As with all of our scientists, we asked the Emmy-nominated actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik to write us a Haiku. Given her busy awards season schedule, we figured that there was about a 50/50 chance she would show up with paper in hand.

Not only did Ms. Mayim pen a moving poem, she did her homework. Said Mayim: “I did some research. There has to be a breaking concept in a haiku, it’s not just about meter.”

Fancy us impressed. Without further adieu, here’s what she came up with.

So where did Mayim’s concept come from? “I was just back east, and I love the trees changing color. I wrote it about this beautiful leaf that was the color of a bruise. And the breaking concept is the falling.”

Scientist, actress, poet.

This week in the public broadcasting space, love - and meteors - are in the air. Here are the best stories of the week, all in one place for your reading, listening and viewing pleasure. This big bang turned out to be very real indeed.

Science Friday: The ‘Science of Kissing’

Dogs sniff. Turtles touch heads. Bonobo apes have been known to suck tongues for up to 12 minutes. But only humans seem to partake in the act commonly known as kissing. Science Friday takes a closer look at why we lock lips.

NPR Science: With Brawls And Calls, Love Is In the Air For Elephant Seals

Humans aren’t the only species looking for love this time of year. Seals may not kiss, but once a year, males and females alike gather on a beach in California, and it ain’t for the view. Scientists even name all of the players, and may we just say - we’re rooting for you, beta male X579.

Secret Life: Blossoming to Science

This year at Secret Life, our Valentine was none other than Amy Farrah Fowler - or at least her real-life counterpart, the neuroscientist and Big Bang Theory-star Mayim Bialik. We must admit that when she explained how she “fell in love with the neuron,” we got a little jealous. Lucky little guys. Mayim Bialik - The Big Bang Theory-star left a meteor-sized hole in our hearts.

NPR: Why Did So Many Russian Drivers Get Such Great Meteor Videos?

This big bang was more than a theory. Have you guys seen the video of that meteor in Russia? It looks like something out of an early Steven Spielberg movie. But more than just the stunning visuals, what really shocked us is how the Russians who captured the video couldn’t even be bothered to scream. It turns out, most Russians keep a camera on their car dashboard for a reason, hence the quality video. But still - you guys couldn’t even gasp? Just for effect?

NPR Science: Guy Pumps Out A Valentine, Literally

Using an iPhone app that tracks your location, Payam Rajabi wrote his bike 27 miles around the city of San Francisco, etching a heart onto his GPS map and then sending it to his long distance girlfriend. Awww!

Brains, hormones and behavior. No, she’s not describing the premise of her hit TV show, The Big Bang Theory. Former Blossom-star Mayim Bialik is describing her other life - as a neuroscientist specializing in, say it with us…psychoneuroendocrinology. We gave her 30-seconds to explain.

And it only took her two tries! We’d like to see Amy Farrah Fowler try to do any better. Stay tuned for Mayim’s main video, premiering this Thursday, February 14 at 9:00AM.

For us on the east coast, Nemo provides the perfect excuse to hunker down indoors and enjoy the best of this week’s science reporting in the public broadcasting space. The secret to a happy life?

Without further adieu:

Radio Lab: Lying to Ourselves

Take-away from this piece: lying to ourselves can not only make us happier, but also more successful. Meanwhile, being perfectly honest about reality can lead to depression. This story is so sad, we’re going to pretend we didn’t hear it.

NPR Science: Close Shave: Asteroid to Buzz Earth Next Week

Don’t worry. It’s only the size of an office building. On another note, the fact that there are entire organizations dedicated to protecting humanity from asteroids is at once troubling and reassuring.

Science Friday: Science of Slumber: How Sleep Affects Your Memory

We spend a third of our lives sleeping, but just how much of it do we really need? Per Radio Lab’s suggestion, we choose to ignore the facts and settle on a nice, round number. Say, 10 hours?

NOVA: Who Killed Lindbergh’s Baby?

NOVA re-opens one of the most intriguing cases of the 20th Century. In the aftermath of his 1927 solo transatlantic flight, Colonel Charles Lindbergh became the most famous human being on earth. Five years later, kidnappers snatched his baby from the family home - while everyone in the house was still awake. What really happened? And why? Modern forensics shine a new light on a murder mystery for the ages.

Jim Gates describes how a character on the TV show “Make Room For Daddy” (1953-1965) opened his eyes to MIT, “where they only make you study the good stuff.”

Secret Life Sound Off is a new series of posts in which we encourage you, our audience, to discuss the issues raised in our scientist profiles, from whether or not science and faith are compatible, to how to get more women involved in STEM careers. The comment section below as an open forum in which to exchange ideas, and we ask only that you keep it interesting, engaging and civil. Now - SOUND OFF!

