Joan's Blog

December 31, 2008: Happy New Year! I hope you have a good celebration to start 2009. I thought I would use this last blog of the year to pass along the top science stories of 2008. In no particular order, here they are:

1. Water on Mars: NASA's Phoenix Lander explored the polar region of Mars and discovered water ice. Scientists believe there could have been a lot of water on Mars at one time and maybe Mars could have supported life of some kind.
2. Golden suit: 23 of the 25 swimmers who broke world records at this year's Olympics were wearing the new LZR Racer bathing suit from Speedo. The suits were especially designed to reduce drag (see the Force and Motion show to learn more about drag). The suits are made from a special fabric and the seams are ultrasonically welded.
3. Bending Backwards: Scientists have taken a step toward creating invisibility. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley were able to bend light backwards. That means the light looked like it was bouncing back at the viewer, so you wouldn't see what was in front of you. They hope to use it to make new microscopes to can see DNA molecules. I like the idea of an invisibility cloak!
4. Splitting the Sun: MIT chemistry professor Dan Nocera developed a way to use the sun to split water molecules and makes usable energy. He used a process similar to how plants operate. This could mean a clean source of energy. Now that's news!
5. Gecko Feet: Scientists have long wondered how Gecko's can climb upside down. Now they know. Researchers discovered that gecko's use magnetism. The tiny hairs on a gecko's feet get so close to the molecules of the wall that they form a tiny powerful attraction.
6. More Gorillas: Scientists think they have found more gorillas. It is hard to estimate how many there are in the forests and swamps of the northern Republic of Congo. Scientists did some surveys and think there are now 125 thousand gorillas there. That is twice the number before. Unfortunately, war in that part of the world still threatens this very endangered population.
7. Smarter Scientists, sort of: Researchers believe Americans have gotten a little bit smarter about science. Political scientists at the University of Michigan did a poll that showed about 25 percent of Americans are "civic scientifically literate." That means that only one in four can understand the stories in the weekly science section of the New York Times. I think that if you are reading this, you are probably one of the four!
8. Big Bang: Speaking of good news/bad news. The Large Hadron Collider went on line in 2008. This is a massive particle accelerator on the Swiss-French border. This device will be used to study the particles not seen since the Big Bang. This is an amazing advancement in science, but it has been stopped by a helium leak. Repairs are underway and they should continue studying the universe in June.
9. Exoplanets: For the first time this year, astronomers saw planets orbiting other stars. They used special telescope techniques to distinguish the planets' faint light from the stars' bright light.
10. Scientists who said they found Big Foot were proved wrong. Sorry about that.

My thanks to the Boston Museum of Science, the Science Channel, the Omaha Science Examiner, Science magazine, Time magazine and The Hindu for their help in drawing up this list. Have a Happy New Year and check out my blog in 2009!

December 24, 2008: Happy Holidays everyone!

Science has come to the rescue of all cookie bakers. In an article for NPR, Food Scientist Shirley Corriher had some good ideas about how to fix common problems with cookies. Do your cookies break up after you pack them in a package to give as a gift? Corriher suggests adding a tablespoon of water to a cup of flour that's going to be used in the cookies. Why? Because flour is made up of proteins and when you add the extra water the flour becomes a "springy stretchy, strong elastic sheets of gluten." The gluten is what holds the cookies together, she says.

Do your chocolate chip cookies spread too much? Corriher suggests chilling the dough in the refrigerator overnight before baking. She also suggests using bread flour because it is higher in protein. So, make some cookies and share some science!

I also received this press release from NORAD yesterday.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. ­ Members of North American Aerospace Defense Command are preparing to track Santa again this year, and are working to accommodate the jolly fellow's change in flight schedule. Santa, according to NORAD, will launch two hours later than he has in previous years. They didn't exactly say why, but rumor has it that Santa changed his departure time because too many kids were awake when Santa arrived at their houses and he had to come back later. You can track Santa's progress at www.noradsanta.org or, new this year, people can get updates on Santa's travels using Twitter. Follow @noradsanta once logged in to www.twitter.com to not only track Santa but to participate in Twitter holiday conversations. Check with your parents first! Also, on December 24th, you can call Santa at 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723). You can also send him an email to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukah!

December 16, 2008: You know how some days seem longer than others? Well this year, December 31st will actually be longer than most days. The U.S. Naval Observatory is going to add a "leap second" to the world's clocks. On December 31st, the day will be 86,401 seconds long.

Historically, time was based on the earth's rotation around the sun. But when scientists invented atomic clocks, they were able to calculate time more accurately. So they have two time scales, one based on atomic clocks and one based on the earth's rotation. The problem is that, because the earth's rotation is very gradually slowing down, the two time scales get off. So the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, the group that keeps track of time for the world, has called for the addition of a "leap second" to get the time scales back in sync. This is the 24th time a leap second has been added to the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The last time was on December 31, 2005. If you want to keep track of time, click here for the U.S. Naval Observatory's Master Clock.

Tuesday will be our next live broadcast show. Be sure to send in your questions about the planets. Check out the show on Idaho Public Television or here on the Web site at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT, or watch the archived show afterwards. You can also check out our planet video short or web-only show.

December 10, 2008: Are you happy? Find someone who is and become his or her friend. It turns out that happiness may spread like germs. Research from social scientists in England reports that those who surround themselves with happy people are more likely to be happy themselves. Scientists know that we are influenced by other people's moods, but this study shows that happy people tend to form their own groups, or social contacts. If you are a part of a group that is made up of happy people or come in contact with those people, you are more likely to pick up on the happiness. Kind of like ripples in a pond, happiness spreads.

