Online NewsHour: Science & Technology Archive | 2008

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY


	2008 DECEMBER December 31, 2008 Venture Capitalists Look to Green Businesses for Boom A recent surge in investments by venture capitalists in eco-friendly businesses is possibly triggering a boom in green and clean technology. Analysts report on the green market and its ability to make money while saving oil.

	December 31, 2008 Students Engineer "BioBeer" for Biology Competition A team of college students at Rice University in Texas is engineering a new strain of beer that contains resveratrol, the heart-healthy ingredient found in red wine. The project is part of the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition.

	December 31, 2008 Building Biological Machines Scientists in the growing field of synthetic biology are using basic biological "building blocks" -- snippets of DNA -- to engineer useful living organisms, such as bacteria that can break down plastic in landfills. An expert on synthetic biology answers your questions.

	December 30, 2008 Students, Scientists Build Biological 'Machines' Student participants in the 2008 International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition crafted biological "machines," or living organisms, using original combinations of DNA and other organic material to help tackle environmental and health problems. Tom Bearden reports.

	December 29, 2008 Alaskan Village Copes With Real-life Impacts of Global Climate Change In Shishmaref, Alaska -- a 600-person village 20 miles south of the Arctic Circle -- residents are feeling the effects of climate change: earlier sea ice melts and increasing storm surges. Tom Bearden reports on how the residents are coping.

	December 26, 2008 Researchers Hope Obama Team Will Reinvigorate Role of Science Adviser Scientists and scientific organizations hailed President-elect Barack Obama's choice of top science advisers as a "dream team" this week.

	December 19, 2008 Beetles, Disease Hurt Whitebark Pine's Chances of Survival For the whitebark pine tree, red is the sign of death. As disease and beetles sap life from the knotty, sometimes misshapen tree that thrives in some of the most inhospitable landscapes of the northwest U.S. and Canada, it turns a brilliant red.

	December 18, 2008 First U.S. Patient Receives Face Transplant After 22 hours of surgery, a woman at the Cleveland Clinic has an almost entirely new face, the clinic announced this week.

	December 15, 2008 Obama Unveils Environmental, Energy Policy Team President-elect Barack Obama named a former head of the EPA and a Nobel prize-winning scientist to his energy and environmental policy teams Monday. Analysts discuss how Obama's picks will carry out his agenda.

	December 15, 2008 Nobel Laureate Chu Tapped to Head Energy Department Steven Chu is a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, where he has worked for the past four years on developing alternative energy sources and improving energy efficiency.

	December 15, 2008 Browner Named as Newly-created Climate Policy Chief Carol Browner, a champion of legislation to slow climate growth and an Al Gore ally, is returning to familiar real estate but in a newly created position, as President-elect Barack Obama's climate chief.

	December 11, 2008 Physicist Searches for Alternative Fuel Technologies Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu and his team of scientists received $500 million in February from energy company BP to develop clean biofuel technologies. As part of a series on climate change, the NewsHour profiles Chu's search for solutions to fuel problems.

	December 5, 2008 Rocks on Mars Shed New Light on Planet's Ancient Climate Cycles In the stratified layers of a rocky Martian outcrop, researchers have found evidence of ancient climate cycles similar to the ones that caused Earth's ice ages.



	NOVEMBER November 27, 2008 In China, Scientists Discover Oldest Turtle Fossil Ever Found Which came first, the land turtle or the sea turtle? Scientists aren't sure, but a newly-discovered fossil of a 220-million-year-old turtle seems to tip the scale toward aquatic evolution, and may help explain how turtles evolved their shells.

	November 25, 2008 Polar Bears Struggle to Survive as Arctic Climate Changes As climate change threatens polar bears' survival, laws put in place to protect the bears are impacting the Inuit people who have long hunted them. ITN's ITV news reports on the plight of both polar bears and Native people in the Canadian Arctic.

	November 21, 2008 Scientists Move Forward in Quest for 'Invisibility Cloak' Researchers are one step closer to the science fiction-like goal of creating an "invisibility cloak" that could hide objects from the human eye, according to a paper published Friday in the journal Science.

	November 21, 2008 After Leaving Washington Empty-handed, Automakers Set to Craft Recovery Plan While the Big Three U.S. automakers' hopes of an immediate financial shot in the arm were dashed Thursday on Capitol Hill, they are expected to meet lawmakers' demands to craft a convincing plan for rebuilding their once-mighty industry by Dec. 2.

	November 20, 2008 Researchers Decode DNA of Woolly Mammoth Scientists have mapped out much of the genetic code of the extinct woolly mammoth, opening the door to the possibility of recreating the animal and perhaps other extinct species within the next 20 years.

	November 14, 2008 Astronomers Capture First Images of Distant Planets Two teams of astronomers have for the first time captured direct images of planets orbiting faraway stars.

	November 14, 2008 Astronomers Take First Photos of Distant Planets Scientists have for the first time snapped a picture of multiple planets orbiting a star other than the sun. Researchers using the Keck and Gemini telescopes found three planets, each bigger than Jupiter, circling the star HR8799.

	November 13, 2008 World's Oceans Face Problem of Plastic Pollution Some researchers believe that more than 5 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean has become a soup of plastic confetti. Now, scientists are trying to quantify the problem and are studying how plastic affects fish, marine mammals and birds.

	November 13, 2008 Plastic Pollution in the Ocean Researchers are finding that ocean currents carry plastic pollution -- cigarette lighters, plastic bags and other trash -- from the world's coastlines to the middle of its oceans. Two experts answer your questions on the impact of plastic ocean pollution.

