| April 27, 2012 |
Podcast for 27 April 2012
- Why some planets are on the run. How to harpoon a comet. And counting penguins from space.
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| April 19, 2012 |
Raindrop Fossils
- Raindrop impressions, preserved for 2.7 billion years, reveal clues about the early Earth's climate.
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| April 13, 2012 |
Podcast for 13 April 2012
- CHEMISTRY & LIFE - What 2-billion-year-old raindrop fossils can tell us about conditions on the early earth. What science is revealing about the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent Van Gogh. And a breakthrough in materials science technology yields plastic that can repair itself.
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| January 17, 2012 |
Earthquakes & Cyclones
- Bad storms in Taiwan and Haiti may have contributed to earthquakes there.
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| October 31, 2011 |
Mercury’s Volcanoes
- The planet Mercury seems placid compared to others in the solar system. But the MESSENGER spacecraft is revealing a more tumultuous past.
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| October 24, 2011 |
Mercury’s Make-up
- The MESSENGER spacecraft is revealing new details about the tiny planet’s chemical composition.
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| October 11, 2011 |
Not-So-Precious Metals
- If you’re wearing a gold ring, it began as a meteeorite that struck the earth billions of years ago, but vast deposits of precious metals are also hidden deep in the earth’s core.
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| October 6, 2011 |
Podcast for 7 October 2011
- MERCURY SPECIAL REPORT - The MESSENGER spacecraft is revealing new discoveries about the planet closest to our Sun.
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| October 4, 2011 |
Mercury Hollows
- NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has identified mysterious hollows on the planet's surface.
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| October 3, 2011 |
Mercury Origins
- The MESSENGER spacecraft is revealing surprising details about the origins of the planet Mercury.
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| May 25, 2011 |
Tsunamis & Sealife
- A listener asks: What happens to the seafloor and to sealife when tsunamis hit?
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| December 29, 2010 |
Crusty Microbes
- A diversity of microorganisms lives in the hot rocks deep beneath the ocean floor.
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| September 22, 2010 |
Mica Life Hypothesis
- A new hypothesis suggests that life began between ultra-thin sheets of minerals.
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| September 17, 2010 |
Podcast
- AIR & SPACE: The moon is shrinking - slowly, astronomers discover a solar system similar to our own, exploring the moons of Jupiter, how satellite-based mapping programs can help during natural disasters, and why clouds have distinct borders.
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| September 10, 2010 |
Podcast
- FLU SEASON: Can exercise help stave off illness? Changes to the seasonal flu vaccine, bacterial surprises, and better ways to purify water in developing countries. Also: did life originate between mica sheets?
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| April 2, 2010 |
Rare Earth Roundup
- Rare earth elements make many modern technologies possible, but extracting them results in large amounts of toxic waste.
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| January 26, 2010 |
Mountaintop Removal Mining
- Mountaintop removal mining has long-term consequences for the environment and human health.
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| January 20, 2010 |
Martian Lakes
- Scientists find evidence of ancient lakes on Mars.
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| January 14, 2010 |
Volcanoes on Mercury
- Ancient volcanoes found on the planet mercury challenge assumptions about the planet's chemical composition.
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| January 8, 2010 |
Podcast
- Mountaintop removal mining's devastating effects on the environment, ancient Martian lakes, an herbal disappointment, fish that punish cheaters, and reading and writing in the brain.
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| December 17, 2009 |
Old Earthquakes
- Aftershocks from major earthquakes in the Midwest go on for hundreds of years.
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| November 17, 2009 |
Disaster Sensing
- Satellite imagery can sense chemical changes in the soil, revealing pollution, potential landslides, and more.
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| August 13, 2009 |
Improving Geothermal
- Chemical innovations could make geothermal power a bigger player in alternative energy.
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| August 6, 2009 |
Diamonds & Extinction
- What really killed North America's large mammals at the end of the last ice age?
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| July 30, 2009 |
Moon Elements
- A listener asks: What is the moon made of?