Envy, it turns out, is another emotion making science news this week. Researchers found out that dogs experience envy. Scientists were trying to learn more about emotions and animals. They knew that monkeys get resentful if a partner received a greater reward for doing the same task. But do dogs? In new research, scientists found that indeed dogs reacted differently to unfair food distribution. They "felt" envy. So, there is a similarity between humans and their dogs.

If you don't want to be envious of other students and if do want to spread some happiness, send me a question about the planets for next week's broadcast show. We will be answering your planetary questions at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT on Tuesday, December 16th. Watch it on Idaho Public Television or here on your computer.

By the way, the biggest and brightest full moon of the year will happen the evening of December 12th. The path of the Moon's orbit will put it closer to earth than it has been all year, so the full moon will look 14% bigger and 30% brighter than it has all year. If you have clear skies on Saturday, check it out. The best time is just when the moon is near the horizon. Send me a picture if you have a chance!

December 1, 2008: Check out the skies tonight, Monday, for a cool sight! The planets Venus and Jupiter are close to each other and the crescent moon. Check out the horizon early in the evening. You'll see two bright lights near the moon.

The crescent moon is pretty cool looking too, with earthshine dimly lighting up the rest of its face. We will hope for no clouds tonight so you can see it. This planetary show won't last long and the planets won't line up like this again until 2052, so take some time tonight for stargazing.

And if you want to learn more about planets, be sure to check out our Planets site. I'm taking questions now for our next broadcast show all about the planets. Send one in and be entered in our drawing for a DVD player and other prizes. The Planets show airs December 16th at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT.

November 24, 2008: Happy Thanksgiving! I am very thankful for all of you who check out my blog and the D4k site. I am thankful for those of you who call or email in questions for our broadcast show. I am thankful for the folks with whom I work here at Idaho Public Television and I am thankful for science and scientists. Here's a cool story for this week — it deals with light waves, guinea pigs, and the deaf.

Scientists at Northwestern University in Illinois are shining infrared light on the nerve cells in the inner ear of deaf guinea pigs. Sounds a bit odd, I grant you, but what they have discovered is pretty interesting. It turns out that you can use light to help the deaf hear.

Some deaf people have a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant is a tiny electronic device implanted in a deaf person's head that stimulates the nerve cells in the ear and helps that person to hear. But cochlear implants aren't as good as regular hearing. People with cochlear implants have a hard time in noisy places or hearing music well. But doctors found that when they stimulated ear nerve cells with light, the brain reacted like it had heard a sound. Dr. Claus-Peter Richter shone infrared light into the inner ears of deaf guinea pigs while measuring electrical activity between the inner ear and the brain. He found the light did a better job of causing brain activity than the cochlear implants did. Now it is a big step from a guinea pig to a person, but it is a promising start. It is something for which we can be thankful!

November 18, 2008: Well, that was a first. My guests for today's show about robots didn't make it to the studio in time for the live show. John Sosoka, UGOBE's Chief Technology Office, sends his apologies and regrets for missing the show.

Well, sometimes things happen and you just have to figure out your options and move forward. We were lucky that we had a good show "in the can." Idaho National Laboratory scientists Matthew Anderson and Mark McKay answered questions about robots back in 1999. That was our first season! Anyway, if you want to see what I looked like nine years ago, check out the archived show.

Because we had no new guest, we did not do a Web extra program, but the new video piece on robots is available. Check out that video to learn how UGOBE built Pleo, a robotic baby dinosaur.

I really appreciate everyone who emailed and the few folks who called in their questions. We will put everyone's name into the hat for this month's drawing, so your efforts weren't entirely wasted.

Don't give up on us. Our next broadcast show will be on December 16th and we will be taking questions about the Planets. I promise I will do whatever I can to make sure the guests show up!

November 17, 2008: Check out our new broadcast D4K show on Tuesday. We will be taking questions about Robots! You can send in your email or tune in live either here on the website or over-the-air on Idaho Public Television at 2:00/1:00p.m. MT/PT. The show and the web-only program will be archived here on this site later in the day so, if you miss the live broadcast, you can watch it here. More science news later!

November 10, 2008: Boy, you can tell I wasn't with it last week. At the end of last week's blog, I encouraged you to send in questions for out next broadcast show on planets. Oops! Our next show is actually all about Robots. We will discuss planets in December. Sorry about that. I am already getting questions about robots and it should be a great show. Check out the website and send in your questions.

ABC News has an interesting report about sharks and golf balls this week. Sharks can swim really fast, up to 50 miles per hour. Scientists were trying to figure out how. It turns out that sharks can raise the scales on their skin. This unevenness creates little hill-and-valley like pockets across the surface of their skin just like the dimples on a golf ball. Scientists already know that the dimples on golf balls helps cut drag. When you hit a golf ball, it flies through the air. Now, the air rushing past the ball forms little whirlpools within each of the dimples. This extra layer of air acts as a buffer and helps the ball move faster. Sharks apparently take advantage of the same physics. With less drag, a shark can swim faster and golf balls can fly farther.

Amy Lang from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and her colleagues discovered the difference when they created artificial sharkskin with those raised scales. They put the skin through water tests and found the speedy effect. Lang says, "It's like the difference between pushing a box over ball bearings instead of dragging it along the floor." Scientists think they can now use this discovery to improve the design of things like underwater vehicles.

Have a great week and send in those questions about ROBOTS!

November 3, 2008: Junk falling from space, a Presidential election, and a cool meteor shower . . . lots of news on a planetary scale this week.

A refrigerator-sized piece of space junk fell into the South Pacific Sunday night. The junk was a tank full of ammonia coolant from the international space station. Astronaut Clayton Anderson threw it overboard during a spacewalk in July 2007 because it was no longer needed. The space junk fell in the ocean somewhere between Australia and New Zealand.

