Big Picture Science for 12/31/12 - Skeptic Check: They're Baack!

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: They're Baack!

ENCORE Could you have had a past life? Is it possible that some part of you is the reincarnation of a person – or maybe an animal – that lived long ago?

We’ll hear the story of a young boy who started having nightmares about a plane crash. His parents thought he was the reincarnation of a downed, World War II fighter pilot. But his story might not fly.

Also … is there any biological basis for reincarnation? Animals that indulge in the big sleep.

Suspended animation is Hollywood’s favorite device for interstellar travel … But could we really put a dimmer switch on human metabolism? Learn how techniques for hitting the hold button for humans might be just around the corner.

Guests:

• Cynthia Meyersburg – Research psychologist at Harvard University
• Tori Hoehler – Astrobiologist at the NASA Ames Research Center
• André Bormanis – Screenwriter, producer and former science consultant for “Star Trek”
• Matt Andrews – Biologist at the University of Minnesota, Duluth
• Phil Plait – Astronomer, and author of the Bad Astronomy blog at Discover Magazine
• Mark Roth – Biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle

This podcast first released June 27, 2011

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_They_re_Baack_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Christmas Sky Show

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 21, 2012:

The Moon and Jupiter are converging for a heavenly sky show on Christmas 2012. Got a telescope? Something is happening on Jupiter that makes it an extra-interesting target for backyard optics.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/21dec_christmasnight/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzSUo-4ctcU




License: Standard YouTube License

Big Picture Science for 12/24/12 - Remembers Only

Big Picture Science - Remembers Only

ENCORE You must remember this… wait, wait… I had it… on the tip of my tongue… (Memory is a tricky thing and most of us would like to improve it)… oh, yes: Discover the secrets of stupefying, knock-your-socks-off recall by a U.S. Memory Champion.

Also, almost everything we know about memory comes from the life of one man born in 1926 and known as H.M., the world’s “most unforgettable amnesiac.”

Plus, the sum total of the global data storage capacity in hard drives, thumb drives, the Internet, you name it… guess how many exabytes it comes to?

Guests:

• Larry Squire – Professor of psychiatry and neurosciences and psychology at the University of California, San Diego and a scientist at the VA Medical Center in San Diego
• Jacopo Annese – Neuroanatomist and Director of the Brain Observatory at the University of California, San Diego
• Joshua Foer – Author of Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
• Martin Hilbert – Economist and social scientist, University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

This podcast first released May 30, 2011

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Remembers_Only

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

A Transit of Venus on Dec. 21, 2012

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 20, 2012

This Friday, Dec. 21st, researchers will use NASA's Cassini spacecraft to observe a rare transit of Venus visible from the planet Saturn.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/20dec_transitofvenus/

Here is a bonus video about DEC 21, 2012: NASA is so sure the world will not come to an end on Dec. 21, 2012, they've already released a video about the day after. View "Why the World Didn't End Yesterday" at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY_Gc1bF8ds

Or you can view the video here:



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Lunar Impact Site Named After Sally Ride

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 18, 2012:

NASA has named the site where two spacecraft hit the Moon on Dec. 17th in honor of the late astronaut Sally K. Ride, who was America's first woman in space and a member of the GRAIL mission team.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/17dec_sallyride/

Big Picture Science for 12/17/12 - Before the Big Bang

Big Picture Science - Before the Big Bang

It’s one of the biggest questions you can ask: has the universe existed forever? The Big Bang is supposedly the moment it all began. But now scientists wonder if there isn’t an earlier chapter to our origin story. And maybe chapters before that! What happened before the Big Bang? It’s the ultimate prequel.

Plus – the Big Bang as scientific story: nail biter or snoozer?

Guests

• Roger Penrose – Cosmologist, Oxford University
• Sean Carroll – Theoretical physicist, Caltech, author of The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World
• Simon Steele – Astronomer, Tufts University
• Andrei Linde – Physicist, Stanford University
• Jonathan Gottschall – Writer, author of The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
• Marcus Chown – Science writer and cosmology consultant for New Scientist magazine

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Before_the_Big_Bang

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.