	November 13, 2008 'Junk Raft' Journey Publicizes Plastic Pollution Science educator Marcus Eriksen and photographer Joel Paschal sailed from California to Hawaii on a raft made of plastic bottles. They made the trip to raise public awareness of the problem of plastic pollution in the world's oceans.

	November 13, 2008 Quiz: Test Your Plastic Recycling Knowledge Take this interactive quiz to learn more about the amount of plastic trash produced and recycled in the United States.

	November 11, 2008 India's Car Demands Eclipse Environmental Concerns With a population of more than 1 billion, India has one of the world's greatest demands for automobiles. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on the growing accessibility to low-cost cars that also leads to more congested roads and carbon emissions.

	November 11, 2008 As NASA's Phoenix Mission Ends, Scientists Begin Data Analysis NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander sent what will probably be its last signal back to earth last week, succumbing to a dust storm and advancing winter weather. However, the lander outlived its planned three-month mission by two months.

	November 7, 2008 Scientists Map Whole Genome of Cancer Patient Scientists have for the first time mapped the entire genome of a cancer patient, in the process finding eight new genetic mutations that led to the woman's leukemia.



	OCTOBER October 31, 2008 Study: Universal Flu Vaccine Helps Vaccinated, Unvaccinated Alike As flu season kicks off in the Northern Hemisphere this month, many people will decide whether to spend the time and money to get this year's flu vaccine. Now, a Canadian study suggests one more reason to endure a shot: helping your neighbor.

	October 31, 2008 Feared Trout Drop-off Signals Climate Shift in Montana Warmer temperatures and a longer summer drought season in Montana are expected to have significant impacts on the state's trout fishing industry and ecosystem. In a special report, Heidi Cullen of Climate Central examines how climate-related changes are affecting Montana.

	October 24, 2008 Hot Drinks Equal Warm Feelings, as Scientists Link Physical and Emotional Warmth A casual decision between an iced coffee and a hot cappuccino could have lasting effects, and not just on calorie intake.

	October 23, 2008 Researchers ID 26 Genes Associated With Lung Cancer Researchers have identified 26 genes associated with lung cancer -- a finding that could lead to new ways to identify and treat the world's most common cancer.

	October 22, 2008 India Launches First Mission to the Moon India successfully launched its first mission to the moon Wednesday, an unmanned orbiter that will map the moon's surface and look for signs of water, ice and useful minerals.

	October 20, 2008 Voter Turnout, Economy Concerns Take Spotlight in Northern New Mexico Tucked in the mountains of northern New Mexico, the small town of Las Vegas is one of places across the country where voter turnout may prove crucial to the outcome of the presidential race.

	October 17, 2008 Researchers Search for New Weapons in Fight Against TB Last year, a young lawyer with drug-resistant tuberculosis travelled overseas despite the fact that he was on the U.S. no-fly list, sparking a media storm and bringing the lung disease back into national awareness.

	October 8, 2008 Financial Crisis Illustrates Influence of Emotions, Behavior on Markets The past month of corporate failures, government rescues and stock market gyrations has visibly shaken the confidence of Wall Street tycoons and ordinary investors alike.

	October 8, 2008 Study of Glowing Jellyfish Nets Nobel Prize for Trio One Japanese and two American scientists won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for discovering and developing a glowing jellyfish protein that has revolutionized the way researchers study disease and normal development in living organisms.

	October 6, 2008 European Scientists Share Nobel Prize for Medicine Three European scientists will share this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine, for identifying two deadly sexually transmitted viruses, the Nobel committee announced Monday.



	SEPTEMBER September 30, 2008 Phoenix Lander Witnesses Snow on Mars NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has spotted snow falling from Martian clouds, and detected evidence of past water at its landing site in the Martian arctic plains.

	September 26, 2008 Particle Collider Start-up on Hold Until Spring Disappointed scientists learned this week that the Large Hadron Collider -- the most powerful particle collider ever built -- will be shut down until next spring after an electrical glitch sparked a helium leak in the machine's 17 miles of tunnels.

	September 23, 2008 Google Barges Into Phone Market with G1 and Open-Source Android Software Internet search giant Google on Tuesday unveiled its first foray into the global mobile phone market, introducing the T-Mobile G1, informally known as the "Google phone."

	September 19, 2008 FDA Hearings, New Research Reignite BPA Controversy The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reiterated its position in a hearing this week that the chemical bisphenol A, used in many plastic household products, is safe in low levels.

	September 17, 2008 Minneapolis Bridge Reopens Following Last Year's Deadly Collapse Thirteen months after a bridge collapse killed 13 people in Minnesota, a new 10-lane structure reopens to traffic Thursday morning. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on the engineering behind the I-35W's multi-million-dollar reconstruction.

	September 12, 2008 Hurricane Forecasters Wrestle With Uncertainty to Track Tricky Storms By Friday morning there was little question as to the direction of Hurricane Ike's path -- the storm was gaining strength as it barreled toward Texas, and storm surges had already begun to batter the coastal city of Galveston.

	September 10, 2008 Scientists Celebrate Breakthrough With Particle Collider In an effort to understand some of the basic tenets of physics, scientists and engineers fired a beam of protons around a 17-mile tunnel Wednesday -- a successful first run for the world's most powerful particle accelerator. Brian Greene, host of the PBS series "Elegant Universe," explains the feat.

