Paul Frommer reads us a haiku written by a master of the Na’vi language, the result of a contest among Na’vi enthusiasts.

This Mother’s Day weekend, the public broadcasting space brings us stories about crying, conflict, and cooperation - everything required for a good Mother’s Day brunch.

Go hug your Mom.

RadioLab: Why Cry?

The author of Why Humans Like to Cry weighs in on the bodily fluid we value most.

Monkey Moms - cute, but not cooperative.

Science Friday: The Myth of Multitasking

We suggest hiring a retired Israeli commando to guard your iPhone while listening to this piece. Otherwise, the temptation to tweet about how this is “so you” may be too much to bear.
This interview will be available after 4PM on Friday, 5/10.

NPR’s Ted Radio Hour: Is Conflict Good for Progress?

It probably is. What do you wanna do about it?!

NPR Science: Could You Talk To A Caveman? Scientists Say It’s Possible

Try talking about saliva. Humans have had a word for “to spit” for more than 10,000 years.

NPR Ted Radio Hour: Making Mistakes

Great news, guys - mistakes can be used for good.

NOVA: The Evolution of Motherhood

From an evolutionary perspective, we humans can thank Moms for giving us the capacity to cooperate.

The smallest movie ever made, how our brains imagine words, and what’s going on in the brain of a baby. These stories and more in this week’s staff picks for the best science reporting in the public broadcasting space.

Adam and his atom in “A Boy And His Atom.” NPR’s Ted Radio Hour: What Do Babies Think?

They think a lot. No more cursing around the baby.

Radio Lab: A Movie Made from Atoms

It’s called “A Boy And His Atom.” It’s about a boy and his atom. The boy’s name is Adam (of course).

Science Friday: Is Cooking Baked Into Our Biology?

Is cooking what separates us from the apes? Michael Pollan thinks so. Check out this excerpt from his new book, in which he argues that cooking civilized mankind.

Maria Klawe and her skateboard.

NPR Science: Imagine A Flying Pig: How Words Take Shape In The Brain

Imagine a flying pig. Does he wear a cape or have wings? NPR Science explores how our senses help us to form images for words.

NPR’s All Things Considered: How One College Is Closing The Computer Science Gender Gap

Oh look! Our beloved Maria Klawe on her skateboard, closing the gender gap in science one student at a time.

NOVA: The Limits of Facial Recognition

Why the human mind is better than a computer at picking a face out of a crowd.

It’s been a crazy week. It continues to get crazier. Here are some science stories that may shed some light on how we react to that craziness, or in some cases, provide a much needed alternative to the 24-hour news cycle.

Our thoughts are in Boston.

A Tragic Date for Boston.

NPR Science: Did You Notice This Seemed To Be A Crazy News Week?

In uncertain times, it’s human nature to “connect dots” that sometimes aren’t there (just check your Twitter feed). A brief look at the psychology of “crazy weeks.”

Inside NOVA: Can Science Stop Mass Murder? A Source List

This collection of scientific research attempts to understand how issues such as mental illness, history, and gun control impact acts of violence. Sadly, it is relevant once again.

Radio Lab: Overcome by Emotion

Reconciling our instincts with logic is no easy task. As part of their three part series about “Choice,” Radio Lab examines the struggle between trusting your gut and taking the rational route.

Radio Lab Blog: Who Stands Where In A Crowded Elevator And Why?

In case your morning elevator ride isn’t sufficiently awkward, a new study shows that where you stand in a crowded elevator may reflect your position in the social hierarchy. Let the shuffling begin.

PRI: Supreme Court grapples with question of whether human genes can be patented

“It’s just nature sitting there.”

NPR’s Ted Hour: What is Beauty?

Darwin might have some ideas.

What was the strangest request Paul Frommer received from James Cameron on the set of Avatar?

Check out Paul’s 10 Questions video in the player above and on his Secret Life homepage.

This week in public broadcasting: laughing rats, the story of saliva, and why a prominent chin is universally attractive in men (except in Australia).

Radiolab: Is Laughter Just a Human Thing?

Why are giggles contagious? And can we control them? One psychobiologist known as The Rat Tickler looks to the animal kingdom for answers. (Video of a rat in the midst of a laughing fit is included).

The call of the Laughing Owl has been described as “a loud cry made up of a series of dismal shrieks frequently repeated”.

Science Friday: The Story of Saliva

Funny, insightful, and eye-opening book excerpt about drool.

NPR Science: Leading Man’s Chin

Everyone likes a man with a prominent chin. Except Australians. Here’s why.

