Big Picture Science
Episodes
Blame it on Bacterio
14 Nov 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Think small! Microbes are tinier than the dot at the end of this sentence, yet they can make humans sicker than dogs, dogs sicker than humans, jump fr...
NASA or What?
07 Nov 2011
Contributed by Lukas
“Making space for everyone” could be NASA’s motto. But as commercial spaceships get ready to blast off, that populist idea is being tested. Spac...
Bug Off!
31 Oct 2011
Contributed by Lukas
What you can’t see … can make you sick. Humans have been battling viruses and bacteria since the beginning of time. The malaria parasite has been ...
Happy Daze
17 Oct 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Calling all pessimists! Your brain is wired for optimism! Yes, deep down, we’re all Pollyannas. So wipe that scowl off your face and discover the ev...
Skeptic Check, Beast Of
03 Oct 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Zombies, aliens, Bigfoot, oh my!! We've covered - or rather uncovered - them all and more on Skeptic Check, our monthly look of critical thinking. And...
Rend Me Your Ears
26 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Shh - can you keep it down? Nope. Not unless you want to do away with civilization. Our buzzing, humming, whirling, machine-driven world is a poster c...
Seth's Tool Shed
05 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Anyone who does gardening knows that life is tough. It’s also ancient – the first living things appeared on this planet nearly as soon as our worl...
Into the Unknown
29 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
During the great age of exploration men risked their lives to set foot upon unknown lands, whether in the humid jungles of Peru or on the barren ice c...
Home Brew Science
27 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The recipe for being a scientist was easy in the old days… just be born into a rich family, have an interest in nature and plenty of time to indulge...
Swarm in Here... or Is It Just Me?
22 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
An ant … can’t … move a rubber tree plant… but the colony can. As a group, ants are an efficient, organized, can-do bunch. And a model for hum...
Skeptic Check: Plotting Along
15 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been ten years since the fall of the Twin Towers, but some still believe that the attack was an inside job. They’re not the only ones to buy ...
Written in Code
08 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Genes – what are they good for? Absolutely… something. But not everything. Your “genius” genes need to be turned on – and your environment d...
Cell! Cell!
02 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Live forever? Both cancer cells and stem cells can make a claim to immortality. Left unchecked, tumors will grow indefinitely. And stem cells offer th...
Water the Chances
25 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Water, water everywhere. But most of it is sea water - you can’t drink it. Discover the most promising technologies for desalination and why solar c...
Know Laughing Matter
18 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It’s nearly impossible to fake a laugh. Yet, humans will laugh even if something isn’t funny. Discover the evolutionary func...
The Big Picture
11 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
How did life begin? What’s the universe made of, and what’s the nature of consciousness? These are truly some of the biggest puzzlers in science, ...
Alien Invasion
20 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
They’re heeeere! Yes, aliens are wreaking havoc and destruction throughout the land. But these aliens are Arizona beetles, and the land is in Califo...
Physics Phrontiers
16 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Physics means getting physical if you’re tackling the biggest, most mysterious questions in the universe. Stoic scientists endure the driest, darkes...
Thanks for the Memories
09 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Memories are slippery things – some are crystal clear, others more like a muddy pool, and some… well, they seem to vanish completely. Scientists a...
Skeptic Check: Mayhem and Octoberhem
02 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The end is nigh. Only, on which nigh should we rely? According to billboards, Judgment Day is in May and the end of the world follows months later. Bu...
Big, Really Big
18 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The universe is big – really big.* Galaxies, for instance, are often large enough to hold a trillion stars. But how did these heavenly heavyweights ...
Skeptic Check: Swimming in Denial
11 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Public distrust of science is higher than at any time since the Enlightenment. New Yorker writer Michael Specter argues how our anti-science bias and ...
Sex and the SETI
04 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Birds do it. Bees do it. But no one sings about how they do it. And frankly, not even Cole Porter can make bedroom behavior that involves decapitating...
Who's on First?
14 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Being first counts in science. Land that coveted spot and you’ll make history, whether it’s with the first steam engine or the discovery of our ea...
Eureka!
07 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
From the double-helix to the expansion of the universe, great scientific discoveries reshape our understanding of who we are and how things work. But ...
Skeptic Check: Diluted Thinking
27 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The weaker the mixture, the stronger the potency. That paradox is a central tenet of homeopathy. More than 200 years old and developed long before ger...
Outta This World
12 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Earth may not be rare after all. New data from NASA’s Kepler mission suggests that the universe is chock-a-block with planets. More than a thousand ...
Skeptic Check: ESP or Think Again
30 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
You’re right: it’s a show about ESP. And, correct again: we’re excited about the publication of a paper that claims precognition exists. You’v...
Gone Missing!
22 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
We all hear about research discoveries, but what about what scientists don’t find? Tune in for a round-up of eureka moments that have yet to come, s...
You've Got Sol!
20 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the star of our solar system, but much about the Sun is still mysterious. Find out what a new NASA mission to our favorite fireball might disco...
That's So Random!
15 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Random is as random does… makes sense doesn’t even that anyway in tune hear to randomness how lives rules. Brain chaos the drives, restoration rol...
Do Computers Byte?
15 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The march of computer technology continues. But as silicon chips and search engines become faster and more productive – can the same be said for us?...
Seth's Storage Locker
27 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
It's always an adventure to go digging in Seth’s storage locker – who knows what we’ll find … In this imposing pile of paraphernalia, tucked b...
Skeptic Check: Cell Phone Danger
20 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Every ten microseconds, someone places a cell phone call. These portable gadgets are ubiquitous, and increasingly a take-for-granted part of everyday ...
Method to Our Mathness
13 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The language of science is mathematics. As incredible as it seems, the universe seems to run according to laws we can write down on chalkboards. But i...
