May 14, 2004, Hour One: Electronic Voting Update / Targeted Obesity Treatment / Extinction Crater

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > May > May 14, 2004:
Hour One: Electronic Voting Update / Targeted Obesity Treatment / 'Great Dying' Crater

Election campaings are heating up. and so is the debate over electronic voting. In this hour of Science Friday, Ira and guests take a look at the latest on the issue. Is it possible to make a voting system that can't be hacked?

Then, we'll hear about a targeted way to reverse obesity -- at least in mice. The research is related to the latest cancer therapies. Carefully selected peptide sequences cause the blood vessels supporting the fat tissue to self-destruct, and the fat slowly is reabsorbed into the body. We'll talk about the work, and whether the approach can be used to target other medical conditions as well.

Plus, the latest information on a very old crater. We'll talk with a geologist about the massive impact crater, thought to be associated with an event 250 million years ago known as the 'Great Dying.' It's not the impact that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs (only 65 million years ago.) However, the event nearly led to the destruction of all life on the planet. We'll find out more. 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:
Avi Rubin
Professor, Computer Science
Technical Director, Information Security Institute
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland

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Renata Pasqualini, Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

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Luann Becker
Institute for Crustal Studies
University of California
Santa Barbara, California

This segment produced by Charles Bergquist

Archived Audio:
voting machines
listen in RealAudio format
listen in Windows Media format

obesity
listen in RealAudio format
listen in Windows Media format

crater
listen in RealAudio format
listen in Windows Media format

streaming audio help from NPR

Becker's Australia - Bedout: A Possible End-Permian Impact Crater Offshore Northwestern Australia
Crater may hold clues to near wipeout of life on Earth - Science - www.smh.com.au
Repeated Blows: The Great Dying :: Astrobiology Magazine :: Search for Life in the Universe

Books/Articles Discussed:

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)