NOVA: Australia: Awakening

Searching for clues to earth’s mysterious past hidden in the red hills of Australia. You can stream the entire episode in the link above.

PRI: Monitoring Infectious Diseases Online

Sick? Hash tagging your symptoms on Twitter can be helpful to public health officials. Know of someone who’s sick? Hash tagging Lindsey Lohan’s symptoms can create a false alarm. The ups and downs of viral #diseasetracking.

Secret Life: Creating A Language

Oh, this old web series. We profile Paul Frommer, the man who helped James Cameron to create a new language for Avatar.

We give Paul Frommer 30 seconds to explain his science, and he uses language to talk about language.

Our weekly picks, hot off the press. Is spider considered meat? Inquiring Catholics want to know.

NPR Science: Creepy Critters In Sensitive Places: How Science Reporters Get Your Attention

What separates this science reporter with an enormous spider crawling all over his face from a contestant on Fear Factor? The quest for truth.

NOVA: The Odds of an Asteroid Strike

Not to frighten you, but the last sentence in this completely reasonable and restrained piece about the likelihood of an asteroid strike is “it’s just a matter of time.”

Radio Lab: Are You Sure?

We think we like this Radio Lab piece about certainty and doubt. It’s pretty good. Right, guys?

PRI: New report urges doctors to test and alert patients to genetic conditions

But what if I want to ignore my genetic predisposition, doctor?

Science Friday: Roger that, Grandma

This 97-year-old woman was one of the first female air traffic controllers, with a groundbreaking story about a pilot who ignored her order to avoid Manhattan. When he ignored her, something very bad happened, and the rulebook was rewritten.

NPR’s The Salt: Forget Fish Fridays: In Louisiana, Gator Is On The Lenten Menu

Unless you’re Catholic, you probably don’t care if alligator is considered seafood or meat. But if you are Catholic and living in Louisiana on this sunny Black Friday, it can mean the difference between a gator sausage po boy sandwich and some kind of awful meatless lunch. Ya hate to see anyone make that kind of sacrifice unless it’s really necessary.

We gave Tanzeem thirty seconds to tell us about her work with smart phones, and she didn’t strike out.

Cuz she hit a homer before the third strike!

Have a crazy week? Here are some science stories to soothe your soul. This week, Radio Lab explored the science of stress. Photo Credit: (bottled_void/flickr/CC-BY-2.0)

NPR Science: Where do Mental Illness And Creativity Meet?

Can mental illness be reframed as a positive? Bipolar comedian and educator Joshua Walters talks about the thin line between mental illness and mental “skillness.”

Science Friday: Tiny Dancers Show Rhythm’s Root

Finally, hard proof that babies do not dance as well as birds. The evidence is all kinds of cute.

NOVA: Clothing from Slime?

Will we wear slime one day? We defer to Sabine Seymour.

NPR Science: Dunking Science: Do Cookies Really Taste Better Dipped In Tea?

An objective study reveals that hot water releases a cookie’s flavor more quickly in your mouth, silencing critics of the dunk.

Radio Lab: Stress

Having a Type A, stress-prone personality can be worse for you than smoking, but it can also save you should a lion attack. Radio Lab takes a deeper look at the ups and downs of stress.

As with all of the scientists we profile, we asked kinetic furniture designer Jessica Banks to write us a Haiku. What happened next was a shrewd, treacherous act the likes of which we’ve never seen here at Secret Life. We never saw it coming.

Burn.

Name one college president who doesn’t play Final Fantasy. Okay, you can probably name a few, but that’s why we love Maria - whether she’s skateboarding around the Harvey Mudd College campus, or painting while in a meeting, she never fails to surprise us just by being herself.

10 Questions for Maria Klawe, two of which are about video games

Check out Maria’s 10 Questions video in the player above and on her Secret Life homepage.

This week: the relationship between faith and science got interesting, Jurassic Park is becoming too real for comfort, and Radio Lab tells us about the scary things we do while we’re asleep. Hot off the press - we bring you the best science reporting in the public broadcasting space this week.

Could this be the “God Particle”?

NOVA: Cornering the Higgs

This week in history-making science news, scientists have discovered a new subatomic particle that could turn out to be the elusive Higgs boson particle (known on the streets as the “God particle”). NOVA talked with one of the scientists who conducted the groundbreaking study, and we must thank all parties involved with the interview for finally explaining all of this Higgs boson talk in language that we can understand.

