Science Friday Archives - browsing recent stories

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

The Missing Memristor?: We'll find out about a new basic electronic structure called the 'memristor,' and why it has electronics developers excited. (first broadcast Friday, May 9, 2008)

The Dry Sahara: What made the Sahara Desert go dry -- and is there any water there left to be found? (first broadcast Friday, May 9, 2008)

An AIDS Anniversary: Ira and guests look back on 25 years of research into HIV and AIDS, and talk about work towards HIV vaccines. (first broadcast Friday, May 9, 2008)

Salty Water for Better Tomatoes?: Researchers report that growing cherry tomatoes in salty water can make them tastier and richer in antioxidants. (first broadcast Friday, May 2, 2008)

Looking Inside the Human Brain: What's really going on inside your head? We'll talk with scientists using functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the workings of the human brain. (first broadcast Friday, May 2, 2008)

Calculating Your Carbon: How large is your 'carbon footprint' -- the amount you contribute to greenhouse gas emissions? We'll talk to a researcher looking at energy usage around the country, from homeless people to the rich and famous. (first broadcast Friday, May 2, 2008)

Gene Therapy for Blindness: Researchers report some success in using a gene therapy technique to treat one form of congenital blindness. We'll talk about the research. (first broadcast Friday, May 2, 2008)

Life Expectancy Dips for Some in the US: We'll talk with one of the authors of a new study that finds that for some people, in some parts of the US, life expectancy is on the way down, not up. (first broadcast Friday, May 2, 2008)

Tiny Beetle, Big Impact: An increase in the numbers of mountain pine beetles feeding on trees in Canada could turn the carbon-sink forests into greenhouse gas liabilities. We'll talk with a scientist about how a tiny beetle could have a significant impact on the carbon balance in (first broadcast Friday, April 25, 2008)

Towards Test-Tube Meat?: This week, animal rights group PETA announced the group would offer a million-dollar prize for the development of commercially-viable 'test-tube meat' -- real meat grown through a lab process, not from a live animal. We'll talk about the possibility, and (first broadcast Friday, April 25, 2008)

More Evidence for Dinosaur / Bird Link: Analysis of proteins found in a scrap of collagen from a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex leg bone provides strong evidence for the idea that dinosaurs are the ancestors of modern-day birds. (first broadcast Friday, April 25, 2008)

Building Social Robots: Sure, robots can weld car parts or stack cartons on an assembly line. But can they develop friendships with people? In this hour, Ira talks with inventors developing robots with personalities. How soon will it be before social, lovable robots enter our ho (first broadcast Friday, April 25, 2008)

New U.S. Climate Change Goals?: This week, President Bush announced a new set of national goals related to climate change and called for a stop to growth in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. We'll talk about the goals proposed by the White House, and why some say they don't go far enoug (first broadcast Friday, April 18, 2008)

Hurricanes and Global Warming: In 2005, climate researchers said that there appeared to be a statistical link between global warming and stronger hurricanes. Now, using new models of the atmosphere, one of those scientists says the link may not be so clear after all. (first broadcast Friday, April 18, 2008)