Tomorrow is Election Day, even if you are floating in space. NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Gregory Chamitoff will vote from the International Space Station. Texas Law allows their votes to be sent electronically from space and then counted. In the last 50 years, only four Americans have been allowed to vote from space. That's because the Texas law was only passed 11 years ago. Another good reason to vote tomorrow: to elect legislators who think beyond the earth's atmosphere.

And finally, look to the skies between November 5th and November 12th for the Taurid meteor showers. You should be able to see 10 to 15 meteors per hour after the moon sets. Moonlight makes it kind of hard to see. The Taurid meteors are the leftovers from Encke's Comet. Scientists think that this year the shower will include a few unusually bright meteors known as "fireballs." Meteors create streaks of light when they burn up in the atmosphere. I don't know if they make bigger shooting stars than tanks of coolant, but they are still cool to see.

Something else cool to see . . . check out our next D4K broadcast show on November 18th. We will be taking your questions about robots.

October 27, 2008: Dance. Dance. Dance. That's how scientists jokingly describe a new find of dinosaur footprints on the Arizona-Utah border. Paleontologists found more than 1,000 prints inside the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. At first, everyone assumed the marks were just holes caused by erosion. But when research established that four dinosaur species had lived in the area, scientists took another look at the holes. Professor Mark Can from the University of Utah thinks the area was probably a watering hole from the late Jurassic Period. He thinks there were mothers walking around with babies. He says you can even see tail marks in the rocks, a rare find. Scientists think the prints were locked in the sandstone after being covered by shifting sand dunes.

If you want to hear what stars sound like, click on over to the BBC. A group of scientists using France's Corot space telescope recorded the sounds. It's called stellar seismology. Scientists use the recording to tell different things about what's happening to the star. The sounds stars make depend upon their age, their size and their chemical composition.

If you didn't have a chance to see it, check out last week's new broadcast show and Web Extra on habitat. They are both very interesting. Or, if you are in the Halloween mood, check out our website on bats! Happy Halloween!

October 20, 2008: We have a live broadcast show up tomorrow (October 21st). Watch it here on your computer or on Idaho Public Television at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT. Email in your questions about Habitats. Be sure to check out the Habitat website too.

I'm jumping the gun a bit here, but here's a science story better suited to our planets show scheduled in December. School children and others are participating in the Great World Wide Star Count from October 20th to November 3rd. The Great World Wide Star Count helps scientists map light pollution globally. What is light pollution? Well, bright outdoor lighting makes it more difficult to see stars. Your eyes just can't see the fainter light of stars in the face of a streetlight, for example. It is annoying to us, but it is an especially big problem for scientists who are trying to study the stars.

The Windows to the Universe project at the University Corporation organizes the Great World Wide Star Count for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This year, star-watchers in the Northern Hemisphere will look for the constellation Cygnus. Those in the Southern Hemisphere will look for the constellation Sagittarius. Participants can look outside their homes or go to places where there is less light pollution. Participants report on what they see, and UCAR then builds a map of star visibility around the world. If it is cloudy, participants can report on cloud cover and that will be added to the map.

Dennis Ward from UCAR says, "Without even being aware of it, many of us have lost the ability to see many stars at night. Part of our goal is getting people to look up and regain an appreciation of the night sky." If you are interested in getting involved, here's a link to UCAR.

October 13, 2008: Happy Columbus Day! Scientists are explorers too, and some researchers have discovered quite a find in a most unusual place.

Scientists have found a bug that could give us a clue whether life could exist on other planets. Desulforudis audaxviator is a microbe or a tiny bacterium found inside a gold mine in South Africa. This bacterium lives almost two miles beneath the surface of the Earth in total darkness and without any oxygen. It apparently relies on water, hydrogen and sulphate for its energy. The microbe lives entirely alone, making this the first known ecosystem with a single biological species.

Dr. Dylan Chivian from California's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whose team gets credit for this find, notes that early Earth and other planets didn't have much oxygen on them. He says if life forms were to develop, they would need to use chemicals like sulphate to get their energy. They will study Desulforudis audaxviator and find out more over then next few years.

All life forms need a habitat that provides them with energy to survive. Desulforudis audaxviator lives in total isolation and miles under the ground. What is your habitat like? You can find out more about all kinds of habitats on our next broadcast show. Tune in on October 21st at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT on Idaho Public Television or here on the website. Send in your question and you'll be entered into our contest for a DVD player and DVDs.

October 8, 2008: Sorry my blog is a bit late this week. It has been a busy place around here and I'm not the only one with something new on her plate. In Brazil, scientists have found a new species of ant. It's called a Martialis heureka. It has no eyes. Its body is pale and its mouthparts are longer than the rest of its head. Christian Rabeling from the University of Texas at Austin gets credit for the discovery. He says the Martialis heureka appeared on Earth earlier than any other ant living today. Scientists think it is blind and pale in color because it lives underground.

Scientists also reported some good news and some bad news this week. The bad news is one in four mammals are facing extinction. The threats seem to come from hunting and destruction of habitat. If you want to learn more about this, be sure to tune into our next D4K broadcast show. We will be taking your questions about habitats. Email them before the show and watch the show over the air or on line on October 21st at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT.

This week's good news is that an asteroid that was heading on a course to collide with the earth will burn up once it gets into our atmosphere. That's good news because it means the asteroid won't destroy the Earth and because it is among the first times scientists have been able to identify and track an asteroid long before it heads toward our planet. Finding, tracking and predicting the path of asteroids that are headed toward Earth is very hard and this was a sign scientists are getting better at doing all that.

