NPR Series: Krulwich On Science http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5500502&ft=1&f=5500502 NPR Science Correspondent Robert Krulwich demystifies dense and difficult science. Copyright 2009 NPR - For Personal Use Only NPR API RSS Generator 0.93 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:30:00 -0400 http://media.npr.org/images/podcasts/thumbnail/npr_generic_image_75.jpg Krulwich On Science http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5500502&ft=1&f=5500502 yes Why Leaves Really Fall Off Trees You think you know why leaves fall off trees. Well, you're wrong. It's not the wind. It's not the cold. Because leaves aren't the brightest bulbs in the world, the tree has to make an executive decision come fall. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:30:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114288700&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114288700&ft=1&f=5500502 You think you know why leaves fall off trees. Well, you're wrong. It's not the wind. It's not the cold. Because leaves aren't the brightest bulbs in the world, the tree has to make an executive decision come fall. 240 no You think you know why leaves fall off trees. Well, you're wrong. It's not the wind. It's not the cold. Because leaves aren't the brightest bulbs in the world, the tree has to make an executive decision come fall.

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]]> Video: How A Virus Invades Your Body If flu vaccines are in short supply, it's especially important to know who's getting sick and where. At NPR.ORG/health, there's a video that shows how a virus invades the body. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114156779&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114156779&ft=1&f=5500502 If flu vaccines are in short supply, it's especially important to know who's getting sick and where. At NPR.ORG/health, there's a video that shows how a virus invades the body. 55 no If flu vaccines are in short supply, it's especially important to know who's getting sick and where. At NPR.ORG/health, there's a video that shows how a virus invades the body.

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]]> Flu Attack! How A Virus Invades Your Body When you get the flu, viruses turn your cells into tiny virus factories that help spread the disease. This animation takes you to the front lines of a viral assault that could be going on inside your body right now. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114075029&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114075029&ft=1&f=5500502 When you get the flu, viruses turn your cells into tiny virus factories that help spread the disease. This animation takes you to the front lines of a viral assault that could be going on inside your body right now. no When you get the flu, viruses turn your cells into tiny virus factories that help spread the disease. This animation takes you to the front lines of a viral assault that could be going on inside your body right now.

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]]> To Casket Or Not To Casket? Bernd Heinrich, one of America's great field biologists, talks with NPR's Robert Krulwich about what to do with our bodies after we're dead. Is it better to be buried, "beetlized," or frozen solid and shattered into a million pieces? Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112894124&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112894124&ft=1&f=5500502 Bernd Heinrich, one of America's great field biologists, talks with NPR's Robert Krulwich about what to do with our bodies after we're dead. Is it better to be buried, "beetlized," or frozen solid and shattered into a million pieces? 323 no Bernd Heinrich, one of America's great field biologists, talks with NPR's Robert Krulwich about what to do with our bodies after we're dead. Is it better to be buried, "beetlized," or frozen solid and shattered into a million pieces?

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]]> The Crow Paradox Here's a surprise: Wild crows can recognize individual people. They can pick a person out of crowd, follow them, and remember them for years. But people — even people who love crows — can't recognize individual crows. Here, two experiments that tell the story. Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106826971&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106826971&ft=1&f=5500502 Here's a surprise: Wild crows can recognize individual people. They can pick a person out of crowd, follow them, and remember them for years. But people — even people who love crows — can't recognize individual crows. Here, two experiments that tell the story. 469 no Here's a surprise: Wild crows can recognize individual people. They can pick a person out of crowd, follow them, and remember them for years. But people — even people who love crows — can't recognize individual crows. Here, two experiments that tell the story.

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]]> Hot! Hot! Hot! How Much Heat Can You Take? Now that it's high summer, you're probably wondering how much heat you can take. Some 230 years ago, three curious London gentlemen walked into a room with a few eggs, a steak and a dog — with exactly that question. Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106880000&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106880000&ft=1&f=5500502 Now that it's high summer, you're probably wondering how much heat you can take. Some 230 years ago, three curious London gentlemen walked into a room with a few eggs, a steak and a dog — with exactly that question. 0 no Now that it's high summer, you're probably wondering how much heat you can take. Some 230 years ago, three curious London gentlemen walked into a room with a few eggs, a steak and a dog — with exactly that question.

