Podcast for 28 September 2012
ENERGY & AGRICULTURE - New developments in wind power, a solar cell made from spinach, transparent soil clarifies plant research, extending the growing season, and how rainforests prevent drought in farmland.
Light Safety Roundup
In-car systems could alert drivers when it’s unsafe to go through a yellow light. And more evidence that light from computers, TVs and other sources contributes to chronic disorders.
Blocking Alzheimer’s
A new mouse model for Alzheimer's treatment gets striking results.
Podcast for 21 September 2012
ANIMAL CONSERVATION - Nepalese tigers co-exist with people, aggression is giving Tasmanian Devils cancer, tadpoles keep their personalities when they become frogs, and a new monkey species is discovered in Africa.
Fat but Fit
Many obese people are metabolically fit and are at no greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer than people of normal weight.
Happiness Roundup
Researchers identify a gene that may influence women’s contentment with their lives.
Teen Brains on Pot
Smoking marijuana regularly as a teenager may be associated with cognitive decline later in life.
Human vs. Chimp Brains
DNA modifications in chimp brains may help protect them from cancer.
Podcast for 7 September 2012
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS - A new drug that could block heroin addiction, how mice could speed up AIDS research, and why we're more prone to cancer than our closest living relatives. Also: the two brain chemicals behind sleep paralysis.
Endless Summer Roundup
By manipulating how plants respond to the shorter days in the fall, researchers hope to get crops to produce fruit longer.
Addiction Blocker
A drug called (+)-naloxone blocks the brain’s addiction to heroin and other opiates.
Surviving Rabies
Some people in the remote Peruvian Amazon have developed antibodies to rabies.
Flora & Fauna Roundup
A strange looking tropical plant is helping researchers understand the life-cycle of the cell.
Mouse HIV
Mice with human immune systems could speed up the search for an AIDS vaccine.
Skin Microbes & Immunity
Bacteria that live on our skin support the function of immune cells.
Podcast for 10 August 2012
Dad's diversity and perilous parenthood.
Yoga Roundup
Practicing yoga could help older people who have suffered strokes recover more quickly.
Silk Drug Stabilizer
Silk proteins may allow antibiotics and vaccines to be stored without refrigeration.
Dad’s Diversity
Sequencing the DNA of individual sperm helps explain why siblings are often so different.
Flushing Out HIV
Researchers are developing a technique that could potentially flush out reservoirs of latent HIV.
Toxic Water Roundup
Toxins in water pipes likely caused color blindness in some Massachusetts towns.
Podcast for 20 July 2012
HISTORY MEETS SCIENCE - Dairy detectives discover ancient milk, the historical practice of bloodletting gets a second look, and revisiting failed ideas for saving lives. Also: What migraine headaches and the Mutiny on the Bounty have in common.