Here's hoping your week has good news in it!

September 30, 2008: The wind is blowing at a 50-year low . . . but not the wind here on Earth. Scientists say solar winds are blowing about 20-25% less hard and about 13% cooler than they were during the last solar minimum. The solar wind is a stream of charged particles or plasma that is shot out from the sun. These particles head out into space, creating a Heliosphere or a bubble of wind material that surrounds the Sun and planets. Solar winds have a regular cycle where they blow hard sometimes and less at others. But scientists say the winds now are a lot less than they had expected.

So what does that mean? Well, the winds carry with them some of the Sun's magnetic field. That field helps protect the planets from high-energy cosmic rays that come from outside the solar system. We here on Earth are safe because we still have our atmosphere to protect us, but it may not be a good time to travel in space. Also, satellites are at greater risk of being damaged.

And why is this happening? Scientists aren't sure. If you want to learn more about plasma, check out our States of Matter video short. We'll be talking more about planets in our December show, so send your questions in and I'll hold onto them until then. Have a good week!

September 22, 2008: Happy first day of Fall! Fall, or the autumnal equinox, happened at 9:44:18 a.m. on Monday, September 22, 2008. The equinox happens twice a year when the Sun crosses the equator and the day and the night are approximately the same length, 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the days will now get shorter. We will lose a few minutes of daylight each day until December 21st, the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year.

To keep you amused during these darker days, I am passing along some fun websites to check out.

There are 170 volcanoes around the world that could potentially erupt. Take a look at this site that tracks these volcanoes: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ You'll be glad to know that the volcanoes closest to Idaho, the ones in Yellowstone National Park, are calm. Whew! But if you are heading to Hawaii, watch out.

A few seasons ago, D4K worked with Zoo Boise to promote ways of saving endangered or threatened animals. Zoo Boise collects a little bit of its entry fee into a fund each year and then awards money to preservation efforts. Kids like you can vote on which program will receive the money this year. Go to the Zoo Boise web site, read more about the various nominees and vote!

I also encourage you to check out last week's Dinosaur program. It was great! You can also watch the video short or the web-only program. Have a bright first week of fall. I'll have more science news next Monday.

September 8, 2008: Do you have a favorite song? It might be the key to helping you remember elementary school when you are older. Dr. Catriona Morrison, a researcher from the University of Leeds in England, is studying why music helps people remember things from way in their past. Dr. Morrison asked people to remember something relating to the Beatles, one of the world's most popular music groups from the 60's and early 70's. The memories they came up with were almost always positive and folks could remember a lot of detail. It seems attaching music to an event may help humans remember that event years later.

Our first D4K broadcast show of the season is next week! We'll be talking about dinosaurs so get your questions in. You can email questions. Remember, if you send in a question, you and your class will have a chance to win a DVD player and DVDs for your classroom.

Be sure to tune into the Dinosaur show. It airs Tuesday, September 16th at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT. You can watch it on Idaho Public Television or here on the D4K Web site.

September 2, 2008: Elephants can't jump and T-Rexes didn't run fast. That's the news today out the University of London. John Hutchinson, a biologist at the Royal Veterinary College, studies how large animals move. First, about elephants. Using stop motion photography, Hutchinson filmed elephants walking and running. He discovered that their legs are not built like stiff columns, as previously thought. Instead, they are more flexible, more bouncy. Still, he reports, elephants don't jump. They don't have all four feet off the ground at once. Hutchinson also used computers to study how fast a T-Rex could run. His research shows that these big creatures were probably walkers rather than runners. Their legs just couldn't, ahem, stand up to the pressures of running at fast speeds. Want to know more about dinosaurs?

Our first show of the new school year will be all about dinosaurs. Check it out on September 16th. Be sure to send in your questions too and win a DVD player and DVDs for your classroom.

August 25, 2008: Welcome back to school for many of you! After taking a few weeks off, I'm back to my weekly D4k blogging today. Check it out each week as I offer you one of the week's most interesting science stories. This week, it has to do with your nose.

All living things send out chemical signals to their fellow species when they are in danger or in trouble. The signals are called "pheromones." They are molecules and are very small. Scientists know pheromones exist, but they don't know what pheromones are made of and how animals and plants produce them. But now, scientist know how animals detect them.

These molecules float out into the air and go into your nose. A group of tight, round cells located near the tip of the nose, called the "Grueneberg ganglion," apparently picks the pheromones up and alerts you to the danger. Scientists knew about the Grueneberg ganglion years ago, but until now they didn't know what its purpose was.

Julien Brechbuhl and his colleagues at the University of Lausanne discovered the Grueneberg ganglion's role by comparing how normal mice and mice without Grueneberg ganglion react to alarm pheromones. Normal mice froze. The mice without the Grueneberg ganglion were unaware of the danger.

So, next time you seem to "sense" something is wrong, it may just be your nose doing its job.

My thanks to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for providing this story. Be sure to check out our new season of shows and our updated Web site next week!

July 14, 2008: All right guys, time to hang out with girls for a while. It might make you a better student. A study by psychologist Arlen Moller of Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania shows that preschool boys do better in school when they are in classes that have more girls than boys in them.

There is lots of debate about what's better for learning: classes with boys and girls together or classes that are only boys or only girls. Other studies have shown that in high school, girls may do better in all girl classes. But the results aren't as clear in junior high or grade school.

In this study, the researchers looked at 70 preschool classes over a school year. They looked at the students' motor, social and thinking skills. They found that boys in majority-girl classrooms developed these skills more quickly. Boys who were in majority-boy classrooms didn't develop as fast.

And what did they find for girls? It turns out that the number of boys in a classroom didn't affect how the girls learned. What do you think of that!