Theoretical Physicist Jim Gates opened a lively discussion on the compatibility of faith and science, leading to our question of the day:

ARE SCIENCE AND FAITH COMPATIBLE?

To get the discussion flowing, here are some thoughts from our users on Facebook and Twitter.

Exhibit A - Faith and Science=Oil and Water:

“Faith has no place in science.” - Low-Key, Facebook

“Religion is totally unnecessary for human survival.” - Fern Gee, Facebook

Exhibit B - Faith and Science, Not So Bad Together:

“Only a fool says in his heart there is no God.” - Fred, Facebook

“I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion - and if someone believes they need religion to survive, they are not wrong. You may disagree, but that doesn’t make them any more incorrect. Being that closed minded only makes you look like the fool.” - Jessica, Facebook

“The main difference is that science evolves and religion doesn’t - there is nothing wrong with faith - but don’t confuse faith with religion.” - Wayne, Facebook

Exhibit C - Who Knows?!:

“I don’t have any conclusions…so, I go on searching…” - Henry, Facebook

Your turn, audience. Keep the discussion flowing. Use the comment section below.

Important science question: is Lady Gaga a fashion visionary or a walking faux pas? Find out what our Secret Life fashion guru Sabine Seymour has to say on the matter in her “10 Questions” video. Watch in the player above and on her Secret Life homepage.

Each week, we at Secret Life keep our eyes peeled for the best science stories in the public broadcasting space, so you don’t have to.
The Descendant of Carnivorous Wolves.

Science Friday: Canine Conundrum: How Dog Became Man’s Best Friend

Of all the animals to domesticate, why choose a carnivore descended from wolves? And did we choose them, or did they choose us? Scientists debate how - and when - dogs entered our homes. Using archaeological records and genetic research, this piece explores the long and complicated history of humans and dogs.

Radio Lab: Nothing’s the Antimatter

Somewhere between the Big Bang and now, matter formed, allowing us to exist. In this fascinating piece, our own Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the “deeply shocking” belch that transformed primordial soup into the particles that form our eyes and arms and brains, along with the entire world around us. Well. Excuse YOU, universe.

NPR Science: Pig Out In The Winter Or When Money’s Tight? Blame Evolution

Prehistoric man tucked away the calories in preparation for a famine. With this evolutionary trait in mind, can we blame our nation’s obesity problem on the recession? Ladies and gentleman, may we present - another (scientific!) excuse for chowing down on some Ben & Jerry’s in the dead of winter.

NOVA: Rise of the Drones

We should all be totally cool with giant, un-manned robots, right? See for yourself in this piece on the rise of extremely large (or frighteningly small), intelligent vehicles peeled right out of a science fiction novel.

Secret Life: Out of Bounds

Who says art and science don’t match? Sabine Seymour blends fashion and technology to make clothes that light up, sound off, sense touch - and look awesome. Eat your heart out, Lady Gaga.

How a young Larry Rosenblum discovered in one rock song the “touch of revolution” that changed the way he imagined himself as a scientist, and allowed him to become the Perceptual Psychologist he is today.

What happens when New York’s Silicon Alley merges with the Fashion District? You get the cutting edge field of Fashion Technology. Sabine Seymour is a visionary pioneer in the industry, designing clothes with computers that light up, sound off, sense touch - and look awesome.

This week on Secret Life’s staff picks we wax philosophical, featuring stories that poke and prod at the question - how can science help us solve life’s greatest mysteries? Oh, and there’s a poop story. Are you thinking about your mortality yet?

Radio Lab: Fate and Fortune

To many, fate is the stuff of romantic comedies, but scientists study the same concept under different names, like “genetic predisposition” and “prenatal diagnostic testing”. This piece presents some fascinating stories and eye-opening experiments, each providing surprising insight into just how much say we have in the outcome of our own lives.

Science Friday: An Illustrated Guide to the Mysterious

Are you a naturally grumpy person? Do you have an uncontrollable urge to walk fast? Or a quirky taste for the smell of gasoline? Maybe you were born that way. Then again, maybe not. An excerpt form this book - which illustrates the mysterious of science - explores the role that genes play in determining human behavior. And their limitations. (Scroll to the bottom for the excerpt, but be sure to enjoy the illustrations on the way).