	September 10, 2008 Scientists Track Source of Salmonella Outbreak Mystery A salmonella outbreak in May sparked a lengthy investigation that first called tomato crops the culprits, causing farmers to lose $100 million, and later found the true source to be Mexican peppers. Tom Bearden reports on the salmonella probe.

	September 10, 2008 Scientists Celebrate as Particle Collider Passes First Test Scientists fired a beam of protons around a 17-mile, multi-billion dollar track today -- a successful first run for the world's most powerful particle accelerator.

	September 5, 2008 Genetic Map of Cancer Reveals Unexpected Complexity Researchers have mapped the genetic blueprint of two of the deadliest forms of cancer, detailing the mutations that lead to tumors of the pancreas and brain.

	September 4, 2008 Study: Arctic Sea Ice at Second-lowest Level on Record The Arctic ice cap has melted to a point that exceeds the 2005 level -- previously the second lowest on record -- and could surpass the record this year, scientists at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center have said.

	September 2, 2008 Scientists 'Reprogram' Adult Mouse Cells to Produce Insulin Researchers have discovered a way to convert one type of adult cell to another without stem cells, possibly paving the way for major advances in treating diabetes and other illnesses.

	September 1, 2008 Rebuilding New Orleans Levees The Gulf Coast landfall of Hurricane Guastav has higlighted the level of preparedness in New Orleans and the region for a major storm system. A top official in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers answers your questions on the rebuilding and reconstruction of levees in New Orleans.



	AUGUST August 26, 2008 Bloggers Answered Your Questions on Covering Conventions, Politics Kety Esquivel is the founder and a blogger for Crossleft.org, a progressive Christian Web site. Liza Sabater is a blogger and the founder of culturekitchen.com. They answered your questions on the power of new media and the future of political news reporting.

	August 22, 2008 High Tech High School Pushes Hispanic Students to Become Top Achievers A San Diego charter high school is aiming to close the education gaps between students of immigrant families and their counterparts by motivating them to acquire business and science skills and pursue college degrees. Paul Solman offers the latest in a series of reports on this education initiative.

	August 22, 2008 90 Years Later, 1918 Flu Lives on in Antibodies, Research Ninety years after the 1918 flu pandemic claimed the last of its approximately 50 million victims, antibodies to the virus live on in people exposed to it as children -- and the pandemic itself is still inspiring research and debate among scientists.

	August 20, 2008 Countries Map Arctic Boundaries to Build Cases for Resource Rights As a scramble builds to establish rights over the valuable natural resources hidden under the Arctic sea floor, U.S. researchers embarked from Barrow, Alaska, in mid-August on a three-week mission to map regions of the vast underwater landscape.

	August 18, 2008 Bottling Giant, Maine Residents Battle over Water Bottled water is a hot commodity -- Americans drank almost 9 billion gallons of it last year. But some Maine residents think less of it should come from their state. They are challenging Poland Spring over rights to the state's spring water aquifers. Tom Bearden reports.

	August 15, 2008 Satellite Imaging Program Records Darfur Destruction Geographers at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Office of Science and Human Rights are using satellite images to document destroyed villages in Darfur and other areas. Project director Lars Bromley describes the challenges of documenting human rights abuses using geospatial technologies.

	August 15, 2008 Coastal 'Dead Zones' Continue to Spread, Study Finds Huge swaths of the world's oceans are too starved of oxygen to support shrimp, crabs, fish and other marine life, and these so-called dead zones are growing virtually unchecked, according to a new study.

	August 14, 2008 Stone Age Graveyard Unearthed A paleontologist looking for dinosaur bones in the Sahara desert instead stumbled across the largest Stone Age graveyard ever found. View a slide show of the excavation.

	August 14, 2008 Scientists Find Stone Age Burial Ground From Once-green Sahara A team of paleontologists inadvertently discovered the remains of a Stone Age cemetery in the Sahara desert, revealing clues about the lives of the hunter-gatherers who lived in the once-temperate region. A lead researcher details the finds.

	August 8, 2008 World's Most Powerful Particle Accelerator Set to Launch Stretching 17 miles around, a mammoth machine that straddles the Swiss-Franco border will soon start launching the biggest experiments ever attempted in high-energy physics.

	August 6, 2008 Justice Department, Unsealed Papers Outline Anthrax Case Against Dead Scientist The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday that Army scientist Bruce Ivins "was the only person responsible" for the mailed anthrax attacks that killed five people and rattled the nation in 2001.

	August 6, 2008 Air Pollution in China Atmospheric chemist Kenneth Rahn regularly travels to China to consult with scientists there about the country's air pollution problem. Rahn took your questions about pollution in Beijing during the run-up to the Olympic Games.

	August 5, 2008 Endangered Gorilla 'Mother Lode' Uncovered in Republic of Congo A survey of the vast swamps and forests in the northern Republic of Congo has revealed 125,000 western lowland gorillas living there, more than double the previous known tally of the endangered animal.

	August 1, 2008 Researchers Find Drug That Mimics Effects of Exercise Scientists announced this week that they've found a chemical compound that allows mice to run 44 percent longer on a treadmill -- without doing any exercise. Lead researcher Ronald Evans discusses the results and what they could mean for humans.

	August 1, 2008 Scientists Create Stem Cells From Lou Gehrig's Disease Patients In a stem cell research breakthrough, scientists have reprogrammed skin cells from two elderly patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -- also called ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease -- to act like stem cells.

	August 1, 2008 FCC Rules Comcast Violated Internet Access Policy A divided Federal Communications Commission ruled Friday that Comcast Corp. violated federal policy when it blocked Internet traffic for some subscribers. The cable giant has been ordered to change the way it manages its network.



