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Pandemics I: The Swine Flu Threat

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:19:30 -0700

Paul Hoffman says public health officials are trying to learn from swine flu and prepare us for the next looming threats.

Pandemics II: Where Did Swine Flu Come From?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:08:27 -0700

Microbiologist Peter Palese looks the past, present, and future of the surprise pandemic.

Pandemics III: The Evolution of Swine Flu

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:07:48 -0700

Michael Worobey and other evolutionary biologists worked around the clock this spring to analyze the genetics of swine flu.

Pandemics IV: Are We Prepared?

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:04:40 -0700

Former CDC director Jeff Koplan says preparedness is a relative term, and you can't be ready for everything.

Pandemics V: Fighting Disease – and Each Other

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:12:59 -0700

Public health expert Barry Bloom says we need fair international agreements to best fight disease outbreaks.

Pandemics VI: The Stealth Pandemic

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:13:44 -0700

Barry Bloom's graphs show that obesity spreads just like an infectious disease.

Pandemics VII: No Swine Flu Parties!

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:14:56 -0700

Exposure to chicken pox can protect you for life; exposure to swine flu will protect you for a year.

Pandemics VIII: Health Insurance Stops Outbreaks

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:39:07 -0700

If some people are frozen out of the healthcare system, everyone is endangered.

Genomics I: Your Human Genome Project

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:46:39 -0700

Paul Hoffman: People can send away bits of themselves & learn about their genetic makeup.

Genomics II: When Less Information Is More

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:47:32 -0700

NYU medical geneticist Harry Ostrer says commercial genomic testing can leave consumers confused -- and scared.

Genomics III: Pouring Info Into the Gene Pool

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:49:12 -0700

Esther Dyson: Consumers love to learn about their ancestry by getting their genomes analyzed.

Genomics IV: Questions in the Answers

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:15:09 -0700

Boonsri Dickinson: My test results were vague, leaving me to figure out what it all meant.

Genomics V: Worried About Genetic Fate

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:16:11 -0700

Learning about your genomic profile can be a stressful affair.

Genomics VI: Do Genetic Tests Change People's Behavior?

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:28:11 -0700

Computational geneticist Tara Matise was curious—but not spooked—about having her genetic palm read.

Genomics VII: Reading Women's Biological Clocks

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:18:11 -0700

Tara Matise looks for biomarkers that predict when women will become infertile.

Green Gasoline

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:58:40 -0800

Carbon neutral gasoline ... from plants!

Secrets of Slithering Snakes

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:36:21 -0800

Slithering snakes teach scientists about movement and design

Geomagic: Expanding Tools for a 3-D World

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:50:44 -0700

From shoes to the space shuttle, advanced 3-D imaging streamlines cost and safety

Climate Change May Devastate Emperor Penguin Population

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:38:42 -0700

Survival of species could be threatened

Ice Core Secrets Could Reveal Answers to Global Warming

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:10:13 -0700

Ancient ice cores provide clues to future climate change

Renewable Energy: A Reality Check in Rural China

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:07:49 -0700

Young engineer takes on a global challenge: Clean and sustainable energy, one village at a time

Extremophile Hunter

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:55:16 -0700

The search is on for extremophiles that may provide insights about life elsewhere in the cosmos

Unraveling the Mysteries of Tornadoes

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:40:13 -0700

Unraveling the Mysteries of Tornadoes

Eyesight to the Blind

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:11:24 -0700

Artificial retinas give hope for restoring sight

Evolution & Human Nature

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:27:36 -0700

A panel discussion based on a recent Big Questions essay series sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation

Life on Europa?

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:28:43 -0700

NASA is betting $4 billion that there's life in frigid oceans on Jupiter's mysterious moon.

Light-Up Life

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:27:20 -0700

A sophisticated new camera finally lets us see the freaky world of deep-ocean bioluminescent animals.

The Ups and Downs of Forgetting

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:00:05 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 1

Music Soothes the Savage Brain

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:04:06 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 2

Where Is Consciousness?

