Big Picture Science for 05/26/14 - Just For the Fund Of It

Big Picture Science - Just For the Fund Of It

Get ready for déjà vu as you listen to some of our favorite interviews in the past year. It’s our annual fundraising podcast. Come for the great interviews, stay for the great interviews. Lend us your support along the way.

What’s for dinner? Maybe fried bugs. Listen as we do a taste test. Speaking of dinner, learn why saliva’s acceptable as long as it’s in our mouth. But dollop some into our own soup, and we push the bowl away.

Hear adventures of space walking and of space hunting: what happens to the search for extrasolar planets now that the Kepler spacecraft is compromised, and an astronomy research project that takes our interviewer by surprise. Plus, the case for scrapping high school algebra. That’s right: No more “the first train leaves Cleveland at 4:00 pm …” problems. Also … why “The Simpsons” is chock-a-block with advanced math.

And, in a world where everyone carries GPS technology in their pockets, will humans ever get lost again – and what’s lost if we don’t.

Plus, Mary Roach gives us a tour of our digestive systems.

All this and more on a special Big Picture Science podcast.

Guests:

• Hiawatha Bray – Technology reporter, Boston Globe, author of You Are Here: From the Compass to GPS, the History and Future of How We Find Ourselves
• Chris Hadfield – Astronaut and author of An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything
• Geoff Marcy – Astronomer, University of California, Berkeley
• Andrew Hacker – Professor of political science and mathematics at Queens College, City University of New York. His article, “Is Algebra Necessary?”, appeared in The New York Times in 2012.
• Simon Singh – Science writer, author of The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
• Mary Roach – Author, most recently, of Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
• Jill Mikucki – Microbiologist at the University of Tennessee
• Michael Pollan – Journalist, author of Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
  . His article, “The Intelligent Plant,” appeared in the December 23rd issue of The New Yorker.

NOTE: Since this is a fund raising show the episode "Say La Vie" will be the show featured on radio stations

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

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.

Meteor Outburst Possible Tonight

Source - Space Weather News for May 23, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

METEOR ALERT:  This weekend, Earth will pass through a stream of debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR. If forecasters are correct, the encounter could produce an outburst of bright meteors numbering more than 200 per hour.  Most models agree that peak rates should occur between the hours of 0600 UT and 0800 UT (2 a.m. and 4 a.m. EDT) on Saturday morning, May 24th, a time frame that favors observers in North America.  It is worth noting, however, that Earth has never encountered this stream of debris before, so forecasters cannot be certain of their predictions.  The display could be a complete dud, a fantastic "meteor storm," or anything in between. 

Visit http://spaceweather.com for full coverage.

El Niño: Is 2014 the new 1997?

Source - NASA Science News for May 19, 2014
According to data from the NASA/French Space Agency Jason-2 satellite, something is brewing in the Pacific. Researchers say it could be a significant El Niño with implications for global weather and climate.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/19may_elnino/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaxPwASV2kY




License: Standard YouTube License

Big Picture Science for 05/19/14 - We Can Rebuild It

Big Picture Science - We Can Rebuild It

What goes up must come down. But it’s human nature to want to put things back together again. It can even be a matter of survival in the wake of some natural or manmade disasters.

First, a portrait of disaster: the eruption of Tambora in 1815 is the biggest volcanic explosion in 5,000 years. It changed the course of history, although few people have heard of it.

Then, stories of reconstruction: assembling, disassembling, moving and reassembling one of the nation’s largest T. Rex skeletons, and what we learn about dinos in the process.

Also, the reanimation of Gorongosa National Park in Africa, after years of civil war destroyed nearly all the wildlife.

And a handbook for rebuilding civilization itself from scratch.