	JULY July 31, 2008 California Science Center Moves to a 'Green' Home The California Academy of Sciences, founded in 1916, has a new home in a modern, energy-efficient building in San Francisco, aimed at raising public awareness of the natural world. Spencer Michels explores the unconventional museum amd the challenges of the move.

	July 31, 2008 Scientists Find Liquid Lake on Saturn's Moon Researchers have spotted a liquid lake on Saturn's moon Titan, making that moon the first celestial body shown to have fluid on its surface. But this isn't a lake you'd want to swim in -- it's made up of ethane, one of the components of crude oil.

	July 25, 2008 Oregon Mulls Shoring Up Schools Against Earthquakes Moved by the collapse of schools and deaths caused after a recent earthquake in China, leaders in Oregon debate the need to fortify their own schools against possible earthquake damage. Lee Hochberg reports on the debate.

	July 25, 2008 Scientists Discover What Makes the Northern Lights Dance Scientists and stargazers alike have long been fascinated by the auroras, also known as the northern and southern lights -- the bands of light that stretch and sometimes dance across the night sky near the earth's poles.

	July 23, 2008 Why can't the U.K.'s fuel efficient vehicles be sold in the U.S.? Paul Solman answers this question and many more in the "Business Desk."

	July 18, 2008 Biotech Companies, Investors Look to Adult Stem Cell Research In June, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that it was investing $3 million in a small San Diego-based biotech startup called EyeCyte, which will work to develop adult stem cell-based treatments for eye diseases.

	July 17, 2008 Gore Aims High on Renewable Energy Goal for U.S. Former Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore outlined a bold climate goal for the nation Thursday, challenging the U.S. to create every kilowatt of electricity through renewable energy sources within 10 years.

	July 15, 2008 A Right to Online Privacy? How much information should online advertisers and Web site operators know about you? And how should they be able to use this information? Congress is trying to establish rules so that the rights of both online users and advertisers are protected.

	July 11, 2008 Study: One-third of Coral Reef Species Face Extinction Nearly a third of the world's coral reef species face extinction, threatening entire ocean ecosystems.

	July 10, 2008 Lunar Water Signs Found in Apollo Mission Rocks A new analysis of moon pebbles collected decades ago has found that the small stones contained traces of water, according to a report Thursday in the journal Nature by Brown University geologist Alberto Saal and his colleagues.

	July 10, 2008 Alaskan Village Copes With Real-life Impacts of Global Climate Change In Shishmaref, Alaska -- a 600-person village 20 miles south of the Arctic Circle -- residents are feeling the effects of climate change: earlier sea ice melts and increasing storm surges. Tom Bearden reports on how the residents are coping.

	July 9, 2008 Issue of Online Privacy Grows as Companies Track 'Digital Footprints' A Senate panel held a hearing Wednesday to investigate the growing issue of online privacy and what rights individuals should have to decide how their Web surfing history can be used by advertisers. Public policy advocates weigh the debate over online privacy.

	July 9, 2008 G-8 Vows to Cut Emissions but Divisions Remain Leaders of the Group of Eight nations agreed Tuesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050. But on Wednesday, a group of five emerging economies refused to sign the deal, saying they want more aggressive emissions cuts. A reporter examines the story.

	July 8, 2008 G-8 OKs Plan to Halve Global Emissions by 2050 Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations agreed Tuesday on a target of cutting climate-changing gas emissions in half by 2050 -- an agreement lauded by the participants but rebuked by some environmentalists.

	July 7, 2008 High Oil Costs May Advance Conservation Research Car owners have been wincing in recent months as the price of oil has shot up well over the once-unimaginable $100-per-barrel mark. But an economist at Carnegie Mellon University believes that skyrocketing oil prices are a good thing, and will lead to necessary innovations in conservation and green technologies.

	July 1, 2008 Study: HIV Mortality Rates Continue to Drop as Treatments Improve More than a decade after antiretroviral treatments for HIV first debuted, HIV mortality rates have declined dramatically and they continue to drop in countries where patients have access to the drugs.



	JUNE June 30, 2008 Ore. Discovery Challenges Beliefs About First Humans Until recently, most scientists believed that the first humans came to the Americas 13,000 years ago. But new archaeological findings from a cave in Oregon are challenging that assumption. Lee Hochberg of Oregon Public Television reports on the controversial discovery.

	June 27, 2008 In Warming World, Plants Seek Higher Ground Rising temperatures are forcing plant species to migrate up mountains in search of a cooler climate, according to a new study of Alpine plants published Thursday in the journal Science.

	June 26, 2008 Scientists to Begin Mapping the Cocoa Genome Chocolate maker Mars Inc. will fund a five year, $10 million project to map the cocoa bean genome -- work that could lead to hardier, higher-yielding crops and better quality chocolate, the company announced Thursday.

	June 25, 2008 As Oil Prices Rise, Carmakers Look to Electric Future Rising oil prices and improvements in battery technology are fueling new interest in developing electric cars. Spencer Michels reports on how industry giants and start-up car companies alike plan to release new vehicles by 2010.

	June 25, 2008 Extended Interview: Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk NewsHour correspondent Spencer Michels talked in April to electric car maker Tesla Motors' founder and chairman, Elon Musk -- an entrepreneur who previously founded PayPal -- about the future of the electric car.