July 7, 2008: Mercury is shrinking! That's a headline you don't see too often. We usually think of the planets in the solar system as staying pretty much the same.

But scientists at NASA say Mercury's diameter, that is the distance around the planet, has shrunk by about a mile over time. Scientists think the planet is shrinking because its core, the planet's center, is cooling. The core of the planet is made up of hot liquid. When it cools, it doesn't take up as much space; hence the whole planet is getting smaller.

Scientists are learning more about Mercury because the Messenger spacecraft flew by the planet last January. Messenger, by the way, stands for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging." This spacecraft will fly by Mercury three times as it prepares to settle into an orbit around the solar system's smallest planet in 2011.

If you want to learn more about planets, check out our D4K Planets website, or watch one of our videos on planets.

June 16, 2008: Old Faithful is the world's most famous geyser. A geyser is a hot spring that erupts a burst of steam and hot water. Old Faithful goes off once every 50-to-90-minutes. Now scientists think that the length of the period between eruptions has to do with the annual rainfall. Researcher Shaul Hurwitz and other scientists from Yellowstone National Park have discovered that when there is less rain, the length of time between eruptions gets longer and when there is more rain, the duration is shorter. Watch Old Faithful erupt.

Just so you know, there are less than a thousand geysers worldwide, with more than half of them in Yellowstone National Park. Old Faithful was named in 1870 and was the first geyser in the Park to be named.

May 27, 2008: Who would have thought that Idaho and the planet Mars have something in common? Researcher Michael Lamb at the University of California at Berkeley does. Lamb and his colleagues studied Idaho's Box Canyon and have decided that it may tell us how water shaped the landscape on Mars.

Geologists had always thought that Box Canyon was formed slowly, with groundwater seeping through the canyon walls and wearing the rocks away in a process called erosion. These canyons are stubby and end with a round steep wall. They are called "amphitheater-headed" canyons. Geologists assumed other, similarly shaped canyons, including canyons on Mars, were formed in the same manner. But Lamb and his colleagues have decided that a massive flood formed Box Canyon about 45,000 years ago. The water probably came from melting ice sheets and would have blasted through the canyon at an incredibly fast speed. If this is the case, Lamb says it is likely that megafloods occurred on Mars and created similarly shaped canyons there.

If you want to learn more about rocks and minerals in Idaho, be sure to check out our most recent broadcast show. You can also find out more on our rocks and mineral site. And just a reminder, even though we won't have any new broadcast shows until September, there will be new postings here on my blog. There are also lots of interesting things to find on this web site, so check out a topic, watch a video short, a web-only show, or a full 30-minute program. Send me an email for the "Watt's up" section. School may be out, but D4K is always here!

May 12, 2008: While I wouldn't recommend having anything to do with an alligator, you might someday need its blood. Chemists Dr. Mark Merchant, Kemit Murray and Lancia Darville are working on ways to use alligator blood to create new antibiotics. Doctors use antibiotics to kill germs that make us sick. If you get a cut, and the cut gets infected with bad germs, it can turn red and puffy. But these chemists noted that when alligators get cut, they don't get this kind of infection even though they live dirty, germ-filled water. Why?

It turns out alligator blood contains materials that work like antibiotics. In laboratory tests, gator blood seems stop a number of the Earth's worst infections, so the researchers hope to turn the proteins in alligator blood into new medicines.

One more roundup of scientific news in honor of Mother's Day. It turns out that scientists have concluded that if you have a good Mom, you will probably live longer and healthier and be smarter and happier. Researchers found that good mice Moms, the ones who licked and groomed their pups, turned out pups that did better on mouse IQ tests. Researchers at the McGill University in Montreal found that mouse pups that were canoodled by their mothers grew into less anxious, more self-assured adults.

Scientists at the University of Tampere in Finland found human Moms are important too. Researchers videotaped infants 8 to 11 weeks old and their Moms and noted how much each parent and child interacted. Two years later, they found that those children who did not interact with their Moms tended to be sicker and had more chronic illnesses. So science proves good kids need good Moms! By the way, this research doesn't mean you don't need good Dads. Moms (especially mice Moms) tend to be the primary caregivers, so Moms were the focus of the research. But Dads can be primary caregivers too.

Be sure to send in your questions about rocks and minerals. We have a new broadcast show next Tuesday, May 20th. Email me or plan to call in live 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT. You can watch the show on Idaho Public Television or here on your computer. The show and the Web Extra will be archived here on the Web site shortly afterwards.

May 5, 2008: Scientists have found what they think is the biggest animal eye. The eyes of the colossal squid measure eleven inches across. The human eye is only about an inch across. So this lady could really see! The scientists think that when the animal was alive, the eyes were probably even larger.

By the way, the squid itself is no small creature. It is about 34 feet long. A fisherman caught this one in the Ross Sea near Antarctica last year. Scientists don't know too much about this type of squid because only ten have ever been caught. They are dissecting the rare specimen in hopes of learning more about the animal.

Our next broadcast show is coming up soon. We'll be talking about rocks and minerals. Check out the show's Web site, and send in your questions.

April 21, 2008: A 'bionic eye' may give sight to those left blind by a hereditary disease. Scientists at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital are testing an artificial eye on two men who lost their sight to the disease retinitis pigmentosa. The 'bionic eye' is implanted in the back of the eye and is connected to a camera on a pair of glasses. The camera sends a wireless signal to a very thing electronic receiver and electrode panel. That panel is implanted in the eye and attached to the retina. Learn more about the eye from one of our previous D4K shows. Initially, doctors hope the men will be able to see light and dark outlines. They aren't sure if everything will work, but the doctors are hopeful. If perfected, the bionic eye may give sight to thousands of Americans.

