February 13, 2004, Hour One: AAAS Remote: Oxygen

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > February > February 13, 2004:
Hour One: AAAS Remote: Oxygen

It's so vital, we take it for granted. It's the most abundant element on our planet -- it's in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the crust of the planet Earth. It is, of course, oxygen.

This hour, the magical properties of element 8 -- who found it, who was the first to publish its discovery, and who were the first scientists to understand its properties. It's a story so dramatic that the play "Oxygen," penned by two award-winning scientists, has appeared around the world. We'll hear from one of them.

Plus we'll hear about new discoveries involving the action of oxygen in medicine and biology. It's a key ingredient of a sweltering, smoggy summer's day, and provides much-needed sunscreen higher in the atmosphere -- but what does ozone do in our bodies?

We're broadcasting this week from the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Seattle, Washington. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

Guests:
Bassam Shakhashiri
William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea
Professor, Department of Chemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

Mary Jo Nye
Horning Professor of the Humanities
Professor, Department of History
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon

Carl Djerassi
Playwright and Co-Author, "Oxygen"
Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry
Stanford University
Stanford, California

Paul Wentworth Jr.
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology
The Scripps Research Institute
La Jolla, California

This segment produced by Karin Vergoth

Archived Audio:
listen in RealAudio format
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Books/Articles Discussed:

Oxygen DVD Packet

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)