	June 25, 2008 Extended Interview: Mary Nichols, California Air Resources Board Spencer Michels talked to Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board, in April about the board's recent decision to cut the number of zero-emission vehicles the state will require car manufacturers to build. The board aims to encourage manufacturers to produce more hybrid vehicles instead.

	June 25, 2008 Transparent Fish Give Cancer Research a Boost Richard White is an oncologist at Children's Hospital Boston and instructor at Harvard Medical School -- but lately, he's also gained fame as an animal breeder.

	June 23, 2008 Midwest's Levees, Land Use Questioned Amid Floods More than two dozen levees along the Mississippi and its tributaries have broken under heavy flooding, leaving many communities questioning the region's levee system and land usage. Elizabeth Brackett reports from Illinois on the struggle to keep levees standing.

	June 23, 2008 McCain to Pitch Car Battery Prize as Obama Aims at Oil Speculators Sen. John McCain is expected to propose his own sort of X Prize later Monday, namely a $300 million reward for the invention of a car battery that far outpaces those commercially available in cost, size, and power.

	June 20, 2008 NASA Lander Discovers Evidence of Ice on Mars NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander found evidence of water-based ice on Mars, confirming some scientists' theories. Scientist Peter Smith of the University of Arizona discusses the discovery.

	June 19, 2008 Three Years On, New Orleans Still Struggles With Hurricane Debris Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the city is still coping with the toxic debris the storm left behind. Betty Ann Bowser reports from New Orleans on the ongoing controversy over the city's landfills.

	June 19, 2008 New Orleans Struggles to Curtail Illegal Dumping An industrial stretch of New Orleans East has long been home to illegal dumps. The situation grew worse after Hurricane Katrina produced more than 62 million cubic feet of debris. NewsHour correspondent Betty Ann Bowser discusses the city's illegal dumping problem.

	June 13, 2008 Low Levels of Vitamin D Tied to Numerous Health Ailments, Studies Find Men with low vitamin D levels are more likely to suffer heart attacks than men with healthy levels of the vitamin, according to a study released this week.

	June 6, 2008 U.S. on Track to Break Tornado Records This Year The first half of 2008 has already marked the deadliest tornado season this decade. As many as 1,000 tornadoes have already touched down in the U.S. since January, more than the country sometimes sees in a full year.

	June 6, 2008 Climate Change Bill Blocked, Left to New Congress Republican senators blocked a proposed global warming bill Friday that would have led to major reductions in greenhouse gases, calling it a huge tax increase.

	June 5, 2008 World Leaders Pledge to Ease Food Crisis After Political Squabbling World leaders at a United Nations food summit pledged Thursday to reduce trade barriers and boost agricultural production to combat the food crisis that is spreading hunger and violent unrest across the globe.

	June 3, 2008 Extended Interview: General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner The NewsHour interviewed General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner in May about the company's plans for developing alternative fuel vehicles. Excerpts of the interview will air in the coming weeks as part of a report on a new generation of electric cars.

	June 2, 2008 Researchers Examine Impact of Exercise on Aging Scientists have coined a new term -- geroscience -- to describe research that aims to slow down aging and delay the onset of age-related diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Researchers are studying the underlying genetic causes of aging and effects of exercise.

	June 2, 2008 Extended Interview: Venture Capitalist Vinod Khosla Vinod Khosla is an influential venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. He was a cofounder of Sun Microsystems and later a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, which helped fund Google and Amazon. In 2004 he started his own company, Khosla Ventures.



	MAY May 30, 2008 New Solvents May Lead to Better Biofuels Molten salts used as solvents may provide a stepping stone toward cheaper, more environmentally friendly biofuels, researchers said this month.

	May 30, 2008 Stonehenge Used as Burial Site for Centuries, Study Finds Britain's mysterious Stonehenge site served as a burial ground for more than 500 years, probably for a family of ancient rulers, a group of archeologists announced this week.

	May 29, 2008 Monkeys Learn to Control Robotic Arm With Brainwaves Advances in brain-controlled prosthetics reached new heights as researchers at the University of Pittsburgh announced the successful use of a prosthetic arm linked directly to the brain of a monkey. Lead researcher Andrew Schwartz discusses the findings.

	May 29, 2008 Venture Capitalists Look to Green Businesses for Boom A recent surge in investments by venture capitalists in eco-friendly businesses is possibly triggering a boom in green and clean technology. Analysts report on the green market and its ability to make money while saving oil.

	May 28, 2008 Report Documents Climate Change Impact on U.S. A recently released government report describes the impact global climate change is already having on U.S. farms, wildlife, forests and water supplies. One of the report's lead authors discusses its findings.

	May 27, 2008 Experts Debate Cloned Food In January, the Food and Drug Administration decided that meat and milk from cloned animals is safe to eat. Two experts on different sides of the issue -- a veterinarian whose company produces cloned animals and an advocate for clone-free food -- answered your questions.

	May 27, 2008 FDA's Approval of Cloned Beef for Human Consumption Ignites Debate The Food and Drug Administration recently approved meat and milk from cloned cows as safe for human consumption. However, some observers believe the FDA's decision was hasty and more study of the issue is needed. Tom Bearden reports on the controversy.

	May 26, 2008 NASA's Phoenix Sends Intriguing Images From Mars NASA's Phoenix Mars lander touched down Sunday and began transmitting pictures from the northern arctic plains of Mars where scientists hope to find evidence of water and life-sustaining conditions. Mission co-leader Ray Arvidson explains.