If you want something to look at, check out our program with Idaho's Teacher-in-Space, Barbara Morgan.

One other note of interest, D4K received two (2) Emmy nominations! The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Northwest chapter nominated D4K in the Children/Youth program category, and the D4K "Web Extra" was nominated for best Children/Youth/Teen Advanced Media. This Emmy is given for programs designed exclusively for the Web. The Emmys for the Northwest region will be presented on June 7, 2008 in Seattle. Yippee!

April 14, 2008: Have you felt the ground moving? You might have if you lived in central Oregon. Scientists have detected an unusual number of earthquakes in that area. Using underwater microphones, the scientists picked up more than 600 quakes over the past 10 days in a basin deep within the earth about 150 miles southwest of Newport, Oregon.

Researchers aren't quite sure what these quakes mean. This type of quake usually happens before a volcanic eruption, but there are no volcanoes in this area. Scientists think that molten rock is moving away from recognized earthquake faults off Oregon shores. They hope to send research ships into the ocean to take water samples. They want to look for evidence that sediment has been stirred up. That might show that magma is on the move.

Speaking of moving, it's time for you to get moving and send in a question for this week's new broadcast show. Teacher-in-Space Barbara Morgan will be our guest for a one-hour special. That show airs at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT on Tuesday, April 15th.

Send in your questions via email or call in during the live show. You can watch it on Idaho Public Television or here on your computer. We will archive the show and the Web Extra shortly afterwards. Remember, when you send in a question, you and your class are entered into a drawing for a DVD player, DVDs and other prizes. I hope to hear from you.

April 7, 2008: DNA extracted from, well, poop, is making news this week. Scientists found some fossilized feces in a cave in Oregon. It shows that humans lived in North America more than 14,000 years ago, 1,000 year earlier than previously thought.

Researchers also learned that these ancient peoples were related to humans living in Siberia and East Asia. This suggests that these peoples came to North America from Asia over a land-bridge between Alaska and Siberia.

The ancient poop also gives scientists an idea about what these early humans ate. How's this for a diet: squirrels, bison, fish, grass, sunflowers, birds and dog.

Scientists call fossil feces coprolites. The oldest bit of coprolite being studied is about 14,340 years old.

If you are more interested in space than coprolites, here is your chance to talk with a real astronaut. Idaho's Teacher-in-Space, Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan is our guest on next week's D4K. She will be joining us from Houston for a one-hour special. Send in your questions now or call in live during the show. Check it out at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT on Tuesday, April 15th on Idaho Public Television or here on your computer. We will also archive the show afterwards AND do a Web extra with Barbara. So check it out!

April 1, 2008: For years, everyone thought that a recording of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" by Thomas Edison was the oldest known recording of the human voice. But scientists have discovered a song recorded 17 years earlier. In 1860, Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville, a Parisian inventor, recorded, sort of, a bit of the song "Au Clair de la Lune." I say "sort of" because the recording isn't like any modern day recording. The French inventor used a "phonautograph." This invention scratched lines onto a piece of paper covered in soot from a burning oil lamp. The lines came from a needle attached to a diaphragm that responded to sound. The BBC has more on the story. You'll also find a link there to listen to this ancient piece of music.

I hope you had a chance to see our show on Amphibians. While you're there, you can also watch our web-only or video short pieces. Our next program is a one hour special with Education Mission Specialist, Idaho's Teacher-in-Space, Barbara Morgan. If you have a question for her, send it in soon. We are expecting more than a thousand questions. You can also call-in during the live show.

We are starting to decide what subjects we will feature next season. Do you have any suggestions? Send me an email.

March 24, 2008: Sorry I missed last week. We had a new show. Check out our program about amphibians, including facts and links as well as our Web-only video.

We are starting to build up to our next broadcast show with Barbara Morgan. If you have a question for her, get it in early. Last time Barbara was on, we had more than a thousand questions. Send in your question here.

My favorite science story of the week comes out of Harvard. Researchers there were testing the idea that good guys finish last. It turns out they were wrong. Being nice and fair helps you succeed.

Researchers watched 100 college students play the same game over and over. The theory was that punishment makes two equal players cooperate rather than compete. But when played over and over, punishment didn't seem to work as well. Working together, being nice, was the way to win.

The author of the study, Marin Nowak said, "We find that those who used punishment are losers." Those who escalate the conflict, or push punishment, often wound up 'doomed.'

So when playing the game of life, science seems to think, that they best way to play is to be nice.

Be sure to check out the amphibian pages. For those of you on Spring Break, have a great time!

March 10, 2008: Rats and frogs are not necessarily the best of friends, but they share one thing in common, the year 2008. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 is the year of the Rat. But starting February 29th, it is also officially the year of the Frog. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums is promoting 2008 as the Year of the Frog because, they say, frogs are going extinct. The World Conservation Union estimates that at least one-third of known amphibian species are threatened with extinction.

If you want to learn more about why amphibians are in trouble, tune into next week's live broadcast show. Scientists will be in the studio to answer your questions about amphibians. You can see it here on your computer or on Idaho Public Television on March 18th at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT. You can also catch the web extra or the full half hour show after that here on the D4K site. Be sure to email your questions or call in live.

March 3, 2008: You are what you drink, or at least your hair is. Scientists have discovered that they can figure out where you live and where you have been based on the chemical makeup of your hair. And they can do this because of the water we drink.

Remember, water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. These atoms can vary in how much they weigh. Different forms of a single element like hydrogen or oxygen are called isotopes. And scientists know that tap water in different parts of the world contain unique proportions of heavier and lighter hydrogen and oxygen isotopes.

