How do rumors get started? How do they spread from person to person? And why do some rumors spread like wildfire, while others never seem to make it out of a small circle of interconnected people? Join host Joe Palca and guests in this hour of Science Friday for a look at the psychology and network dynamics of rumors.

Plus--the Hubble lives. We'll look at plans for repairing and upgrading the telescope with a challenging servicing mission on the space shuttle. Astronomers are celebrating the reprieve for the space-based telescope known for amazing pictures of the universe.

We'll also take a look at the case of five nurses and a doctor jailed in Libya for allegedly intentionally infecting children with H-I-V. AIDS researchers around the world are calling for their release.

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
Robert Gallo
Co-discoverer of AIDS virus
Director, Institute of Human Virology
University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

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Nicholas DiFonzo
Co-author, "Rumor Psychology: Social and Organizational Approaches" (American Psychological Association, 2006)
Professor of Psychology
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY

Duncan Watts
Author, "Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age" (Norton, 2003)
Professor, Department of Sociology
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
Columbia University
New York, NY

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Steven Beckwith
Former Director, Space Telescope Science Institute
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland

Books/Articles Discussed:

"Rumor Psychology: Social and Organizational Approaches" by Nicholas DiFonzo and Prashant Bordia. American Psychological Association, 2006.

"Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age" by Duncan Watts. WW Norton, 2003.

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This segment produced by Annette Heist and Charles Bergquist