	May 26, 2008 NASA's Mars Spacecraft Lands, Transmits Photos of Arctic Terrain After a 10-month, 422-million-mile voyage, NASA's Phoenix Mars lander touched down Sunday and began transmitting pictures from the arctic plains of the Red Planet where scientists hope to find evidence of water and life-sustaining conditions.

	May 23, 2008 NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft Lands on Mars A spacecraft designed to search for life on Mars completed its nearly 10-month, 422-million-mile voyage Sunday, touching down the Red Planet and transmitting intriguing images from its northern arctic plains.

	May 21, 2008 Astronomers Glimpse First Moments of Supernova In January NASA's Swift satellite caught a seven-minute X-ray blast that marked the beginning of a supernova. It was the first time astronomers have seen the start of the giant explosion that marks the death of a massive star.

	May 21, 2008 Scientists Study Final Moments of Dying Star The deaths of some stars are marked by a unique event: the supernova. A NASA telescope captured a massive explosion in January, giving scientists clues into the mechanics of our own world. Robert Kirshner of Harvard University explains the significance of the event.

	May 20, 2008 BPA Dropped From Some Plastics Amid Health Concerns Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical commonly found in hard plastic bottles such as Nalgenes and other everyday plastic products. However, increasing concerns about BPA's alleged toxicity has caused Nalgene to stop using it to make bottles.

	May 16, 2008 Six Years On, Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository Slowly Moves Forward Energy Department officials confirmed this week that they plan to submit an application in June to license the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump as the nation's first spent-nuclear fuel repository.

	May 16, 2008 Cities Are Looking to Share and Share a Bike European style bike-sharing programs are soon coming to U.S. cities.

	May 15, 2008 Corn Farmers Prosper, Others Lose Out with Ethanol Use As corn prices have risen with demand for ethanol in recent years, corn farmers are prospering. But others -- such as hog farmers who rely on corn feed -- are facing tough times, and some critics blame ethanol demand for rising food prices worldwide.

	May 14, 2008 Polar Bears Listed as 'Threatened' Due to Loss of Arctic Ice In a highly anticipated decision, the Interior Department on Wednesday declared the polar bear "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act because of shrinking Arctic ice due to global warming. Two analysts consider the impact of the decision.

	May 12, 2008 Green Industry Hub Rises From Rust Belt Ruins Paul Solman reports on innovators who are making the Pittsburgh region an eco-showcase of the benefits of going green and bringing new hope to the economically depressed Rust Belt region.

	May 12, 2008 Powerful Earthquake Destroys Buildings, Builds Mountains in China There's a saying among seismologists: "Earthquakes don't kill people. Buildings do." The powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked central China on Monday afternoon, killing upwards of 8,500 people, was a grim reminder of that common phrase.

	May 7, 2008 Platypus Genome Reflects Animal's Unusual Exterior, Research Finds With its webbed feet, fur-covered body and venom-shooting spurs, the platypus is famously one of nature's strangest-looking animals -- a motley combination of bird, mammal and reptile.

	May 6, 2008 Little-known Drug Draws New Scientific, Legislative Attention Most of what the public knows about the hallucinogenic drug salvia divinorum comes in disturbing snippets from a growing collection of online videos.



	APRIL April 25, 2008 Senate Votes to Prevent Genetic Discrimination in the Workplace As research of preventative genetic testing increases, many fear the impact this information can have on employment and health-insurance practices -- leading the Senate to vote Thursday to ban genetic-based discrimination. An expert on genetics examines the issue.

	April 25, 2008 Social Status is Hard-Wired into the Brain, Study Shows Our world is defined by social hierarchies: parent and child, teacher and student, employee and boss. From the playground to the office, our place in the pecking order helps us decide how to behave.

	April 24, 2008 New Hubble Images Offer Unique Look at How Galaxies Collide On the 18th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope's launch, NASA released new images of galaxies colliding. Each merger takes millions of years, and most galaxies -- including our own Milky Way -- have merged with others in the past.

	April 23, 2008 In Pittsburgh, Robots Help Rebuild Struggling Economy As Pittsburgh continues to rebuild itself after the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the 1980s, a technology industry is emerging. Tom Bearden reports on how engineers in the city are developing robots for everything from elderly care to military operations.

	April 18, 2008 Wal-Mart, Nalgene Pull BPA Items After Report Sparks Concerns Retail giant Wal-Mart and water bottle maker Nalgene are taking steps to phase out the use of the plasticizer Bisphenol A, only days after a major report linked the omnipresent chemical to a range of possible hormonal and other health problems.

	April 17, 2008 High-tech School Prepares Students for Shifting Economy Paul Solman reports on a high school in California that pushes its students to focus on the future by preparing for jobs in the world of high technology -- while also helping the U.S. stay competitive in a global marketplace.

	April 16, 2008 Researchers Track Global Flu Travel Patterns If you live in North America, the flu strain that laid you low last winter likely originated in East or Southeast Asia six to nine months before you caught it, according to a new study of the worldwide circulation of the flu virus.

	April 11, 2008 Scientists Create Plan to Save Madagascar Species The island nation of Madagascar is one of the world's poorest countries, but it is rich in one resource -- biodiversity. Perched in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, Madagascar broke from the continent more than 80 million years ago.

	April 8, 2008 After 25 Years, AIDS Vaccine Research Makes Mid-course Correction It took 47 years to develop a polio vaccine, 42 to develop a measles vaccine and 105 for typhoid. So historically speaking, at 24 years in, research on the AIDS vaccine is still young.