Radio Lab: Krulwich Wonders: Nature Has A Formula That Tells Us When It’s Time To Die

Why do humans live longer than, say, bugs? Or dogs? It turns out, a mathematical formula can tell us how long a species will live, with very little variation, based on its size. We hope our smaller readers take comfort in knowing that the formula only applies to an entire species, not the individual spiders or dogs or humans within.

NPR Science: Shall I Encode Thee In DNA? Sonnets Stored On Double Helix

Who needs an external hard drive when you can back up your computer using the very building blocks of human life? In the future, “Save As: .DNA” could be a very real option for storing important information.

Radio Lab: Poop the Magic Gut Cure

You’ve heard of liver transplants, heart transplants, bone marrow transpolants. Ladies and gentleman, introducing - poop transplants. Check, please!

Secret Life: Jim Gates: Faith/Science Navigator

Which has the answers to life’s biggest questions: faith or science? Theoretical physicist Jim Gates argues that we need both.

What happens when a 4-year old boy can ask a NASA astronomer anything he wants? We gave Roscoe S. from Brooklyn, NY the chance. Here’s what went down.

We threw Larry Rosenblum some pretty heavy questions on everything from Marky Mark to who he’d like to saw in half. His answers did not disappoint, though he did refuse to answer one of our inquiries. Find out which in the player above and on his Secret Life homepage.

The Centers for Disease Control A disgusting photo of yours truly sneezing. predicted that the 2012-2013 flu season would be one of the worst in decades, and they weren’t kidding around. With all of the coughing and sneezing going on, the Secret Life headquarters has been completely void of handshakes, hugs and basically human contact for the better part of the past three months.

Luckily, this week’s “Staff Picks” is full of great reporting on the subject, featuring work that clarifies facts, debunks myths and offers advice on how to stay healthy (and happy) during the coldest winter months.

Science Friday: How Do You Fend Off The Flu?

Are you the type that runs for cover when a coworker so much as sneezes? If so, this piece will give you all kinds of excuses for avoiding handshakes, from how long a flu droplet hangs in the air, to how likely you are to get the flu from a subway pole.

NPR Science: Scientists Try To Thwart Flu Virus By Resetting Its Clock

It turns out, viruses have an internal clock - complete with alarms that alert the body to produce important proteins that force the virus to exit. If researchers can adjust the internal clock, they might be able to slow down the spreading of the flu.

Radio Lab: Bliss

January and February are notoriously un-blissful months. Add the flu, and you’re lucky to find a passing moment of happiness or even contentment. Not willing to settle for these lesser joys, Radio Lab produced an hour of reporting on all out “Bliss,” which may just be enough to knock you out of your winter funk.

Secret Life: Ian Lipkin

Speaking of the flu, we recently featured the world’s foremost expert on viruses. In his lab, Dr. Ian Lipkin not only battles viruses like SARS, AIDS and you guessed it, the flu - he also created the virus for the film “Contagion” starring Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon.

Did you know that we can “see” speech? And “hear” visuals? Larry Rosenblum studies how our senses share information, giving us powers of perception that we don’t even know we have.

Why is science necessary? Theoretical physicist Jim Gates explains just how badly we’re going to need it down the road.

How can science and faith be better friends? Is there any string involved in string theory? And who influenced Jim’s hair style?

Jim answers our “10 Questions” in the player above and on his Secret Life homepage.

Fend off the post-holiday blues by enjoying the best science stories of the week. Forks! Volcanoes! The year in review!

Science Friday: ‘Consider the Fork’ Chronicles the Evolution of Eating

How forks went from being a “weird, effeminate object” used mostly by Italians to a longstanding staple of the kitchen drawer. The first segment also explores how understanding the science of cooking can help you make better pies.

Radio Lab: Ears don’t lie

We’ve seen plenty of optical illusions, but our ears are much more difficult to fool. Close your eyes. Listen to the haircut in this Radio Lab piece. It’ll have you dodging imaginary scissors.

NPR Science: You Can’t See It, But You’ll Be A Different Person in 10 Years

Emerging research shows that while we know our bodies will age, we refuse to admit that our identities, values and preferences will also change with time.

NOVA: Anatomy of a Volcano

NOVA takes you inside the belly of the beast.

Science Friday: Looking Back on a Year in Science

Our friends at Science Friday review the best science stories of the year (premieres 1/4).

String theory is a complicated concept that is famously difficult to explain. In just 30 seconds, theoretical physicist Jim Gates boldly explains his work, whittling this complicated theory down in what may be one of the most concise and accessible explanations to date.

In this special sneak peek video, The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik reveals whether she prefers Sheldon or Penny, what she imagines Blossom is doing now, and how she fell in love with the neuron.

More Mayim on February 12.