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Science Friday > Archives > 2002 >
April
> April 19, 2002:
Hour One: Science News
Roundup: Quark Stars, Monkey Brains, Nuclear Plant Safety
In this hour of Science Friday, a roundup of three recent pieces of
science news:
This optical image of RX J1856.5-3754 portrays
a crowded region of star formation. Credit: European Southern
Observatory Very Large Telescope
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New astronomical data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory
may point to the existance of an as-yet unknown type of ultra-dense
matter. Observation of several objects in deep space has revealed
them to be both ultra-hot and ultra-small, suggesting that the matter
in these collapsed stars is even denser than nuclear matter. We'll
talk about the data and what it might mean for physicists' understandings
of the way the universe works. |
Chandra observations of RX J1856.5-375. The
object outshines all of the other sources in the field, indicating
it is both extremely hot and very small. Credit: NASA/SAO/CXC/Drake
et al.
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Then, we'll turn from outer space to inner space. If human beings share
some 99% of their genetic code with chimpanzees, what makes human brains
so different from chimp brains? New research says that it may not be
so much which genes we have, as the level at which those genes and the
proteins that they code for are expressed -- which ones are turned on
or off at what points. We'll talk about the work, and why some researchers
think that a chimpanzee genome project should be the next goal of genome
sequencers.
| Finally, we'll find out about the safety of the nation's
nuclear reactors. Earlier this year, technicians discovered significant
corrosion in parts of a pressurized water reactor at the the Davis-Besse
nuclear power plant in Ohio. We'll find out about the flaw, what
the operators plan to do about it, and whether other aging reactors
around the country might be at risk as well. |
Davis-Besse Reactor Nozzle 3 with insulation removed and
shielding installed, March 16, 2002. (photo courtesy NRC)
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Call in with your comments and questions at 1-800-989-8255, and share
your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).
Guests:
Michael Turner
Staff Scientist, Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois
Chair and Professor, Department
of Astronomy and Astrophysics
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Ajit Varki
Professor of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Director, Glycobiology Research and
Training Center
University of California San Diego
School of Medicine
San Diego, California
Daniel Ford
Author, "Three Mile Island" (Viking, 1982)
Author, "The Cult of the Atom: The Secret Papers of the Atomic Energy
Commission" (Simon & Schuster, 1984)
Former Executive Director, Union
of Concerned Scientists
Paris, France
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
- Marshall
Space Flight Center News Release 02-082 (04-10-02)
Chandra
X-ray Observatory News
Stars
Suggest a Quark Twist and a New Kind of Matter
Findings
Suggest a New Form of Matter (washingtonpost.com)
Quark
star glimmers
Physics
News Update
University
of California, San Diego: External Relations: News & Information:
News Releases : Health
ABCNEWS.com
: Scientists Find What Separates Man, Chimps
CBC
News: Gene activity in human brain sets us apart from chimps
Insight Into Human-Chimp Differences
- NRC:
Reactor Vessel Head Degradation
The
Hole in the Reactor
US Nuclear Operators - Davis-Besse
INSC:
Home Page
This segment produced by: Karin Vergoth
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