Science

Science

Tracking A Space Rock's Streak Past Earth

7:14am February 21, 2013

Asteroid 2012 DA14 is half the size of a football field, and whizzing towards the Earth at over 17,000 miles per hour. Don't worry, it won't hit us. But on Friday, February 15th it makes its closest approach, scraping by the Earth's surface closer than many satellites. Join Ira Flatow and Flora Lichtman for special live coverage of this near encounter, with first-hand reports from astronomers around the world.

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Dr. J. William Hirzy, a chemistry professor at American Universiy, rests outside the rally route with a graph he uses to teach his students about the relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperature.

Protesters Call On Obama To Reject Keystone XL Pipeline

4:33pm February 20, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

Tens of thousands of protesters turned out on the National Mall Sunday to encourage President Obama to make good on his commitment to act on climate change. The pipeline would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

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Jim Gandy, chief meteorologist for WLTX, in Columbia, S.C.

Forecasting Climate With A Chance Of Backlash

5:31pm February 19, 2013

by Jennifer Ludden

A surprising number of TV weather presenters are vocal deniers of climate change, while others fear audience backlash if they talk about such a polarizing topic. But one meteorologist in South Carolina is waging a climate education campaign, and says it's going over well.

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Oregon State University has been growing a variety of hazelnut trees over the years to develop blight-resistant breeds.

Growing Resistance, Oregon Hazelnuts Battle Blight

6:42am February 18, 2013

by Deena Prichep

Carefully developed breeds are overpowering Eastern filbert blight, which had threatened to crush the U.S. hazelnut industry.

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Daniel Riscoe, Jenna Hart, Anthony Chau and Caroline Lloyd (all students from the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J.) carry donated Christmas trees across Island Beach.

After Sandy, Not All Sand Dunes Are Created Equal

5:04pm February 15, 2013

by Adam Cole

In New Jersey, thousands of discarded Christmas trees have dodged the wood chipper and hit the beach instead. They're being used to jump-start new dunes, but scientists warn that these man-made dunes could be less sturdy than dunes that form naturally.

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Science

Research Looks At Starchy Diet's Role In Dogs' Evolution

9:37am February 15, 2013

by Veronique LaCapra

Some dogs need to be on specialized diets for health reasons, but most eat just about anything. That wasn't always the case, however. The domestic dog's ancestor, the wolf, ate only meat. Research suggests for dogs to live with humans, they had to adapt to a starchy diet.

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Perch exposed to the anxiety drug oxazepam were more daring and ate more quickly than fish that lived in drug-free water.

Traces Of Anxiety Drugs May Make Fish Act Funny

5:40pm February 14, 2013

by Richard Harris

Small amounts of the drugs that people take end up in wastewater and then in streams and rivers. It's usually not enough to harm the health of humans who swim in or drink the water. But there is growing evidence that pharmaceuticals in wastewater may affect wildlife.

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The heart Paym Rajabi biked for his girlfriend, Clare

Science

Guy Pumps Out A Valentine — Literally

1:47pm February 14, 2013

by Robert Krulwich

Last year a guy in San Francisco jumped on a bicycle, clicked on his GPS, clicked on an app, snapped on his helmet, and 27 miles, 2 1/2 hours and many calories later, he'd etched a valentine message onto a street map of San Francisco. That was nice. Now, a year later, it's getting really interesting.

A sockeye salmon that was caught from the research vessel Miss Delta off the coast of Vancouver is examined. The MSC has certified the fish as "sustainable" even though there is concern from scientists and environmentalists.

Conditions Allow For More Sustainable-Labeled Seafood

1:24pm February 13, 2013

Most fisheries certified by the MSC system have conditions that spell out how they have to change their operations to comply with MSC standards. But they can still be labeled "certified sustainable seafood" even though they have years to comply.

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Capt. Art Gaeten holds a blue shark that was caught during a research trip in Nova Scotia. Scientists are studying the impact of swordfish fishing methods on the shark population.

Is Sustainable-Labeled Seafood Really Sustainable?

1:19pm February 13, 2013

Industry demand for the "sustainable seafood" label, issued by the Marine Stewardship Council, is increasing. But some environmentalists fear fisheries are being certified despite evidence showing that the fish population is in trouble — or when there's not enough information to know the impact on the oceans.

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