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| July 20, 2009 |
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will send back unprecedented information about our closest cosmic neighbor.
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| July 16, 2009 |
Rammed Earth
- The right amount of water can make a green building material super-sturdy.
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| June 12, 2009 |
Podcast
- NEWS FROM SPACE: Mercury's mystery side unveiled, to be or not to be a supernova, and the environmental considerations of expanding space exploration.
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| June 8, 2009 |
Mercury’s Surface
- The MESSENGER spacecraft is giving scientists a first look at an entire half of the planet Mercury.
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| May 15, 2009 |
Comet Roundup
- Comets may have provided the young Earth the molecules necessary for the formation of life.
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| May 8, 2009 |
Podcast
- COSMIC LIFE: Life on the ancient earth and beyond. The comet theory of the origins of life, how oxygen became abundant enough to support an explosion of life, a new method for locating life on other planets, and refuting the asteroid theory of dinosaur extinction.
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| April 20, 2009 |
Carbon-Soaking Rocks
- Certain rocks could absorb carbon dioxide emissions – if scientists can speed up the process.
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| April 10, 2009 |
Podcast
- How to calculate the distance of stars, new uses for old rocks in the fight against global warming, and why video games might actually be good for your vision.
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| January 12, 2009 |
Little Ice Age
- Widespread disease epidemics in the Americas may have set off a period of global cooling in the past.
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| December 5, 2008 |
Podcast
- Blue bananas hide in plain sight, life spurred earth's mineral diversity, boats sport manatee alarms, and more.
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| November 24, 2008 |
Mineral Evolution
- Earth's diverse array of inorganic minerals is the result of biological evolution.
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| October 24, 2008 |
Remote Sensing Roundup
- New features built into laptops can help scientists detect earthquakes.
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| August 13, 2008 |
Canada Explosion
- Diamonds and precious metals in the American Midwest point to a cataclysmic explosion in Canada long ago.
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| June 17, 2008 |
Lunar Dust
- Moon dust not only gets into space suits, it could jeopardize the health of future astronauts.
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| June 6, 2008 |
Podcast
- CO2's dangerous overlooked cousin, the origins of the southern hemisphere, why magnetic credit cards don't stick to the fridge and why so many white cats are deaf.
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| June 5, 2008 |
Gondwana Breakup
- A new explanation for how the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana broke into the continents of the southern hemisphere.
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| May 9, 2008 |
Podcast
- Conservation Update: A species map for Madagascar, captive tigers could revitalize wild populations, beetles that make deserts and cooling it with trees.
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| April 17, 2008 |
Transitional Fossils
- A listener asks: Have many transitional fossils showing evolutionary links between major groups of animals been found in the fossil record?
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| April 11, 2008 |
Microcrystal Roundup
- Tiny microcrystals can tell us about the geological history of continents, and they also affect the health of the planet.
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| March 4, 2008 |
Lost City Vent
- An unusual deep-sea vent may have churned out the first seeds of life.
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| February 6, 2008 |
Tectonics Slowdown
- Some researchers think plate tectonics may have come to a stop at different times in the past.
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| February 1, 2008 |
Podcast
- Geology Special: glowing diamonds, intermittent plate tectonics and preventing a helium shortage.
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| January 31, 2008 |
Diamond Fingerprinting
- Scientists are using phosphorescence to authenticate blue diamonds.
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| January 28, 2008 |
Conserving Helium
- Global helium resources are dwindling, and there'll be no substitute if we run out.
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| January 25, 2008 |
Podcast
- Space Research Update: the 11-year solar storm cycle returns, the MESSENGER spacecraft reports back from Mercury, and the search for intelligent life in the universe continues with the help of your computer. Also: Unique animal and plant adaptations.
This week's web links:
Space Weather Network: www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN;
Latest MESSENGER photographs of Mercury: messenger.jhuapl.edu;
Sign up for SETI@Home: setiathome.berkeley.edu
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