Radio Lab: One Eye Open

Before you feel guilty for sleeping in on a Saturday, consider the fact that once we close our eyes close to go to sleep, the brain continues right on functioning. Often, that’s when things get really interesting. From children who run in their sleep to adults who bark like a dog or jump out of windows, this piece takes a deeper look at the action-packed events of our sleeping hours.

We give Maria Klawe 30 seconds to describe her science and she discovered the structure of the universe.

Whoo!

Freshly picked staff favorites for your weekend enjoyment. Enjoy ‘em while they’re hot.

Science Friday: Rap Nerdy to Me Is a real-life Splinter on the horizon?

Damian Hess, stage name “Dr. Awkward,” merges nerd culture with hip-hop culture by rapping about data encryption, rare diseases, and video games. Dr. Awkward, have you met Secret Lifer Allan Sage? He raps about being a vegetarian. We feel like the two of you would have plenty to talk about.

NPR Science: To Make Mice Smarter, Add A Few Human Brain Cells

Begs the question: are we on the verge of a real-life Splinter?

NOVA Education: Understanding the Universe…one woman at a time

This NOVA Education blog post addresses the gender gap in science labs around the country. We have featured a lot of prominent lady scientists this season, and we think they’d agree that things are changing.

Radio Lab: How big is the universe?

The universe is huge. We get that. But this super-cool video illustrates with elegant simplicity how limited we are in our ability to perceive or even begin to understand its size.

Radio Lab: Neil Tyson Pounds The Table, Demanding A Future, Now

Our own Neil deGrasse Tyson would like you to know that he supports more funding for NASA. The fact that this video has 1-million hits on Youtube lets us know that he is not alone there.

Science Friday: Can the Anti-Aging Secret Be Found in…Red Wine?

Fingers crossed.

Why did we ask Jessica Banks if she prefers Al Franken or Frankenstein? Watch her 10 Questions video, in the player above and on her Secret Life homepage, and this will all begin to make sense.

How do you earn bonus time in “30 Second Science?” We gave trained roboticist Jessica Banks the usual 30 seconds to tell us about her work. What started as an explanation of kinetic furniture became an amazing, stream-of-conscious confessional in which Jessica told us…well, you’ll see. We’ll just say that this, friends, is how you earn our very first bonus round.

As a young girl in the classroom, The Big Bang Theory-star Mayim Bialik was left feeling like science was a “boy thing.” Then, she became a neuroscientist. In the video below, Mayim talks about how things are changing for women in STEM.

Science is for everyone. Put that on your bumper sticker and PREACH IT.

Last week, planet earth narrowly escaped being hit by an office-building-sized meteor, and we suspect that this had some kind of psychological impact on the good people creating science content in the public broadcasting space. The best stories of the week are fascinating, insightful - and a bit grim.

The Meteor That Launched A Thousand Stories About Death

But we get it. Everyone is just a little bit more aware of their mortality these days. So check out these stories about death, and then go live your life this weekend. LIVE!

Radio Lab: When Am I Dead?

Got death on the mind? Well, then do we have a story for you. This Radio Lab piece explores questions like - how much does the human soul weigh? And can the dead play tennis? Listen with your kids. Or a therapist.

NOVA scienceNOW: The Asteroid That Hit L.A.

Check out this neat “catastrophe calculator,” which allows the more morose among us to choose the size of an asteroid, and then imagine its impact were it to hit Los Angeles. This way, you’ll know the size of the crater that replaces Disney Land.

Science Friday: Russia Meteor Renews Focus on Asteroid Threats

Not yet ready for death? Release your anxiety. Astronomers are thinking super-hard about ways to keep the planet safe should another meteor threaten our planet. Let go, and let NASA.

NPR’s Krulwich Wonders: “The Filibuster Solution, Or ‘What If Honeybees Ran The U.S. Senate?’”

Listen up, politicos. When it comes to politics, we humans have been known to fight to the death for what we believe in. But honey bees, which run their hives as democracies, take a different approach. Can they teach us something about our own political processes?

NPR Science: Should We Prohibit Genetically Engineered Babies?

Enough about the end of life, what about its beginnings? Should we be allowed to make our babies taller or smarter using genetic engineering? Or will toying with fate be the end of us? Listen to the debate, and then decide for yourselves.

Did science save Mayim Bialik from the sad fate of most child stars? Which has a better catchphrase, “Blossom” (Woah!) or “The Big Bang Theory” (Bazinga!)? And, what’s better, an Emmy or a Nobel prize?

To learn the answers to these and seven other urgent questions, check out “10 More Questions for Mayim Bialik” in the player above and on Mayim’s Secret Life homepage homepage.