Month: February 2011
Pulse of the Planet Daily Audio
Science Diary: Koalas – Dying
What is keeping St. Bees Island’s koala population in check?
February 25, 2011Science Diary: Koalas- Strategies
Koalas don’t keep quiet and still all day because they’re lazy – it’s a metabolic strategy!
February 24, 2011Science Diary: Lemurs of Madagascar – Good News/Bad News
An unexpected addition to a lemur group is discovered while searching for the missing Brown.
February 23, 2011Science Diary: Lemurs of Madagascar – Missing!
Brown, the lemur, is MIA.
February 22, 2011Science Diary: Lemurs of Madagascar – Volunteer Labor
Knowing the minutiae of what a lemur eats can give scientists information about the health of the animal and its ecosystem.
February 21, 2011Science Diary: Lemurs of Madagascar – Back to the Field
A Science Diarist studying lemurs returns to the forests of Madagascar.
February 18, 2011Material Science – Sports
Want to design some cool new sports stuff? Better know your polymers.
February 17, 2011Tully Ice Harvest: History
These days, if you want ice, you just go to the freezer and get it. But some folks remember when ice was delivered door to door in huge blocks.
February 16, 2011Tully Ice Harvest : Cutting
At an annual festival in upstate New York, they cut blocks of ice out of a frozen lake and pack them in sawdust. In the summer, they’ll use the ice to make homemade ice cream.
February 15, 2011Tully Ice Harvest: Prepare
Every year at this time, folks in Tully, New York, harvest ice out of a frozen lake the old-fashioned way, with horsepower and antique tools.
February 14, 2011Sounds – Steel Vibration
How can you keep a piece of steel vibrating for a long time? Are the balloons ready?
February 11, 2011Spritzer Whizzer
What does it take to design a completely new kind of musical instrument?
February 10, 2011Carbon-Friendly Plastic
Not only does bio-based plastic degrade in the environment, but when it does, no extra carbon dioxide is released.
February 9, 2011Compostable Plastic
Conventional plastic can persist for hundreds of years, but bag your produce in bio-based plastic, and you can toss the scraps AND the bag right into the compost bin.
February 8, 2011Material Science – Helmets
Why are some sports helmets designed to break on impact?
February 7, 2011Material Science – Making Chains
Monomers, polymers – what is it that makes plastics so versatile?
February 4, 2011Ocean Currents – Southern Ocean
One of the mysteries of science is how do sinking nutrients get back to the surface of the ocean?
February 3, 2011Ocean Currents – Sinking Nutrient
Scientists are just beginning to understand how the dynamics of the ocean effect the life within it.
February 2, 2011Ocean Currents – Breath of Life
Did you know where half of the photosynthesis on earth takes place?
February 1, 2011Fire Ants – The Problem With the Solution
In attempting biological controls we may be unknowingly shifting an ecological balance.