Science

Highly detailed sonar systems aboard the research vessel Pritchard gave researchers a clear view of the sediment on the seafloor off Long Island.

Sand After Sandy: Scientists Map Seafloor For Sediment

2:29pm February 04, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

On the deck of a 27-foot boat off the shore of Long Island, researchers are using sonar to study the sand and sediment that washed away from the system of protective barrier islands and beaches by Hurricane Sandy.

Queue Listen Now

The reactor room at Babcock & Wilcox's prototype reactor outside Lynchburg, Va. The reactor vessel is behind the orange curtain.

Are Mini-Reactors The Future Of Nuclear Power?

12:15pm February 04, 2013

by Ben Bradford

The prefabricated nuclear reactors, which would be small enough to build in a factory and ship on trucks, would generate about one-tenth the power of a typical nuclear power plant. It's potentially a growth opportunity for American industry, but critics say the reactors carry a host of safety, security, environmental and economic concerns.

Queue Listen Now

A wood stork soars over its nest in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Fort Myers, Fla., in 2008, as baby wood storks wait in their nest for an adult to bring food.

Wood Stork's Endangered Status Is Up In The Air

6:16pm February 03, 2013

by Greg Allen

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife may upgrade the wood stork's status from "endangered" to "threatened." But some environmentalists and the Audubon Society says that in south Florida, the bird's population is still a long way from reaching a full recovery.

Queue Listen Now

Disinfecting robots at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore spray rooms with toxic doses of hydrogen peroxide to kill dangerous drug-resistant bacteria.

Got A Superbug? Bring In The Robots

6:16pm February 03, 2013

Johns Hopkins Hospital is using disinfecting robots to kill dangerous drug-resistant bacteria in its hospital rooms. Since it began using the machines, the hospital has seen the number of untreatable infections fall by a stunning 64 percent.

Queue Listen Now

Science

Preserving Science News In An Online World

1:49pm February 01, 2013

How can journalists and bloggers avoid some of the pitfalls of communicating science in an online world? Should a website's comments section be moderated, or removed altogether? How has social media changed the blogosphere? A panel of experts joins Ira Flatow to discuss.

Queue Listen Now

Science

Dung Beetles Use Cosmic GPS to Find Their Way

1:03pm February 01, 2013

When the sun goes down, dung beetles rely on a galactic source--light from the Milky Way--to navigate, according to a recent report in Current Biology. Study co-author Eric Warrant, of Lund University in Sweden, explains how dung beetles see the starry night sky.

Queue Listen Now

Science

How Owls Turn Heads

1:03pm February 01, 2013

A mystery of the animal kingdom: how do owls turn their heads 270 degrees without damaging their blood vessels? At last an answer, published this week in Science. Fabian de Kok-Mercado and Philippe Gailloud dissected and x-rayed owls to discover how the birds do the twist.

Queue Listen Now

International ships call at the busy Port of New Orleans. It's a major shipping convergence point on the Mississippi River. Ships come upriver from the Gulf of Mexico with imports from abroad, and barges come downriver, bringing U.S. goods for export.

Drought Causes Ripple Effect Along Mighty Mississippi River

8:30pm January 30, 2013

by Debbie Elliott

Low water upstream threatens cargo traffic, and saltwater has encroached on the mouth of the river. Now, officials up and down the river are talking about the need for a comprehensive water resources plan.

Queue Listen Now

The eye of Hurricane Earl in the Atlantic Ocean, seen from a NASA research aircraft on Aug. 30, 2010. This flight through the eyewall caught Earl just as it was intensifying from a Category 2 to a Category 4 hurricane. Researchers collected air samples on

Bird, Plane, Bacteria? Microbes Thrive In Storm Clouds

8:36am January 29, 2013

by Véronique LaCapra

Microbes can thrive in extreme environments, from inside fiery volcanoes to down on the bottom of the ocean. Now scientists have found a surprising number of them living in storm clouds tens of thousands of feet above the Earth. And those airborne microbes could play a role in global climate.

Queue Listen Now

The Book Club Catches 'The Andromeda Strain'

1:08pm January 25, 2013

This month, the book club discusses Michael Crichton's 1969 best-selling science fiction thriller The Andromeda Strain. Writer Richard Preston joins the club to talk about Crichton's writing style, and what it was like to work on Crichton's unfinished final manuscript, Micro.

Queue Listen Now