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Science

Friday

Choppy Seas Hinder Effort To Contain Oil Spill

This satellite image taken Thursday shows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico as it nears the shoreline, threatening wildlife along Louisiana's fragile islands and barrier marshes. NASA/AP hide caption

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NASA/AP

Gulf Oil Spill: Containment And Clean Up

Choppy Seas Hinder Effort To Contain Oil Spill

Sheen from the slick was beginning to penetrate Louisiana's wetlands as the state tried to divert thousands of gallons of fresh water from the Mississippi River to flush out the area. The White House put a hold on new offshore drilling until officials determine what triggered the Gulf of Mexico spill.

Energy

Meeting The Nation's Bioenergy Goals

A federal renewable fuel standard calls for mixing 36 billion gallons of biofuels into transportation fuel by 2022. But the U.S. produces only one-third of that amount today. Ira Flatow and guests talk about meeting that goal with products like cellulosic ethanol or oil squeezed from algae.

Meeting The Nation's Bioenergy Goals

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Energy

Offshore Wind Farm Gets Government Go-Ahead

After years of delay, the Interior Department has given Cape Wind Associates the go-ahead to develop a 130-turbine wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts. Ira Flatow and guests discuss the project and what it might mean for wind farm development in other parts of the country.

Offshore Wind Farm Gets Government Go-Ahead

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Music

Finding The Notes Among Us

The honk of a horn and the rumble of a truck sound like noise to most people. But to Lucy Fitz Gibbon, and others with absolute pitch, there are notes embedded in the noise. Exactly why some people have this mysterious ability to recognize pitch isn't well understood.

Finding The Notes Among Us

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Technology

Driving Cars Toward Complexity

Safety features such as stability control are adding to the complexity of car electronics and the software that controls them. Engineer Ingold Krueger explains how electronics have changed car operation and maintenance, and how, in rare instances, some systems fail.

Driving Cars Toward Complexity

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Health

Why Laughter May Be Medicinal

A new study of 14 people finds that the body's response to laughter is similar in some ways to its response to repetitive exercise. For example, watching humorous videos lowered blood pressures, the researchers report. Preventive care expert Lee Berk explains the findings.

Why Laughter May Be Medicinal

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Gulf Oil Spill: Containment And Clean Up

Environmentalist: Spill Will Disrupt Wildlife

Melanie Driscoll of the Louisiana Coastal Initiative, an environmental group, talks to Steve Inskeep about the potential impact the Gulf oil spill could have on birds in the region. The oil is especially disruptive for Gulf Coast wildlife including the brown pelican — which is the Louisiana state bird.

Environmentalist: Spill Will Disrupt Wildlife

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Genome Seen As Medical Crystal Ball

Stephen Quake (left) and Euan Ashley review genetic risk factors that Ashley and colleagues found in Quake's genome. Norbert von der Groeben/Stanford School of Medicine hide caption

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Norbert von der Groeben/Stanford School of Medicine

Health

Genome Seen As Medical Crystal Ball

Stanford scientist Steve Quake was only the fifth person in the world to have his entire genome spelled out. Now he claims to be the first to use it to find out just what diseases he's at risk for and what he should do about it. What Quake and his doctor learned provides a glimpse into the future of genomic medicine — and its challenges.

Genome Seen As Medical Crystal Ball

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Gulf Oil Spill: Containment And Clean Up

Oil Spill Could Turn Americans Off Offshore Drilling

Industry lobbyists and environmentalists say major ecological damage along the Gulf Coast from last week's oil rig blast could jeopardize President Obama's recent proposal to expand offshore drilling. About two-thirds of Americans support the idea of allowing more offshore drilling.

Oil Spill Could Turn Americans Off Offshore Drilling

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The Colorful Secret Of The Pea Aphid

Red and green aphids get their different colors by producing carotenoids, or color compounds. Courtesy of Charles Hedgcock, R.B.P. hide caption

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Courtesy of Charles Hedgcock, R.B.P.

The Colorful Secret Of The Pea Aphid

The pea aphid, a tiny bug that comes in shades of red and green, is the first known critter in the animal kingdom to create its own color compounds, or carotenoids. Other animals get their color by eating various colorful plants. But aphids are able to produce their own because they stole DNA from fungi long ago.

The Colorful Secret Of The Pea Aphid

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Thursday

Frosty Asteroid May Give Clues About Earth's Oceans

This illustration shows the asteroid 24 Themis flanked by two small fragments that broke off following a crash more than 1 billion years ago. The bottom fragment's cometlike tail comes from the sublimation of ice from its surface. Gabriel Perez, Servicio MultiMedia, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain hide caption

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Gabriel Perez, Servicio MultiMedia, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain

Space

Frosty Asteroid May Give Clues About Earth's Oceans

For the first time, scientists have found water ice on an asteroid. The giant space rock out between Mars and Jupiter appears to have a fine layer of frost on its surface. Scientists think that our own oceans may have come from water-bearing asteroids that smashed into our planet.

Frosty Asteroid May Give Clues About Earth's Oceans

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No Thank You, We Like Pain

Just before he snorted ... Jerilee Wei hide caption

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Jerilee Wei

Krulwich Wonders...

No Thank You, We Like Pain

There once was a man who liked to spend his time inhaling a lot of different gases. He was looking for a cure to tuberculosis. Some of the gases burned like heck, but one made him feel sublime. But doctors said, "No, thank you; pain is a good thing."

No Thank You, We Like Pain

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Your Health

How Exercise Might Help Keep Alzheimer's At Bay

People who spend their lives exercising their minds and bodies seem to delay the onset of Alzheimer's, according to an expert panel convened by the National Institutes of Health. Now scientists are trying to figure out how activity protects the brain.

How Exercise Might Help Keep Alzheimer's At Bay

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Wednesday

Coast Guard To Begin Burning Oil Slick In Gulf

Two ships float near the massive oil slick spreading in the Gulf of Mexico after a drilling rig sank last week off the coast of Louisiana. The slick is 80 miles long and 40 miles wide and growing. Brendan Farrington/AP hide caption

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Brendan Farrington/AP

Environment

Coast Guard To Begin Burning Oil Slick In Gulf

Thousands of barrels of oil have poured into the Gulf of Mexico since a drilling rig exploded and sank last week. Robotic submarines have been trying to shut off the leak without success. Now the Coast Guard is gearing up to burn off as much oil as possible before the slick — 80 miles long and 40 miles wide and growing — makes landfall.

Coast Guard To Begin Burning Oil Slick In Gulf

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