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Science

Saturday

Friday

History

Alan Turing Turns 100

Alan Turing was the father of modern computing, helped the allies win World War II, and was gay — which led to his arrest, and chemical castration. David Leavitt, author of The Man Who Knew Too Much discusses Turing's achievements, persecution, and tragic suicide.

Alan Turing Turns 100

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Spider-Man Gets A Physics Lesson

The Amazing Spider-Man opens in theaters next week--will there be some spidey-science on the screen? Physicist James Kakalios, author of The Physics of Superheroes, and a science consultant on the movie, breaks down the physics of Spider-Man, and explains why even superheroes need to obey some laws of nature.

Spider-Man Gets A Physics Lesson

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Bidding Farewell to Lonesome George

Lonesome George, the only living member of a subspecies of giant tortoise, died last weekend at his home in the Galapagos Islands. Linda Cayot, tortoise conservationist and scientific advisor to the Galapagos Conservancy, discusses the life of Lonesome George and how he fit in to the larger picture of biodiversity in the Galapagos.

Bidding Farewell to Lonesome George

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Energy

Meet The Energy-Saving Gadgets Of The Future

From a GPS that outsmarts traffic jams to flooring that generates electricity from footsteps, student inventors are dreaming up a more convenient, energy efficient future. Ira Flatow talks with winners of Microsoft's "Imagine Cup" and Siemens' "We Can Change The World Challenge" about their innovations.

Meet The Energy-Saving Gadgets Of The Future

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Environment

A Tale Of Two Coastlines, Skirted By Swelling Seas

Reports from the National Research Council and the U.S. Geological Survey say that sea levels on both coasts of the United States are rising at an accelerating rate. Oceanographer Peter Howd talks about what's pushing up the oceans, and which coastal hotspots may drown first.

A Tale Of Two Coastlines, Skirted By Swelling Seas

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Space

Astronauts Prepare For Departure

This Sunday, three members of the International Space Station crew will return to Earth on board a Kazakhstan-bound Soyuz craft, after over six months in orbit. Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers, two of the returning astronauts, and Joe Acaba, who arrived at the station in May, discuss life on board ISS, the visit of the Dragon capsule, and current activities in space.

Astronauts Prepare For Departure

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Thursday

How The Taste Of Tomatoes Went Bad (And Kept On Going)

Notice how some of these tomatoes have unripe-looking tops? Those "green shoulders" are actually the keys to flavor. pocius/Flickr.com hide caption

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pocius/Flickr.com

The Salt

How The Taste Of Tomatoes Went Bad (And Kept On Going)

Scientists have discovered that the gene that makes tomatoes uniformly ripe and red also makes them less tasty. But it's going to take consumer education and a willingness to pay more before the industry makes a change.

How The Taste Of Tomatoes Went Bad (And Kept On Going)

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Unlike Chicken And Pork, Beef Still Begins With Small Family Ranches

Barbara and Norman Roux stand in front of cattle pens on their farm outside of Moundridge, Kan., where she has raised cattle for nearly 70 years. Peggy Lowe/Harvest Public Media hide caption

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Peggy Lowe/Harvest Public Media

The Salt

Unlike Chicken And Pork, Beef Still Begins With Small Family Ranches

The beef industry is shaped like a bottle: It starts at the bottom with 750,000 small ranches and ends with just four meatpacking plants processing about 82 percent of the beef we eat.

Unlike Chicken And Pork, Beef Still Begins With Small Family Ranches

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Wednesday

A Nation Of Meat Eaters: See How It All Adds Up

Only Luxembourgers eat more meat per person than Americans. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

The Salt

A Nation Of Meat Eaters: See How It All Adds Up

Americans eat more meat than almost anyone else in the world, but habits are starting to change. We explore some of the meat trends and changes in graphs and charts.

A Nation Of Meat Eaters: See How It All Adds Up

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Monday

Twin Probes To Investigate Space Weather Mysteries

An artist's illustration of events on the sun changing the conditions in near-Earth space. NASA hide caption

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NASA

Space

Twin Probes To Investigate Space Weather Mysteries

When solar storms strike, radio signals jam, power grids go down, GPS systems fail. Two new satellites may soon help NASA scientists understand the effects of space weather down here on Earth. The probes, two years in the making, will finally be launched on Aug. 23.

Twin Probes To Investigate Space Weather Mysteries

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Environment

Seeking The Micro, Scientists Find The Big Picture

E.O Wilson and Sylvia Earle see the through very different lenses. Wilson started with his eyes to the ground, following ants as they lead him to the study of biodiversity and human nature. Earle dove into the Gulf of Mexico to focus on aquatic plants. That underwater view ultimately led her to study the relationship between degrading seas and life everywhere.

Seeking The Micro, Scientists Find The Big Picture

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Environment

Researchers Observe Climate Change, First-Hand

As the climate changes, scientists are documenting measurable shifts in the natural world — from a tremendous loss in Arctic sea ice and an increase in extreme weather like drought, floods and heatwaves, to the migration of plants and animals to new latitudes.

Researchers Observe Climate Change, First-Hand

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