Guests:

• Gillen D’Arcy Wood – Professor of English, University of Illinois, author of Tambora: The Eruption That Changed the World
• Patrick Leiggi – Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana
• Matt Carrano – Curator of dinosauria, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
• Greg Carr – Entrepreneur and philanthropist, president of Gorongosa National Park, in Mozambique
• Lewis Dartnell – Astrobiologist, University of Leicester, author of The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch

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

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.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is Shrinking

Source - NASA Science News for May 15, 2014

New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope confirm that Jupiter's Great Red Spot is shrinking. The behemoth storm is now at its smallest size ever measured.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/15may_grs/

No Turning Back: West Antarctic Glaciers in Irreversible Decline

Source - NASA Science News for May 13, 2014

A new study by researchers at NASA and the University of California, Irvine, finds a rapidly melting section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appears to be in irreversible decline, with nothing to stop the glaciers in this area from melting into the sea.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/12may_noturningback/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2pYHMx5bN8



License: Standard YouTube License

Big Picture Science for 05/12/14 - Smiley Virus

Big Picture Science - Smiley Virus

For many, the word virus is a synonym for disease – diseases of humans, plants, and even computers. Ebola is an example: a virus with a big and terrifying reputation. And yet the vast majority of viruses are not only friendly, they are essential for life.

Find out how viruses make plant life in Yellowstone’s hottest environments possible, and fear your spinach salad no longer: a scientist recruits viruses to defeat E. coli bacteria.

Plus, a new study presents the disconcerting facts of just how far a sneeze travels, and viruses in another kind of culture: but is ours benevolent? Find out from the man who coined the term, “viral media.”

Guests:

• David Quammen – Science journalist, contributing writer for National Geographic Magazine, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic. His Op Ed about Ebola appeared in the New York Times.
• Marilyn Roossinck – Professor of plant pathology and environmental microbiology, Penn State, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
• Paul Ebner – Microbiologist and an associate professor of animal sciences, Purdue University
• Lydia Bourouiba – Physical applied mathematician, department of civil and environmental engineering, M.I.T.
• Douglas Rushkoff – Media theorist, author, Media Virus! Hidden Agendas in Popular Cultureand Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now

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

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 New Meteor Shower in May?

Source - NASA Science News for May 6, 2014

Sky watchers in North America could witness a new meteor shower on May 24th when, for the first time, Earth passes through a cloud of dust from periodic comet 209P/LINEAR.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/06may_newshower/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw3hVTUQ43U



License: Standard YouTube License

Big Picture Science for 05/05/14 - Skeptic Check: What, We Worry?

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: What, We Worry?

We all have worries. But as trained observers, scientists learn things that can affect us all. So what troubles them, should also trouble us. From viral pandemics to the limits of empirical knowledge, find out what science scenarios give researchers insomnia.

But also, we discover which scary scenarios that preoccupy the public don’t worry the scientists at all. Despite the rumors, you needn’t fear that the Large Hadron Collider will produce black holes that could swallow the Earth.

It’s Skeptic Check, our monthly look at critical thinking … but don’t take our word for it!

Guests:

• David Quammen – Science journalist, contributing writer for National Geographic Magazine, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
• Sandra Faber – Astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz
• Paul Saffo – Technology forecaster based in the Silicon Valley
• Seth Shostak – Senior astronomer, SETI Institute, host, Big Picture Science
• Elisa Quintana – Research scientist, SETI Institute
• Lawrence Krauss – Theoretical physicist, Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University

Inspiration for this episode comes from the book, What Should We Be Worried About?: Real Scenarios That Keep Scientists Up at Night edited by John Brockman.

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

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.

Meteors from Halley's Comet

Source - Space Weather News for May 3, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

METEOR WATCH:  Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on the night of May 5-6 with as many as 60 meteors per hour in the southern hemisphere and half that number in the north.

Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and observing tips.

Carrington-class CME Narrowly Misses Earth

Source - NASA Science News for May 2, 2014

Two years ago, an intense solar storm narrowly missed Earth. If it had hit, researchers say, we could still be picking up the pieces.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/02may_superstorm/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ukQhycKOFw



License: Standard YouTube License