	April 4, 2008 Evidence Shows Earlier Human Arrival in Americas A cache of human DNA found in a prehistoric "toilet" suggests that people arrived in the Americas at least 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.

	April 1, 2008 Slide Show: Eye on Arctic Pollution Researchers are taking a close look at the makeup and movement of pollutants at the Arctic. Learn more about some of their field studies in this slide show.

	April 1, 2008 Scientists Plot Pollutants' Path at the Arctic The Arctic is a receptacle of the planet's air pollutants -- from forest fires to human-produced carbon dioxide emissions -- and a coordinated international effort is geared toward learning more about pollutants' effects at the top of the globe.

	April 1, 2008 Experts Discuss Water Reuse A new treatment plant in Orange County, Calif., is one of about 15 in the country to recycle wastewater back into the groundwater drinking water supply -- a plan called indirect potable reuse. Two experts answered your questions on water recycling.



	MARCH March 31, 2008 Researchers Examine Impact of Exercise on Aging Scientists have coined a new term -- geroscience -- to describe research that aims to slow down aging and delay the onset of age-related diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Researchers are studying the underlying genetic causes of aging and effects of exercise.

	March 28, 2008 Phone, Satellite Companies to Redevelop Airwaves for New Wireless Products Last week, the Federal Communications Commission finished auctioning off $19 billion worth of public airwaves after a federally mandated switch to digital television freed up large sections of the nation's wireless "spectrum."

	March 26, 2008 Ice Shelf Disintegrating Off Antarctica Peninsula A huge slab of ice has fallen off the western Antarctic peninsula, threatening the ice shelf behind it. Scientists say the collapse shows how quickly polar changes can occur amid certain climate conditions. A climatologist explains.

	March 26, 2008 U.S. Seeks AIDS Vaccine Research Overhaul The head of the federal government's AIDS vaccine research program said Tuesday that the focus should shift from large-scale human vaccine trials back to basic research.

	March 24, 2008 Water Recycling Efforts Spark Policy Debate in California In water-strapped southern California local authorities are exploring new approaches to water usage, launching new programs that send highly treated wastewater back into the groundwater supply to serve as drinking water.

	March 24, 2008 Digital Files Put Medical Records at Doctors' Fingertips New technologies now allow doctors and hospitals to keep electronic health records, but the U.S. has been slow to switch formats. Susan Dentzer reports on the advantages and difficulties that some hospitals are facing in their efforts to digitize medical records.

	March 24, 2008 Inside a Water Reuse Plant Orange County, Calif.'s new water treatment plant, called the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWS), is one of about 15 in the country that recycles wastewater into potable water. The water goes through three intensive treatment phases before it is delivered back into the groundwater supply.

	March 24, 2008 Potable Water Reuse Plant Locations Find the locations of current and planned indirect potable water reuse projects.

	March 21, 2008 Scientists Tie Chemical Reaction to Creation of Smog Just one week after the Bush administration announced its first new ozone standards in more than a decade, chemists have discovered that a chemical reaction in the atmosphere once thought to be insignificant may be a major contributor to smog.

	March 14, 2008 Pacific Island Fossils Reignite 'Hobbit' Species Debate Fossils of tiny humans found on the Pacific island of Palau have fanned the flames of contention over whether another skeleton, discovered several years ago on the nearby island Flores, represents a new species of human.

	March 7, 2008 Strange Malady Wreaks Havoc on Bat Population New Englanders may face an uptick in mosquito swarms, insect bites and moths this summer as a strange malady has threatened the insects' top predator: bats.

	March 6, 2008 Carbon Offset Plan Allows Businesses to Trade Environmental 'Credit' As scientists debate how to address climate change, one proposal for businesses creates a carbon credit system that allows emission producing companies to buy credits from companies that use energy efficient technologies as a way to offset overall environmental impact.

	March 6, 2008 Experts Discuss Carbon Offsets The carbon offset market is growing, spurred by businesses and consumers who want to lessen their carbon footprint by investing in ventures like hydroelectric power or forest regeneration. Two experts on carbon credits took your questions.

	March 4, 2008 NASA Orbiter Reveals Avalanches on Mars A NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars has sent back the first-ever images of avalanches on the red planet, NASA announced Monday.



	FEBRUARY February 29, 2008 Researchers Near Completion of Complex Corn Genome Researchers announced Thursday that they had completed a "rough-draft" map of the corn genome -- a step they say will help scientists engineer better corn.

	February 26, 2008 Arctic Seed Vault Aims to Protect Genetic Diversity of World's Crops The Svalbard Global Seed Vault--the "Noah's ark" of plants--is carved out of a sandstone mountainside on a Norwegian island only about 600 miles from the North Pole. The vault is designed to keep crop seeds safe and protect the genetic diversity of the world's food supply in the face of a global natural or man-made disaster.

	February 22, 2008 New Technology Improves Care for Wounded Troops Drawing on new technologies as well as lessons learned in Iraq, the U.S. military is using both new technology and improved methods to treat wounded soldiers, leading to higher survival rates overall. Tom Bearden reports on these advances.

	February 22, 2008 Florida Schools Will Teach Evolution, but with 'Theory' Caveat The Florida Board of Education has approved new science standards that explicitly include the word 'evolution' for the first time, but last-minute revisions kindled controversy over religious and political tinkering in the science classroom.

	February 21, 2008 Pittsburgh Museum Reinvents Model of Dinosaur Exhibit The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh renovated its dinosaur exhibit to provide a more realistic picture of how dinosaurs lived and interacted with one another more than 100 million years ago.

