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Science

Thursday

Fishermen Reeling Over Red Snapper Fishing Ban

Red snapper caught by commercial fishermen await shipment on a dock in South Carolina. South Atlantic Fishery Management Council/AP hide caption

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South Atlantic Fishery Management Council/AP

Business

Fishermen Reeling Over Red Snapper Fishing Ban

A federal ban on fishing for red snapper, one of the most prized saltwater fish, is set to take effect Jan. 4 -- part of an effort to bring back the species in the Atlantic Ocean. But coastal fishing towns that rely on business from anglers say the ban could take a huge economic toll.

Fishermen Reeling Over Red Snapper Fishing Ban

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Wednesday

National

Wrongly Convicted Fla. Man Freed After 35 Years

James Bain was 19-years-old in 1974, when he was arrested and charged with kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old boy. He was convicted largely because the boy identified him in a police lineup. After serving 35 years in prison, Bain was freed after DNA testing — which he pleaded for when he was initially accused — found him innocent of the crime. Bain talks about his life as a freed man and whether he holds any resentment toward the judicial system for the life-changing error.

Wrongly Convicted Fla. Man Freed After 35 Years

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Landowner Calls On Death To Save Her Farm

Joan Graham's idea is to turn her land into an environmentally friendly cemetery; she's betting that down the road, people will think twice before building a shopping mall on what was once a sacred human burial ground. David Baron for NPR hide caption

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David Baron for NPR

America's Shifting Ground

Landowner Calls On Death To Save Her Farm

A few years ago, trees started coming down across the road from Joan Graham's Michigan horse farm. She set in place a plan to conserve her land after her death by giving it to a conservancy. But just to be safe, she added a grave twist: She would have her body — and anyone else who wanted to join her — buried on the land.

Landowner Calls On Death To Save Her Farm

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Tuesday

Reflecting On A Decade Of Stem Cell Research

It's been more than 10 years since scientists first showed it is possible to grow embryonic stem cells. Despite political wrangling over the years, scientists have made advances in basic research. Still, there is a ways to go before stem cells can be used to treat disease.

Reflecting On A Decade Of Stem Cell Research

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Rare Rhinos Relocated In Effort To Keep Species Alive

Sudan, one of four endangered northern white rhinoceroses shipped to Kenya from a zoo in the Czech Republic, explores his new pen at the Ol Pejeta reserve near the town of Nanyuki in central Kenya. Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images

Animals

Rare Rhinos Relocated In Effort To Keep Species Alive

The northern white rhinoceros was hunted to extinction by poachers in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Four of the last eight known northern whites in the world, two male and two female, were sent from a Czech zoo to Kenya, where scientists hope they will breed.

Rare Rhinos Relocated In Effort To Keep Species Alive

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Monday

Chevron Threatens To Leave Longtime Home

Smoke billows from a Chevron Corp. refinery in Richmond, Calif. The refinery is the largest producer of greenhouse gases in the state. Noah Berger/AP hide caption

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Noah Berger/AP

National

Chevron Threatens To Leave Longtime Home

Officials in Richmond, Calif., want to raise Chevron's taxes and are blocking refinery upgrades, pending environmental review. Chevron is California's largest greenhouse gas producer. While the company tries to improve its image, it's also hinting that it might be time to relocate.

Chevron Threatens To Leave Longtime Home

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Sunday

Taking Biological Research Out Of The Laboratory

The "Do It Yourself" movement works well when you're talking about making your own music or growing your own vegetables. But some people are starting a DIY-biology movement. They're studying things like DNA and E. coli bacteria in home laboratories. And for now, the industry is largely unregulated. Host Guy Raz speaks with Jason Bobe, founder of the group DIYbio.

Taking Biological Research Out Of The Laboratory

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Great Inventions Of 2009: The Vegawatt

Restaurants usually pay about $100 a month to dispose of used oil from deep-fryers, but mechanical engineer James Peret of Massachusetts invented a way to turn that oil into energy savings. A small generator called the Vegawatt sits outside the restaurant, filtering out the old bits of food and pumping the clean oil into a system that can cut about $1,000 from a restaurant's utility bill. Guy Raz talks to Peret as part of our series on some of the great inventions of 2009.

Great Inventions Of 2009: The Vegawatt

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Yellowstone Supervolcano Bigger Than Once Thought

You know that supervolcano beneath Yellowstone National Park? The one responsible for the steam that makes the place famous? Well, it turns out that supervolcano is super indeed — both bigger and deeper than scientists had previously known. Host Guy Raz speaks with geophysicist Robert Smith of the University of Utah about his new research on the larger-than-thought volcanic system beneath Yellowstone.

Yellowstone Supervolcano Bigger Than Once Thought

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Friday

Analysis

Looking Back At The Year In Science

Ira Flatow and a panel of science writers and editors discuss the top science stories of 2009, from the discovery of water on the moon to the unveiling of human ancestor Ardipithecus ramidus to public health controversies like the new mammography guidelines and the swine flu vaccine.

Looking Back At The Year In Science

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Your Health

The Truth About Holiday Hazards

Are mistletoe and poinsettia something to be worried about this time of year? Poison expert Edward Krenzelok explains how to avoid accidental poisonings this season, and how to keep the holidays toxin-free. Originally broadcast Dec. 26, 2008.

The Truth About Holiday Hazards

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Research News

For Happiness, Spend Money On Experiences

A few duds under the tree? Return them for cash and go to dinner. Psychologists say people report feeling happier when they spend their money on experiences rather than objects. Study author Ryan Howell, from San Francisco State University, explains the results and speculates on whether the findings extend to gift-giving. Originally broadcast Feb. 13, 2009.

For Happiness, Spend Money On Experiences

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Author Interviews

Profiling Frank Oppenheimer

Author K.C. Cole writes about physicist and Exploratorium-founder Frank Oppenheimer in Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens. Cole, a friend of Oppenheimer's, digs into FBI files and personal memories to describe the complex man also called the "Uncle of the Atomic Bomb." Originally broadcast Aug. 7, 2009.

Profiling Frank Oppenheimer

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Books

Taking On Santa Skeptics With Science

Attention unbelievers: A new book uses science to explain just how Santa is able to deliver so many presents in one night, how he knows whether you've been naughty or nice and how he stays trim eating so many cookies. Author Gregory Mone discusses his book The Truth About Santa.

Taking On Santa Skeptics With Science

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Missing Out By Taking Christmas Off

On Christmas Day 25 years ago, Carol Greider made the discovery that won her a share of this year's Nobel Prize in medicine. But her friend and colleague wasn't there at the eureka moment, and missing it taught him an important life lesson about working on Christmas.

Missing Out By Taking Christmas Off

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