Science Friday Archives - browsing recent stories

International Space Station following most recent upgrade. Credit: STS-119 Shuttle Crew, NASA.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco: Earlier this month, Jane Lubchenco was confirmed as the administrator of NOAA. We'll talk with her this hour. (first broadcast Friday, March 27, 2009)

Rapid Alaskan Erosion: A 40-mile stretch of Alaskan coastline is eroding at a rate of 45 feet per year. We'll talk with a researcher studying the rapid crumbling of the strip of coastline. (first broadcast Friday, March 27, 2009)

Mount Redoubt Eruption Update: We'll get the latest on the eruption of Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano. (first broadcast Friday, March 27, 2009)

Thinning Brain May Point to Depression: Brain-imaging studies indicate that a thinning of the right hemisphere of the brain may be linked to an increased risk of depression. (first broadcast Friday, March 27, 2009)

Watchmen: We'll talk with one of the co-creators of the graphic novel 'Watchmen' and with a physicist who was a consultant to the 'Watchmen' movie. (first broadcast Friday, March 27, 2009)

Darwin's Supporting Evidence: Like any great scientist, Charles Darwin didn't come to his ideas alone. We'll talk with biologist Sean Carroll about the flora, fauna, fossils, and scientists that helped prove Darwin was right. (first broadcast Friday, March 20, 2009)

Physicist Lisa Randall on Space, Time, and Hidden Dimensions: Do hidden dimensions exist in our universe -- or just in science fiction? We'll talk cosmic mysteries with physicist Lisa Randall. (first broadcast Friday, March 20, 2009)

Nobel Chemist Harry Kroto and Buckyballs: We'll talk with chemist Harry Kroto about his discovery of buckyballs in the 1980s, and about new nano applications today, such as buckypaper. (first broadcast Friday, March 20, 2009)

Particle Hunters: Researchers announced this week that they've detected the production of single top quarks at Fermilab. We'll talk about the find and the search for other, still more exotic particles. (first broadcast Friday, March 13, 2009)

Building a Better Battery: Scientists say a modification to the design of lithium-ion batteries could allow batteries that can charge and discharge in a matter of seconds. (first broadcast Friday, March 13, 2009)

Altering Fearful Memories: Scientists say they've found a way to disrupt the formation of fearful memory associations in mice. The work could one day help people with post-traumatic stress disorder. (first broadcast Friday, March 13, 2009)

Turing Award Winner Barbara Liskov: Ira talks with Barbara Liskov, the winner of this year's Turing Award, what's been called the Nobel Prize of computing research. (first broadcast Friday, March 13, 2009)

AAAS President Peter Agre: Ira talks with Peter Agre, a Nobel laureate and the incoming president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, about the intersection of science and public policy. (first broadcast Friday, March 13, 2009)

Scientists on Wall Street: When the market was flying high, many mathematicians and physicists made their way from academia and scientific research to the trading floor. Now that some of their models and equations are being blamed for a role in the economic downturn, are scientists (first broadcast Friday, March 13, 2009)