Tags:  SETI, news, podcast, cosmology, physics, culture, multiverse, universe, inflation,

Why the World Didn't End Yesterday

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 14, 2012

NASA is so sure the world won't come to an end on Dec. 21, 2012, they have already released a video and news item for the day after.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/14dec_yesterday/

NASA Gravity Probes Prepare to Hit the Moon

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 13, 2012:

A pair of NASA spacecraft orbiting the Moon are being prepared for a controlled descent into a mountain near the lunar north pole on Monday, Dec. 17.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/13dec_grail/

The Geminid Meteor Shower is Underway

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 13, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: Earth is passing through a stream of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower.  Around the world, observers are counting as many as 60 shooting stars per hour, a number which could increase sharply as the shower peaks on the night of Dec. 13-14.  Wherever you live, the best time to look is during the dark hours between local midnight and sunrise.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps, photos, and updates.

Big Asteroid Tumbles Harmlessly Past Earth

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 12, 2012:

Asteroid 4179 Toutatis is tumbling past Earth this week. Astronomers are taking advantage of the flyby to ping the space rock using NASA radars and obtain images of unprecedented clarity.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/12dec_toutatis/

A New Meteor Shower in December?

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 11, 2012:

Forecasters say a stream of meteoroids from Comet Wirtanen could cut across Earth's path this week, creating a new meteor shower. If the shower materializes (a big if) it would add to the ongoing display of Geminid meteors which peaks on Dec. 13-14.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/11dec_newshower/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEPPGF3KrMQ





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Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks on Dec. 13-14, 2012

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 9, 2012

The annual Geminid Meteor Shower is set to peak on Dec. 13 and 14, 2012. The display, which is caused by an unusual 'rock comet,' could produce more than 100 meteors per hour during the dark hours before dawn this Thursday and Friday.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/09dec_rockcomet/

Big Picture Science for 12/10/12 - Gene Hack, Man

Big Picture Science - Gene Hack, Man

Computers and DNA have a few things in common. Both use digital codes and are prone to viruses. And, it seems, both can be hacked. From restoring the flavor of tomatoes to hacking into the president’s DNA, discover the promise and peril of gene tinkering.

Plus, computer hacking. Just how easy is it to break into your neighbor’s email account? What about the CIA’s?

Also, one man’s concern that radio telescopes might pick up an alien computer virus.

Guests:

• George Weinstock – Microbiologist, geneticist, associate director at the Washington University Genome Institute, St. Louis
• Jim Giovannoni – Plant molecular biologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cornell University campus
• Andrew Hessel – Faculty member, Singularity University, research scientist at Autodesk, and co-author of “Hacking the President’s DNA” in the November 2012 issue of The Atlantic
• Dan Kaminsky – Chief scientist of security firm DHK
• Dick Carrigan – Scientist emeritus at Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Gene_Hack_Man

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Unprecedented New Images of Earth at Night

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 5, 2012

New images from a NASA-NOAA satellite reveal the Earth at night as never seen before. Highlights include views of superstorm Sandy making landfall in moonlight, photos of Northern Lights over the Arctic, and spectacular snapshots of city lights.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/05dec_earthatnight/

Voyager 1 Tastes Interstellar Space

Source - NASA Science News for Dec. 4, 2012

Eleven billion miles from Earth, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a "magnetic highway" that connects our solar system to interstellar space. This could be one of Voyager 1's last steps on its long journey to the stars.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/03dec_voyager1/

Big Picture Science for 12/03/12 - Doomsday Live, Part 2

Big Picture Science - Doomsday Live, Part 2

If there is only one show you hear about the end of the world, let it be this one. Recorded before a live audience at the Computer History Museum on October 27^th, 2012, this two-part special broadcast of Big Picture Science separates fact from fiction in doomsday prediction.

In this second episode: a global viral pandemic … climate change … and the threat of assimilation by super-intelligent machines.

Presented as part of the Bay Area Science Festival.

Find out more about our guests and their work.

Guests:

• Kirsten Gilardi – Wildlife veterinarian at the University of California, Davis. leader of the Gorilla Doctors program, and team leader for the US-AID Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT program
• Ken Caldeira – Climate scientist, Carnegie Intuition for Science at Stanford University
• Luke Muehlhauser – Executive Director of the Singularity Institute
• Bradley Voytek – Neuroscience researcher at the University of California, San Francisco

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Doomsday_Live_Part_2

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.