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:04:53 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 3

Humans: Natural Born Teachers

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:11:31 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 4

The Abu Ghraib Guard in All of Us

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:16:57 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 5

Fiction: A Laboratory for Possibilities

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:10:57 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 6

Your Brain Decided Without Telling You

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:17:18 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 7

Sometimes, 1 Life > 5 Lives

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:10:00 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 8

Taking Neuroscience to Court

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:09:28 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 9

Why Most of Your Ideas Are Terrible

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:23:39 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 10

Subliminal Messages and Violence

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:06:07 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 11

How Thought Becomes Action

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:12:39 -0700

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, Part 12

No Head Start

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:20:28 -0700

The brains of kids with ADHD mature a few years later than other kids'—but they catch up in the end.

Power from Apple Pie

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:20:49 -0700

Researchers are using bacteria to turn everything from garbage to cellulose into fuel.

Building with Photos

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:24:22 -0700

Smart software can turn tourists' ordinary snapshots into a 3-D model.

Enjoying Aggression

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:24:49 -0700

Being aggressive presses a pleasure button in the brain—and it might even be addictive.

Mind-Reading Machine

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:25:13 -0700

fMRI imaging can distinguish when you're thinking about a hammer or a screwdriver.

The Vocal Joystick

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:30:51 -0700

Using a carefully controlled hum, paralyzed people can control a mouse¿or a robot arm.

Our Smart Saliva

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:31:28 -0700

An enzyme in our spit helps digest starchy foods and may have allowed us to grow big brains.

Interview: Danah Boyd

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:32:26 -0700

A look at how kids use technology, where mobile phones are going, and the Facebook vs. MySpace smackdown.

Gecko + Mussel = Geckel

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:32:47 -0700

Combining the abilities of two disparate animals creates an amazing adhesive.

Suicide Soothsayer

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:35:04 -0700

A blood test could reveal who has suicide hiding in their genes and save a lot of lives.

Reprogramming Sheep

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:35:32 -0700

A low-tech way to turn grazing animals into self-powered weeding machines

The Fat Virus

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:38:02 -0700

Millions of people are carrying a fat-related virus. But would their knowing make any difference?

Interview: Joe LeDoux

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:36:06 -0700

The rock star/neuroscience professor talks about erasing memories, why amnesiacs remember things best, and letting evolution do our thinking.

Household Robots

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:39:38 -0700

Smart machines can adapt to the world instead of needing the world to adapt to them.

Caging Carbon

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:37:33 -0700

A new device pulls the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Brain Gardening

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:41:51 -0700

Blocking a brain chemical in some people with mental retardation makes their neurons grow like healthy plants.

Got Your Back

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:42:28 -0700

A robotic-looking exoskeleton helps take the break out of backbreaking work.

Discover Interview: Janna Levin

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:44:21 -0700

The Columbia University physicist talks about the beginning of the universe, her award-winning fiction, and being on The Colbert Report.

Exercise Gene

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:45:36 -0700

Exercise activates a gene that turns rats into fat-burning machines.

The Search for Sweet

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:44:58 -0700

There are about 500 compounds that taste sweet to the human tongue. No one has yet found one that tastes as good as sugar.

Anti-Aging Gene

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:48:49 -0700

Can a simple flip of a gene make you live twice as long?

Ocean's Glowing

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:50:16 -0700

Most animals the deep ocean have some kind of luminescence for communication or defense.

World's Smallest Liver

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:51:20 -0700

A nano-sized laboratory could help find cures for liver diseases.

Mind Control

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:52:03 -0700

A paralyzed man can operate a computer mouse and even a prosthetic hand using a brain implant.

Excited To Be Alive

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:57:58 -0700

Newborn dolphins and killer whales don't sleep. At all.

Super Smellers

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:01:18 -0700

A mouse with an especially sharp nose could help old folks keep their sense of smell.

Speaking Songbird

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:56:32 -0700

A human speech gene is found in other sonically skilled animals: songbirds, hummingbirds, bats, and dolphins.

Curry Your Brain

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:00:16 -0700

A chemical in the spice turmeric, used widely in Indian food, could help ward off Alzheimer's.

Scorched Wine

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:58:49 -0700

Global warming may push wine-growing from today's hot spots to cooler climes.

Mario Trumps Ritalin

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:59:32 -0700

A video game, of all things, can help improve young children's attention spans.

In Awe of Shock Waves

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:56:27 -0700

A super-fast camera reveals the dynamics of explosions.

Weaving Space

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:43:00 -0700

Two mathematicians finally found a way to demonstrate hyperbolic space--through knitting.

Sage Grouse Bot

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:43:35 -0700

Robotic Sage Grouse