Now, water makes up more than half of an adult's body weight. Our bodies break down water as part of the digestive process and parts of the water we drink end up in our hair. So environmental chemist James R. Ehleringer from the University of Utah wondered if he could learn where you live based on the amount of isotopes found in your hair.

He and his colleagues collected hair samples from 65 cities in 18 states and found that hair from a specific spot matched the concentrations of isotopes found in that spot's water supply.

Even if you drink bottled water, Ehleringer and his team say your hair will still give you away because you probably use tap water for your cooking and because milk and soft drinks contain large amounts of water from within a local region.

Now, Ehleringer says the technique can't pinpoint a person's exact location because similar types of water can be found in rather broad regions. But it can help narrow down the search, especially for police who use hair samples to investigate criminals or to help crime victims.

These maps illustrate how the concentrations of certain hydrogen isotopes (top) and oxygen isotopes (bottom) in water differ throughout the United States. Red areas are where concentrations of these isotopes are highest. Blue points to regions having the lowest concentrations.[From the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences].

February 25, 2008: The frog from hell, that's quite an introduction. Scientists have unearthed a fossil of a frog believed to have weighed in at about nine pounds. They call it Beelzebufo, or "frog from hell." It was apparently quite different from frogs today. Its body was about 16 inches long, with short legs and a big mouth. Scientist Susan Evans, from the University College of London, believes the frog from hell might have been a scary predator. "Its diet most likely [would] have consisted of insects," she said, but it might have also eaten small dinosaurs. If you want to learn more about frogs, be sure to tune into our next broadcast show. We'll be answering your questions about amphibians on March 18th. You can send in your questions now, and you and your class will be entered into a drawing for a DVD player and DVDs.

Did you have a chance to watch the lunar eclipse last week? Here are a couple of pictures I took of the event. The next lunar eclipse we can see will be in 2010.

You don't have to wait that long if you missed last week's broadcast show on teeth. Take a couple minutes to look at the "Video Short" or the "Web Extra" programs.

February 18, 2008: Ever been head-butted? Apparently head-butting was the weapon of choice for one dinosaur. Paleontologists (scientists that study dinosaur bones) found the bones of two new meat-eating dinosaurs in Africa. The first was named "Kryptops palaios" or "old hidden face." Scientist Paul Sereno called it that because of a horny covering over its face. Sereno and his other fossil hunters named the second new dinosaur "Eocarcharia dinops," which means "fierce-eye dawn shark" for its razor-sharp teeth and bony brow.

Both dinosaurs were about 25 feet long and stood 7 feet tall. By studying the dinosaurs' teeth, scientists think Kryptops was a scavenger. His short snout was better for gnawing its food. They think Eocarcharia used its head to butt its rivals.

Scientists can tell a lot about a creature by looking at its teeth. Do you want to know how? Well, tomorrow, Tuesday, February 19th, I have a new broadcast show all about teeth. Check it out on Idaho Public Television or here on your computer at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT or watch it here afterwards on this website. Be sure to send in your question about teeth (link) so you can win a DVD player and DVDs for your classroom.

February 11, 2008: Researchers have come up with a new power source for your iPod or cell phone, and it is as close as your knee. Maxwell Donelan of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and his colleagues have invented a device that looks like a knee brace. It converts the energy from a moving leg into electricity. When we walk, we generate energy. The hamstring muscle slows our knees, absorbing energy with each step. Donelan's device "harvests" the extra energy and converts it into electricity.

Volunteers wore the brace walking slowly on a treadmill. They found they could walk with the device without much bother and without much effort. But the payoff was pretty good. They could generate about five watts of electricity. That's enough power to run ten cell phones or twice the power needed to run a computer. That's good news for the millions of kids who live in places without electricity. Just think, some day you may take a walk around the block to check the Internet!

Two more things: if you are giving your Valentine a bunch of roses this week, be sure to also give a can of lemon-lime soda. Scientists at the University of Missouri report that lemon-lime soda can extend the life of cut roses.

Here is the whole recipe: 12 ounces of lemon-lime sofa (regular, not diet), 12 ounces of water, and half a teaspoon of bleach or mouthwash. If you have hard water, add a drop of dishwashing liquid. Once your Valentine gets his/her roses home, have them re-cut the stems under running water (very important to be cut under running water) and put them into your lemon-lime formula. That should do it. Science can make your love last — or at least your love's flowers!

Finally, remember we have a new D4K broadcast show next Tuesday, February 19th. Send in your questions about teeth! See the show on Idaho Public Television at 2:00/1:00 p.m. MT/PT or here online afterwards.

Happy Valentine's Day!

February 4, 2008: Happy Year of the Rat! This Thursday, February 7th, is the beginning of the lunar year in China. The Rat is the first of 12 animals on the Chinese Zodiac. People born in the year of the Rat are supposed to be leaders and pioneers and to like order. It is all based on an ancient Chinese philosophy.

Check out this chart and find out what animal you are. Remember, if you were born in January or early February, you are probably associated with the prior year's animal. That's because the Chinese New Year happens in early February, not on January 1st. I am an Ox.

I am also a fan of roses. And Japanese researchers worked for 14 years to develop a new blue rose. They created the rose by implanting the gene that makes blue pigments in pansies into a rose. The company says it will start selling them in Japan next year. They aren't saying how much they cost. So if you want a blue rose for your valentine this year, make it out of paper!

Be sure to send in your questions about teeth for our next D4K broadcast show. That program airs on Idaho Public Television on February 19th at 2:00/ 1:00 p.m. MT/PT.