	February 21, 2008 Dinosaur Bones Get a New Look in Pittsburgh Museum Restoration The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh's recent overhaul of its dinosaur exhibit is drawing worldwide attention because it uses paleontologists' most up-to-date knowledge about how dinosaurs, and the other animals of their time, looked and lived.

	February 20, 2008 U.S. Plan to Shoot Down Satellite Delayed by Weather The U.S. military's plan to shoot down a defunct spy satellite rather than let it fall out of the sky was delayed by rough seas and and strong winds in the Pacific Ocean. Experts debate the effort and how it might fit into the Pentagon's larger space strategy.

	February 19, 2008 Sony's Blu-ray Wins DVD 'Format War' over Rival Toshiba Toshiba said Tuesday that it would stop developing its own high-definition DVD player, known as HD DVD, leaving the market to Sony's Blu-ray format. The Wall Street Journal's technology columnist explains the move and its likely impact on consumers.

	February 15, 2008 Astronomers Discover Solar System That Might Mimic Our Own A global team of professional and amateur astronomers has found a solar system thousands of light years away that looks like a scaled-down version of our own.

	February 14, 2008 2 Flesh-Eating Dinosaur Species Discovered Two new and unusual dinosaur species have been discovered in Africa, scientists announced Wednesday.

	February 13, 2008 Baseball Star Called to Account on Steroids Baseball pitching great Roger Clemens testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform Wednesday to answer allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. The testimony is the latest twist in an ongoing controversy over the use of steroids in professional sports.

	February 11, 2008 'Bradley Effect' May Continue to Complicate Election Polls, Researchers Suggest Going into the New Hampshire Democratic primary last month, Sen. Barack Obama seemed to have a commanding lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton -- pre-election polls showed him some nine points ahead.

	February 7, 2008 Diabetes Study Partially Halted Due to Cardiac Risk A new study on Type 2 diabetes was partially halted after research showed lowering blood sugar levels for some high-risk patients increased their chances of dying from a heart attack. The head of the American Diabetes Association details the surprising findings.

	February 6, 2008 Tools of Polar Research: Antarctica Map A new high-definition, true-color interactive map of Antarctica will allow both researchers and the public to explore the continent online in greater detail than ever before.

	February 6, 2008 Tools of Polar Research: Antarctica Map Slide Show A new high-definition, true-color interactive map of Antarctica will allow both researchers and the public to explore the continent online in greater detail than ever before. View the slide show.

	February 6, 2008 Tools of Polar Research: Icebreakers One way researchers can navigate the icy waters at the Earth's poles is aboard a rugged, steel-plated ship known as an icebreaker.

	February 6, 2008 Tools of Polar Research: Icebreakers Slide Show One way researchers can navigate the icy waters at the Earth's poles is aboard a rugged, steel-plated ship known as an icebreaker. View the slide show.

	February 6, 2008 Tools of Polar Research: Underwater Robots Unmanned marine robots, called autonomous underwater vehicles, can be used for myriad research purposes, including going to the Arctic's icy depths.

	February 6, 2008 Tools of Polar Research: Underwater Robots Slide Show Unmanned marine robots, called autonomous underwater vehicles, can be used for myriad research purposes, including going to the Arctic's icy depths. View the slide show.

	February 6, 2008 Tools of Polar Research: Arctic Buoys Arctic buoys help researchers monitor ocean and climate changes -- and fill in the gaps left by satellites.

	February 6, 2008 Tools of Polar Research: Arctic Buoys Slide Show Arctic buoys help researchers monitor ocean and climate changes -- and fill in the gaps left by satellites. View the slide show.

	February 1, 2008 Scientists, Journalists Push for Science-based Election Debate With a handful of primaries behind them and Super Tuesday fast approaching, presidential candidates have stumped and debated and cheered until their throats were sore and their voices hoarse.



	JANUARY January 25, 2008 'Averaged' Image Could Boost Computer Face Recognition Accuracy A simple process of averaging many photographs of the same person into one composite image could significantly improve the performance of face recognition software used in border security and other applications, new research suggests.

	January 17, 2008 Paralyzed Mice Able to Regain Movement, Study Reveals The brain is a stubborn organ. When faced with a roadblock, it works to find another way. It fumbles to repair itself. Researchers have found new evidence of the brain's ability to adapt to injuries by studying the spinal cord of a paralyzed mouse.

	January 15, 2008 Design Flaw Cited in Investigation of Minnesota Bridge Collapse The National Transportation Safety Board revealed findings Tuesday from its probe of last year's deadly Minnesota bridge collapse, citing a design flaw with steel "gusset plates" used to build the structure. NTSB chief Mark Rosenker details the agency's investigation.

	January 14, 2008 Scientists Grow Rat Heart from Transplanted Cells Researchers grew beating rat hearts in a lab using heart cells from newborn rats grafted to the scaffolding of hearts from dead rats, according to a study released Sunday.

	January 11, 2008 Switchgrass Yields Energy-efficient, Clean Fuel, Study Finds Switchgrass, a prairie grass grown on marginal farmland and processed into ethanol, can produce five times more energy than it takes to grow the crop, according to a new study.

	January 9, 2008 Agency Delays Decision on Polar Bear Listing The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service postponed a recommendation originally due Wednesday on listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to changes in its habitat from global warming.

	January 1, 2008 Scientists, Students Study Space Storms in THEMIS Project High school students and teachers in Alaska are helping NASA scientists collect data for a mission that aims to learn more about the space weather that causes the aurora borealis, or northern lights.