been able to tease out the effects of natural selection on humans. Evolutionary biologist Stephen Stearns explains how evolutionary forces may produce shorter, rounder, more fertile women in the future.

Seeing Through The Eyes Of An Armadillo

Fri, Oct 23 Listen
Sam Easterson has refined the art of the critter cam. He is the curator of the Museum of Animal Perspectives — an online repository of "remotely sensed wildlife imagery." All the footage comes from cameras implanted in the landscape or strapped to the backs of animals.

Searching For The Right Hand-Scrubbing Message

Fri, Oct 23 Listen
Researchers tried various slogans to encourage travelers to lather up after using rest stop toilets, from the disgusting — "Soap it off or eat it later" — to the educational — "Water doesn't kill germs, soap does." Hygiene expert Val Curtis reports on the most effective messages.

Scientists Solve Mystery Of Ear-Splitting Sounds

Fri, Oct 23 Listen
Reporting in Nature, researchers write that a rare type of neuron in the inner ear may process painfully loud sounds, such as the blast of a jackhammer. Study author Paul Fuchs discusses how his team solved a mystery that had stumped auditory scientists for nearly 50 years.

Neuroscientists And Magicians Mingle At Conference

Fri, Oct 23 Listen
Thousands of neuroscientists gathered in Chicago this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Science News writer Laura Sanders reports on the highlights, including a symposium where magicians and neuroscientists discussed their common ground: the mind.

Small Kids Solve Big Problems With Science

Fri, Oct 16 Listen
The Kids' Science Challenge gives elementary school students the chance to work with biologists and engineers on real scientific problems. Jim Metzner, executive producer of the Challenge, discusses how kids can get involved, from developing low-gravity sports to building hopping robots.

Rare Cancer Case Raises Questions For Doctors

Fri, Oct 16 Listen
Reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers write of the first confirmed case of a mother passing cancer to her baby in the womb. Study author Dr. Tony Ford discusses what cancer researchers can learn from the case.

Forecasting Climate Change Legislation

Fri, Oct 16 Listen
With Congress focused on Afghanistan, the economy and health care, will there be any action on domestic climate policy before the Copenhagen climate summit in December? Eileen Claussen, of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, talks about what to expect in the coming months.

Mapping The Boundaries Of The Solar System

Fri, Oct 16 Listen
NASA launched the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft last year to investigate the edges of the heliosphere — the insulating bubble the sun creates around the solar system. IBEX principal investigator David McComas reports on the first surprising results.

A Bird In Hand To Save Those In The Bush

Fri, Oct 16 Listen
Braddock Bay, on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, is a prime pit stop for migrating birds. In a converted hot dog stand near the Bay, ornithologists and volunteers capture, study and release about 10,000 passing birds each year.

Virus Tied To Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Fri, Oct 16 Listen
Scientists have identified a virus lurking in 68 of 101 patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Whether the virus — known as XMRV — causes the syndrome is unclear. Molecular biologist John Coffin describes how the findings fit with what scientists know about XMRV.

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