Early Adapters
06 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The times are a’changing – rising temperatures, growing population, and new technology coming at us faster than a greased cheetah. So how will hum...
Extreme Geology
29 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
We think of major geologic events as taking place a long time ago – but the Earth is just as active as it ever was. We’re a planet in motion. Disc...
Humans Need Not Apply
22 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
You are one-of-a-kind, unique, indispensible… oh, wait, never mind! It seems that computer over there can do what you do … faster and with greater...
Off to the Traces
25 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
If a tree fell on another planet, would we be able to detect it? Not quite yet – but we might be able to tell if the planet was habitable. A living-...
Earth: A Millennium Hence
11 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have not gone unnoticed on this planet. We’ve left our mark with technology, agriculture, architecture, and a growing carbon footprint. But w...
Earth: A Century Hence
04 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have not gone unnoticed on this planet. We’ve left our mark with technology, agriculture, architecture, and a growing carbon footprint. But w...
Skeptic Check: Sheer Lunacy
26 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Watch out, the moon is full… of intrigue. Our lovely satellite is blamed for all sorts of Earth-bound mischief – from robberies to shape-shifting ...
What Makes Us Human Part II: Adaptability
20 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Are humans unique or do we just do some things a little better than other species? In the second of our two-part series – how our ability to adapt h...
What Makes Us Human Part I: Others
13 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Are humans unique or do we just do some things a little better than other species? In the first of our two-part series on the nature of humanity: how ...
Say What?
30 Aug 2010
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no escape from the chattering classes – they talk, squawk, squeal and sing all around us. Every animal communicates in some form – it’...
Rxs Get Personal
09 Aug 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Medicine’s back.. and this time it’s personal. Get ready to have your genome read… your brain scanned… and undergo a chemical analysis so deta...
What's Your Poison?
26 Jul 2010
Contributed by Lukas
“Aspirin and Old Lace?” Okay, it would take a bottle full of pills in a glass of elderberry wine to really harm you, but aspirin can be deadly. So...
Grave Matters
19 Jul 2010
Contributed by Lukas
We could choose not to pay income tax and suffer the consequences. But we can’t avoid death. The biological functions of all organisms eventually ce...
Skeptic Check: Playing Doctor
12 Jul 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A new herbal supplements is on the shelf, and it claims to improve memory. Should you take it? It’s not easy to sort through the firehose of health ...
Seth's Garage
07 Jun 2010
Contributed by Lukas
It’s always a surprise to go digging in Seth’s garage – who knows what we’ll find! In this impressive heap of paraphernalia, tucked between bo...
Life of Brain
24 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
We should award frequent travel miles to your brain. After all, it’s evolved a long way from the days of guiding brachiation from tree-to-tree to be...
Skeptic Check: Fraudcast News
17 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
There are a lot of scientific claims out there – how do you separate the good from the bad and the outright fraudulent? Experts failed to do so for ...
Robots Call the Shots
03 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Robot, I presume? Your appendix may be removed by motor-driven, scalpel-wielding mechanical hands one day. Robots are debuting in the medical fiel...
Seas the Moment
26 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
With more water than land on this planet, Earth is more aptly-named “Ocean” or “Water.” The oceans have been here for billions of years, and m...
Habitats Not For Humanity
19 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
We place sharks in aquariums and elephants in zoos – to observe and conserve. But what if aliens have done the same to us? We’ll hear from Stephen...
Seth's Crawl Space
12 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
It’s always a surprise to go digging in Seth’s crawl space – who knows what we’ll find! In this cramped never-never land, tucked between piles...
Skeptic Check: Conspiracy!
05 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The Apollo moon landing is a hoax! 9-11 was an inside job! Our government keeps alien bodies racked and stacked in an underground bunker! And as for t...
SETI: Now What?
29 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Hello! Is anyone out there? As the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence marks its 50th anniversary, there’s been no contact as yet wi...
Skeptic Check: Climate Clamor
08 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Arctic ice is melting, atmospheric temperatures are climbing – yet climate change science is under attack. Detractors claim that researchers are man...
You've Been Slimed!
01 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Hollywood horror flicks have captivated us with alien blobs, but the slime slithering on our own planet is as beguiling. From microscopic machines to ...
Space Race 2.0
22 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
It’s goodnight moon from President Obama, as he calls for canceling the program that would return astronauts to the moon by 2020. We’ll hear from ...
Pave New Worlds
08 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The extra-solar planet count is more than 400 and rising. Before long we may find an Earth-like planet around another star. If we do, and can visit, w...
It's the Science, Cupid!
01 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Love makes us feel warm and mushy, but the sweet sting of Cupid's arrow makes a compelling chemistry lesson, too. Research into animal mating and huma...
Time's Mysteries Part II: Warping Time
04 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since Einstein, we've known that time doesn't barrel willy-nilly into the future. Moving clocks tick at a different rates, and by riding a fast r...
Time's Mysteries Part I: Marking Time
28 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Time's a mystery, yet we've invented clever ways to capture it. From sundials to atomic clocks, trace the history of time-keeping. Also, discover the ...
Journey to a Black Hole
21 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A massive black hole lies at the center of our galaxy, a monster hunkered down in the Milky Way’s innermost sanctum. Here, the bizarre laws of Gener...
A Man, A Planet, A Tenal: Panama!
14 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
While the Kepler spacecraft hunts for habitable planets beyond the solar system, we’ve let one of our own planets slip away! Find out why Pluto’s ...
Skeptic Check: Bigfoot Press Conference
25 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Finally, Bigfoot meets habeus corpus: three men claim they have the body of the elusive hirsute creature on ice, and throw a big press conference to p...
Skeptical Sunday: The Gospel According to SETI
16 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
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