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]]> Remembering An Old, Forgotten Soldier Once upon a time, there was a well-known American soldier named Williams Jenkins Worth. His monument still stands in the heart of New York City, but while thousands pass it each day, few remember the man who lies beneath it. Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104448200&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104448200&ft=1&f=5500502 Once upon a time, there was a well-known American soldier named Williams Jenkins Worth. His monument still stands in the heart of New York City, but while thousands pass it each day, few remember the man who lies beneath it. 292 no Once upon a time, there was a well-known American soldier named Williams Jenkins Worth. His monument still stands in the heart of New York City, but while thousands pass it each day, few remember the man who lies beneath it.

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]]> The Secret Advantage Of Being Short Imagine if someone touches your toe and your nose at the same time. You feel those touches simultaneously; but really the signal from your nose reaches your brain before the signal from your toe. This is part of the reason why one neuroscientist thinks short people might experience things faster than tall people. Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104183551&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104183551&ft=1&f=5500502 Imagine if someone touches your toe and your nose at the same time. You feel those touches simultaneously; but really the signal from your nose reaches your brain before the signal from your toe. This is part of the reason why one neuroscientist thinks short people might experience things faster than tall people. 340 no Imagine if someone touches your toe and your nose at the same time. You feel those touches simultaneously; but really the signal from your nose reaches your brain before the signal from your toe. This is part of the reason why one neuroscientist thinks short people might experience things faster than tall people.

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]]> Shakespeare Had Roses All Wrong Through Juliet's lips, Shakespeare said "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But the Bard may have been wrong &mdash; names <em>do</em> matter. Language researchers say your sense of the rose depends on what you call it. Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102518565&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102518565&ft=1&f=5500502 Through Juliet's lips, Shakespeare said "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But the Bard may have been wrong &mdash; names <em>do</em> matter. Language researchers say your sense of the rose depends on what you call it. 439 no Through Juliet's lips, Shakespeare said "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But the Bard may have been wrong — names do matter. Language researchers say your sense of the rose depends on what you call it.

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]]> 'Hey I'm Dead!' The Story Of The Very Lively Ant How do ants know when another ant is dead? To find out, the most celebrated, most eminent ant scholar in the world came up with a plan. Play a little trick on the ants by creating an artificial corpse &mdash; a zombie ant from the living dead. And what did the ant scholar find out? Hint: It stinks! Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102601823&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102601823&ft=1&f=5500502 How do ants know when another ant is dead? To find out, the most celebrated, most eminent ant scholar in the world came up with a plan. Play a little trick on the ants by creating an artificial corpse &mdash; a zombie ant from the living dead. And what did the ant scholar find out? Hint: It stinks! 274 no How do ants know when another ant is dead? To find out, the most celebrated, most eminent ant scholar in the world came up with a plan. Play a little trick on the ants by creating an artificial corpse — a zombie ant from the living dead. And what did the ant scholar find out? Hint: It stinks!

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]]> What Darwin Learned From Kissing When Charles Darwin did anything &mdash; dig in his garden, play the piano, even when he first kissed and pecked his fiancee Emma &mdash; he would automatically compare himself to other creatures. Darwin found kissing especially intriguing as you will hear in Robert Krulwich's conversations with writers Deborah Heiligman and Adam Gopnick. Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:44:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101241482&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101241482&ft=1&f=5500502 When Charles Darwin did anything &mdash; dig in his garden, play the piano, even when he first kissed and pecked his fiancee Emma &mdash; he would automatically compare himself to other creatures. Darwin found kissing especially intriguing as you will hear in Robert Krulwich's conversations with writers Deborah Heiligman and Adam Gopnick. 0 no When Charles Darwin did anything — dig in his garden, play the piano, even when he first kissed and pecked his fiancee Emma — he would automatically compare himself to other creatures. Darwin found kissing especially intriguing as you will hear in Robert Krulwich's conversations with writers Deborah Heiligman and Adam Gopnick.

