Apple Pie: From Tried and True to Vodka, Too
As the weather gets colder, our ovens get hotter! As you get ready to plan your holiday menus, we thought we'd give you a primer on the best secrets, recipes and strategies to making a truly fabulous...
View ArticleGone Beyond the Veil, But Still Online
Facebook recently began offering memorial pages for website users who have passed away, allowing users to have a digital presence even after they die. It made us wonder: what happens to all those...
View ArticleFood Gifts Your Friends Will Eat Up
The holidays are upon us. If your friends or family love food as much as we do, you might want to consider some really cool gift options that everyone will want to eat up. Takeaway food contributor...
View Article'Sexting,' Cyberbullying and Other Digital Dangers
This week Facebook announced the formation of a new Safety Advisory Board to monitor online crimes, such as cyber-bullying and stalking. That announcement got us thinking about the people most likely...
View ArticleNo Lack of Spirit for 'Spirit' as Mars Rover Struggles
The Mars rover "Spirit" has overcome many mechanical problems since it landed on the red planet six years ago for what was scheduled to be a 90-day mission. There have been computer failures, terrain...
View ArticleCourt Says Company Cannot Patent Human Gene
More than 4,300 human genes have been patented by private companies or academics. But yesterday, a Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled that Myriad, a biopharmaceutical company, could no longer...
View ArticleScientists Explore Benefits of Hallucinogens for Psychological Disorders
The use of hallucinogens such as 'ecstasy' or mushrooms to address psychological disorders tends to be met with opposition and an automatic association with the drug culture of the 1960s. But...
View ArticleIn the Works: Car for the Blind
Blind people and advocates for the blind liken it to walking on the moon: The National Federation of the Blind has joined forces with Virginia Tech to create a car that could be driven by passengers...
View ArticleYour Brain Unwired
In our world where BlackBerries, cell phones, laptop computers and other digital devices rarely provide an escape from constant communication, it's often more difficult to disconnect than stay...
View ArticleThe End: How Much is Left?
Is it the end of the world as we know it? This year, we’ve seen terrible flooding, glaciers melting, and deep oil wells breaking. In light of these catastrophic events, we're launching a series this...
View ArticleThe Evolution of the MIT Media Lab
John is broadcasting from our partner station, WGBH, in Boston today. He's there to take part in the celebrations surrounding the 25th anniversary of the MIT Media Lab. Over the years a long list of...
View ArticleKodachrome Film Era Comes to an End
After 75 years, the era of processing Kodak's iconic color film will come to an end. Only one Kodachrome processing machine in the world remains in public use, and by the close of business today, it...
View ArticleMove Over Ken Jennings, IBM's Watson Is Here
Watson, a computer designed over the course of four years, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, will be one of the three contestants on "Jeopardy!" next week. The IBM machine is designed to...
View ArticleJames Gleick's Information Overload
We commonly describe the time we live in as “the information age.” More dramatically, some, like Eric Schmidt of Google, say we’re in the midst of an “information explosion.” But what, exactly, is...
View ArticleHeadlines in Chemistry, 1948
“Headlines in Chemistry” premiered on WNYC in 1947. Produced in cooperation with the American Chemical Society’s News Service, the show aimed to "present a program of interest to the lay public on the...
View ArticleDoctor Bridges Gap Between Mind and Machine
For Dr. Anthony Ritaccio, the idea of being a human-cyborg isn't just something of science fiction books, but a real world possibility. Ritaccio was born without his right hand, and through his work,...
View Article1964 World's Fair Hall of Science
Seven years after Sputnik 1 was launched into orbit, and just six weeks after the U.S. space probe Ranger 7 sent back the first close range photos of the moon, civic leaders and Nobel Laureates...
View ArticleSports, Concussions, and Brain Trauma
John Branch, New York Times sports reporter and author of the three-part series “Punched Out: The Life and Death of a Hockey Enforcer,” about Derek Boogaard, a professional hockey player; Alan Schwarz,...
View ArticleArthur C. Clarke Dabbles in Science Nonfiction and Speculates About Space...
"Around the close of this century." That is when distinguished author, scientist, and visionary Arthur C. Clarke, in this 1954 appearance at a Books and Authors Luncheon, predicts man will break free...
View ArticleIntroducing Air-Purifying Pavement
What if a city's concrete roadways doubled as an air freshener?That's the dream of a group of Dutch scientists who have developed a product they describe as "air-purifying pavement."Could the very...
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