Science

David Foster Wallace Tells Us About Freedom

Robert Krulwich — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:48:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmpYnxlEh0c

Not Your Grandpa's RV: This Roving Lab Tracks Air Pollution

Richard Harris — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:18:00 +0000

If you're driving down the road someday and you come across a camper with a 50-foot periscope sticking up into the sky, you just might have crossed paths with Ira Leifer. His quirky vehicle is on a serious mission. It's sniffing the air for methane, a gas that contributes to global warming.

Leifer is an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Scientists Agree On Climate Change, Why Doesn't The Public?

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:20:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. Yesterday, President Obama sent out a tweet drawing attention to a study about climate change. The study found that scientists who say climate change is largely caused by human activities vastly outnumber the skeptics. NPR's Richard Harris has more on the study that caught the White House's attention.

RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE: Academies of science around the world agree that climate change is real and caused largely by burning fossil fuels.

Resetting the Theory of Time

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:23:00 +0000

Generations of physicists have claimed that time is an illusion. But not all agree. In his book Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe, theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that time exists--and he says time is key to understanding the evolution of the universe.

Researchers Report Cloning Advance For Producing Stem Cells

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:23:00 +0000

Scientists reported this week in the journal Cell that they had used somatic cell nuclear transfer techniques to create a source of embryonic stem cells from the skin cells of a patient. George Daley, director of the stem cell transplantation program at Boston Children's Hospital, and Josephine Johnston of the Hastings Center discuss the research.

Insects May Be The Taste Of The Next Generation, Report Says

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:23:00 +0000

A report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says insects offer a huge potential for improving the world's food security. Peter Menzel, co-author of Man Eating Bugs, describes some insect-based cuisine and the western aversion to creepy-crawly snacks.

Desktop Diaries: Daniel Kahneman

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:23:00 +0000

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Flora Lichtman is here with our video pick. Flora, you have the next installment in our Desktop Diaries series in which you get to know scientists by asking them about their desk trinkets.

FLORA LICHTMAN, BYLINE: That's right.

FLATOW: And who do we have today?

LICHTMAN: It's Daniel Kahneman today. He's a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist and the author of "Thinking Fast and Slow," which you may have seen on many of the best book lists of the year, The Economist's lists and The New York Times' book reviews list. And Dr.

When Great Scientists Got It Wrong

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:23:00 +0000

In Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein, astrophysicist Mario Livio explores the colossal errors committed by scientific greats, from chemist Linus Pauling's botched model of DNA, to Charles Darwin's failure to understand genetics--the very mechanism of natural selection.

The Mutable Meanings Of Music

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:45:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-jFWOhQ61w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMLiqEqMQyQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soa3gO7tL-c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4

Giving It Away

NPR/TED Staff — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:13:00 +0000

"It feels good to be able to change something. It feels good to give." -- Ron Finley

You can give away almost anything — your time, money, food, your ideas. Giving helps define who we are and helps us connect with others. And thanks to the Internet and a rise in social consciousness, there's been a seismic shift not only in what we're giving, but how. In this hour, stories from TED speakers who are "giving it away" in new and surprising ways, and the things that happen in return.