January 28, 2008: What did the dentist see at the North Pole? A molar bear. What was the dentist doing in Panama? Looking for the Root Canal? What did the tooth say to the departing dentist? Fill me in when you get back.

Dental humor might or might not be your thing, but scientists now believe humor might help you learn more and might help your parents cope with difficult jobs. Researcher Melissa B. Wanzer, a professor of communication studies at Canisius College in Buffalo New York, wondered how health care providers for very sick people managed to go to work each day. The answer: humor. Workers who approached their job with a sense of humor coped better in tough situations. She also found that if a manager or teacher used humor appropriately, they were generally viewed as doing a better job. She reports that students also learn more when their teachers use humor effectively.

Now this is not to say your teacher should start each day with a stand-up routine, but a joke now and then and a good sense of humor can make everyone's day a bit better.

What does the dentist of the year get as a prize? A little plaque.

If you have a question for the dentist who will appear on our next broadcast D4K, send it in. The show airs on Idaho Public Television on February 19th and will be here on the D4K website after that.

One more thing — D4K was just honored with the Best Instructional Program (small market) award from the National Education Telecommunication Association (NETA). Yippee!

January 21, 2008: I hope you had a chance to see last week's show on Force and Motion. If you missed it, you can see the whole show, the video short, or the web-only extra from the show's video archive page. Check it out!

I've been doing lots of reading about teeth leading up to our show next month so this bit of science news caught my eye. Scientists think they may have come up with a better way to cure bad breath.

Halitosis, or bad breath, can be caused by germs that grow in your mouth. The germs live on the bits of food left on your teeth. If you don't brush and floss regularly, the germs grow. They excrete waste, using your mouth as a, forgive the term, toilet. Those waste products leave you with bad breath.

But scientists in Illinois report that breath mints made with magnolia tree bark extract kill the germs in about half an hour. Minmin Tian and Michael Greenberg tested the magnolia bark using spit taken from volunteers. They found the magnolia tree bark extract mints killed more than 61 percent of the bad breath making germs. That's 15 times better than your average breath mint.

They also found that the extract mints helped kill the bacteria that cause cavities. The scientists say the best way to stop bad breath and cavities is still brushing and flossing regularly, but any new weapon in the war against bad breath is important. There is one thing news reports about this discovery doesn't say. It doesn't say what the magnolia tree bark extract mints taste like!

Be sure to check out the Force and Motion videos and send in a question for February's broadcast show. It is all about teeth. Maybe the dentists coming on the show know what magnolia tree bark extract mints taste like!

January 7, 2008: Okay, I have a few more weird science stories of 2007 to report. MSNBC polled its readers and came up with its own list. Here are my favorites from their list:

• Glowing cat clones: Scientists in South Korean transferred genes into cloned cat embryos so the cats would glow under ultraviolet light.
• See-through frogs: I did report this on my blog when it made the news. Japanese scientist developed these frogs to study internal organs without having to dissect the frog.
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• Checker champion computer: Researchers at The University of Alberta in Canada have developed a computer program that figured out every single possible move in checkers. So, don't play against this guy. This computer will win every time.
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• Monkeys with good memories: Experiments with young chimps found they could perform memory tests faster than human and do them just as well. Hmmmm, maybe we should have the monkeys play the computer?

Now, time to look forward. We have a new broadcast show all about force and motion for January 15th. Send in your questions now and be entered in our contest for a DVD player and DVDs for your classroom.

December 31, 2007: Happy 2008 to you all! Before we jump into the New Year, let's look at some of my favorite science stories of 2007. Here they are, in no particular order:

* The weather was a big story in 2007. January was the warmest first month on record worldwide at 1.53 degrees above normal. And 2007 was shaping up to be the hottest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere. We here in Idaho felt the heat. Chilly Barton Flat (in Central Idaho) was singled out for its record high temperatures of 100 degrees for four days in July and August.

* Astronomers spotted the brightest supernova of a star ever observed in May. The star was 240 million light years away. A supernova is a star that explodes. This one was located in the galaxy NGC 1260SN. It burned for more than 250 days.

* Scientists all over the world discovered thousands of new species including:

• a rat the size of a cat in New Guinea
• a deep-water squid with fins like elephant ears and with 10 arms
• a black toad with purple rings in Suriname
• a new variety of clouded leopard on Borneo and Sumatra
• a medium sized, tree-dwelling primate call a highland mangebey in the mountains of East Africa

But, scientists also say that if global warming continues, 20% of the world's plant and animals may vanish. That's not good news.

* Archaeologists in China discovered the remains of a feathered, 16-foot-tall, 3000-pound flightless dinosaur. The 70-million-year-old Gigantoraptor erlianensis was found in Mongolia.

* Scientists learned that Neanderthals might have been redheads. Hey!

* Experts have found a way to make Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) brighter and use less power than regular bulbs. This may mark the end of incandescent lights. Actually, that's good news because we all need to use less energy and this way, we will still be able to see in the dark!

* By the end of the year, the world's population will top 6.6 billion — that's 100 million new people since last year. Wow.

My thanks to Lisa Stein at Scientific American and Elizabeth Weise at USA ToDAY for their help with today's blog. If you have a minute, scroll down this page and check out some of the other science stories I highlighted over 2007. They include more about giant ancient scorpions, why you like chocolate, the oldest living creature (a clam), and a web of millions of spiders that covers acres in Texas, just to name a few.

Have a great 2008 and keep checking back here for fun science news!

Next episode

Tune in Tuesday, January 13 at 2:00/1:00 MT/PT to watch "Five Senses" on Idaho Public Television or here on the web.

Archives

We've kept all our previous seasons of D4K shows and websites online. Find links to all the D4K video and the show websites from our D4K Topics page.