Science Friday Archives - browsing recent stories

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

Six Degrees: Chances are you've heard of the 'small world' idea of six degrees of separation. But is it correct? (first broadcast Friday, January 25, 2008)

'Fields of Fuel' Film Looks at Biodiesel: Ira talks with the director of 'Fields of Fuel,' a film about biofuels making its debut next week at the Sundance Film Festival. (first broadcast Friday, January 18, 2008)

Touching the Invisible Sky: A new book in Braille tries to make images from NASA space telescopes accessible to the visually impaired. (first broadcast Friday, January 18, 2008)

A Return to Mercury After 33 Years: Scientists are reviewing data from a flyby of the planet Mercury earlier this week. (first broadcast Friday, January 18, 2008)

Growing a Bioartificial Heart: Researchers report building a beating rat heart in the lab. (first broadcast Friday, January 18, 2008)

The Zookeeper's Wife: Ira talks with Diane Ackerman, author of 'The Zookeeper's Wife,' a new book about World War II and the Warsaw Zoo. (first broadcast Friday, January 18, 2008)

The Call for A Science Debate: Should the presidential candidates participate in a debate focusing on science, technology, and the environment? A group of voters has started a petition movement calling for a science debate. (first broadcast Friday, January 11, 2008)

Lester Brown - Plan B 3.0: Ira talks with Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute about the environmental problems facing the globe, and what can be done to take action to fix them. (first broadcast Friday, January 11, 2008)

Monarch Migration Molecular Mechanism: What drives monarch butterflies to undertake a mass migration, traveling thousands of miles to pine groves in Mexico? (first broadcast Friday, January 11, 2008)

Predicting Psychotic Illness in Teens: Researchers say that by examining a collection of risk factors, they can predict which high-risk teens will develop psychotic illness with 65-80 percent accuracy. (first broadcast Friday, January 11, 2008)

The Farnsworth Invention: A new Broadway production takes on the story of the invention of electronic television. (first broadcast Friday, January 11, 2008)

NPR News Special: Iowa Caucus Recap: In this hour, Neal Conan and guests take a look at the results of Thursday's political caucuses in Iowa. (first broadcast Friday, January 4, 2008)

Towards a Saliva Test for Cancers?: Researchers are working to develop a test that could detect the presence of certain cancers based on compounds found in saliva samples. (first broadcast Friday, January 4, 2008)

Michael Pollan - In Defense of Food: Ira talks with author Michael Pollan about his latest book, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto." (first broadcast Friday, January 4, 2008)