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]]> Darwin's Very Bad Day: 'Oops, We Just Ate It!' When young Charles Darwin set out on the Beagle, near the top of his wish list was a rare and coveted bird: the lesser rhea, a South American version of the ostrich. The bird had been sighted by a French rival &mdash; but never caught. Darwin wanted to be the first to snatch the prize for Britain. And he did find the bird, just not in the shape he was expecting. Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101090483&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101090483&ft=1&f=5500502 When young Charles Darwin set out on the Beagle, near the top of his wish list was a rare and coveted bird: the lesser rhea, a South American version of the ostrich. The bird had been sighted by a French rival &mdash; but never caught. Darwin wanted to be the first to snatch the prize for Britain. And he did find the bird, just not in the shape he was expecting. 470 no When young Charles Darwin set out on the Beagle, near the top of his wish list was a rare and coveted bird: the lesser rhea, a South American version of the ostrich. The bird had been sighted by a French rival — but never caught. Darwin wanted to be the first to snatch the prize for Britain. And he did find the bird, just not in the shape he was expecting.

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]]> Fruit Fly Scientists Swatted Down Over 'Cheap Date' One of the privileges of being a scientist is that when you discover something new, you get to name it anything you want. So scientists have labeled fruit fly genes things like "Cheap Date," "I'm Not Dead Yet" and "Sonic Hedgehog." But human patients tend to take offense when they're diagnosed with having "Lunatic Fringe." Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:52:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100468532&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100468532&ft=1&f=5500502 One of the privileges of being a scientist is that when you discover something new, you get to name it anything you want. So scientists have labeled fruit fly genes things like "Cheap Date," "I'm Not Dead Yet" and "Sonic Hedgehog." But human patients tend to take offense when they're diagnosed with having "Lunatic Fringe." 0 no One of the privileges of being a scientist is that when you discover something new, you get to name it anything you want. So scientists have labeled fruit fly genes things like "Cheap Date," "I'm Not Dead Yet" and "Sonic Hedgehog." But human patients tend to take offense when they're diagnosed with having "Lunatic Fringe."

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]]> Your Family May Once Have Been A Different Color Skin pigmentation in human lineages has changed much faster and more frequently than scientists previously thought, says anthropologist Nina Jablonski. A population can be one color (light or dark), and 100 generations later &mdash; with no intermarriage &mdash; can be a very different color. Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:45:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100057939&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100057939&ft=1&f=5500502 Skin pigmentation in human lineages has changed much faster and more frequently than scientists previously thought, says anthropologist Nina Jablonski. A population can be one color (light or dark), and 100 generations later &mdash; with no intermarriage &mdash; can be a very different color. 0 no Skin pigmentation in human lineages has changed much faster and more frequently than scientists previously thought, says anthropologist Nina Jablonski. A population can be one color (light or dark), and 100 generations later — with no intermarriage — can be a very different color.

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]]> 'Falling For Science': Obeying All The Signs MIT professor Sherry Turkle has spent 25 years collecting essays from her students based on the following prompt: "Was there an object you met during childhood or adolescence that had an influence on your path into science?" One student remembered his obsession with stop signs. Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:46:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97825059&ft=1&f=5500502 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97825059&ft=1&f=5500502 MIT professor Sherry Turkle has spent 25 years collecting essays from her students based on the following prompt: "Was there an object you met during childhood or adolescence that had an influence on your path into science?" One student remembered his obsession with stop signs. 0 no MIT professor Sherry Turkle has spent 25 years collecting essays from her students based on the following prompt: "Was there an object you met during childhood or adolescence that had an influence on your path into science?" One student remembered his obsession with stop signs.

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