Science

A 40-pound tom turkey flaps his wing as Chris Conley carries him to a pen at Raymond's Turkey Farm in Methuen, Mass., on Friday. The farm raises approximately 20,000 broad-breasted white turkeys per year.

Science

Can Breeders Cure What Ails Our Breast-Heavy Turkeys?

11:19am November 27, 2014

by Eliza Barclay

The standard commercial American turkey is the product of decades of intense selective breeding. But breeding for efficiency and size has created new health problems scientists must grapple with.

Science

"Houston, We Have A Problem"

6:48pm November 26, 2014

by Shawn Fitzmaurice

SciWorks Radio is a production of 88.5 WFDD and SciWorks, the Science Center and Environmental Park of Forsyth County, located in Winston-Salem.

Every kid ‘gets' that when you let go of the open end of an inflated balloon and it flies around the room, its speed is determined by the amount of air in the balloon. It really doesn't take a rocket scientist.

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Lower Ozone Standard Would Raise The Compliance Bar For Business

6:39pm November 26, 2014

by Christopher Joyce

Public health groups say lower levels will benefit people who suffer from asthma or other respiratory illnesses. Business groups say it's another expensive hoop to jump through.

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Shrinking Sea Ice Could Put Polar Bears In Grave Peril By 2100

6:39pm November 26, 2014

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A new study looks at the future of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and finds that by the end of this century, the region might be ice-free for 2 to 5 months, something that puts bears in grave peril.

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Colorectal Cancer Cases Are Dropping — Except Among Young Adults

6:39pm November 26, 2014

by Rob Stein

The number of Americans getting and dying from colorectal cancer has been dropping steadily except for one group — younger adults.

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How Can Vultures Eat Rotten Roadkill And Survive?

3:31pm November 26, 2014

by Richard Harris

Vultures consume toxic bacteria that would sicken or kill humans. Stouter immune systems, colonies of helpful microbes and potent stomach acid may help the carrion eaters gorge with abandon.

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A helicopter's eye view of a new ETU, funded by USAID and built by Save the Children.

Ebola Is Changing Course In Liberia. Will The U.S. Military Adapt?

6:31pm November 25, 2014

by Kelly McEvers

The U.S. had planned to build 17 treatment units across Liberia, one in each county's major town. Now that more cases are appearing in remote areas, the Army may need to rethink its strategy.

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Elizabeth Kolbert is a staff writer at The New Yorker and also the author of The Prophet of Love and Field Notes from a Catastrophe.

In The World's 'Sixth Extinction,' Are Humans The Asteroid?

3:30pm November 25, 2014

Scientists think an asteroid killed the dinosaurs. In today's extinction, humans are the culprit.

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Even cleaning a bathroom daily didn't much affect the make-up of the community of microbes living there, scientists say.

What Microbes Lurked In The Last Public Restroom You Used?

2:56pm November 25, 2014

by Katherine Harmon Courage

A census of bacteria and viruses on the floors, toilets and soap dispensers of several bathrooms on a college campus turned up around 77,000 different types of organisms. Oh, joy.

'Queen Of Carbon' Among Medal Of Freedom Honorees

10:15am November 25, 2014

Audie Cornish speaks with Mildred Dresselhaus about receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in physics. The 84-year-old is a professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at MIT.

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