Nova Sciencenow

Are workers at U.S. nuclear power plants fully prepared to deal with emergencies triggered by natural disasters? To find out, we visited the training center for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. Pilgrim is on the Atlantic coast near Plymouth, Massachussets, about an hour's drive south of Boston. It's one of 23 nuclear plants in the U.S. that use the same nuclear reactor design as the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. You can take a virtual tour of the control room in a U.S. nuclear power plant at pbs.org/nova

Galileo has been called the "father of modern science". His observations of the night sky in the early 1600s confirmed a new model of the universe, where the Earth orbited the sun—not the other way around. But before he was studying the universe, Galileo was working on practical problems. And his early goals for the telescope weren't so scientific. Podcast produced by David Levin. Original interview by David Axelrod. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Additional funding for "Hunting the Edge of Space" is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. To learn more about the history of the telescope, go to pbs.org/nova/telescope.

Astronomer Seth Shostak thinks that if alien intelligence is out there, we'll know it when we see it. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear other experts describe what intelligence means to them. Visit us online at pbs.org/nova

Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker says that modern human intelligence is the result of thousands of years of accumulated knowledge. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear other experts describe what intelligence means to them. Visit us online at pbs.org/nova

Theoretical psychologist Nicholas Humphrey explains the concept of social intelligence. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear other experts describe what intelligence means to them. Visit us online at pbs.org/nova

In this podcast, roboticist Rodney Brooks describes what "intelligence" means in his field. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear other experts describe what intelligence means to them. Visit us online at pbs.org/nova

NOVA Minutes are a regular radio features that air three times per week on 89.7 WGBH-FM in Boston. In this episode, naturalist E.O. Wilson describes the challenges of understanding how ecosystems evolve. Produced by David Levin. Original interview by Gail Willumsen. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Learn more at pbs.org/nova/eowilson

Most passenger jets today fly under computer control, at least to some extent. Usually, those computers make flying safer. But like any machine, they can sometimes break down, leading, in rare cases, to major accidents. In this interview, aviation expert Bill Voss explains why he thinks airlines should put more emphasis on solving computer automation problems during pilot training. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear more audio stories at pbs.org/nova

After the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009, widespread debate appeared on the Internet about whether a lightning strike could have brought the plane down. Just how dangerous is lightning to an aircraft in flight? In this podcast, aviation safety expert John Cox and veteran airline pilot Martin Alder weigh in. Podcast produced by David Levin. Interviews by Darlow Smithson productions. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear more audio stories at pbs.org/nova

Some parrots can talk-but can they really understand what they're saying? In this podcast, researcher Irene Pepperberg describes her cognitive experiments with African grey parrots, and discusses why the line between human and animal intelligence is sometimes blurry. Produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Major funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and public television viewers. Major funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. For more fun science stories, visit our Web site at http://www.pbs.org/nova/sciencenow

Stopping signs of life and starting them again might seem like pure sci-fi—but cell biologist Mark Roth says it's very possible. In this podcast, he explains why. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Learn about other ways that science is extending human life. Go to pbs.org/nova/sciencenow.

NOVA Minutes are a regular radio features that air three times per week on 89.7 WGBH-FM in Boston. In this episode, geologist Chris Goldfinger describes why earthquakes in one part of the globe might trigger others worldwide. Produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Learn more at pbs.org/nova

In this podcast, hear how a newly identified wreck found outside the harbor may rewrite the history of the Japanese attack. Produced by David Levin. Original interviews by Kirk Wolfinger. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Learn more at pbs.org/nova/killersubs

NOVA Minutes are a regular radio features that air three times per week on 89.7 WGBH-FM in Boston. In this episode, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains that despite all the doomsday claims on the Internet, the world will NOT end in 2012. Produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Learn more at pbs.org/nova/sciencenow

NOVA Minutes are a regular radio features that air three times per week on 89.7 WGBH-FM in Boston. In this episode, African-American chemistry pioneer Percy Julian gives his take on scientific language. Produced by David Levin and Susan Lewis NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Learn more at pbs.org/nova/julian

NOVA Minutes are a regular radio features that air three times per week on 89.7 WGBH-FM in Boston. In this episode, Native American geologist Alexandrea Bowman describes her path to science, which led from baby seals to Long Island Sound. Produced by David Levin and Rob Chapman. Original interview by Josh Seftel and Tom Miller. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Exclusive funding for "The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers" provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Learn more at pbs.org/nova/secretlife

If you could take a drug that could erase your memories, would you do it? It’s not such a hypothetical question—neuroscientists have identified a drug that can wipe out memory in rats. It’s not something that could be used on humans, but its existence raises a lot of big ethical issues. To sort those out, we talked to Art Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. To learn where the science stands on memory-erasing drugs, go to pbs.org/nova/sciencenow

NOVA Minutes are a regular radio features that air three times per week on 89.7 WGBH-FM in Boston. In this episode, biochemist Erika Ebbel describes how a mentor helped her transform into a scientist when she was 11 years old. Produced by David Levin and Rob Chapman. Original interview by Josh Seftel and Tom Miller. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Exclusive funding for "The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers" provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Learn more at pbs.org/nova/secretlife

In this podcast, NASA psychologist Al Holland discusses some of the the mental challenges astronauts might face during a mission to Mars. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Find out how we might make it to Mars, and learn about the dangers we'd face along the way. Visit us at pbs.org/nova/sciencenow.

NOVA Minutes are a regular radio features that air three times per week on 89.7 WGBH-FM in Boston. In this episode, geologist Adrienne Block explains how she investigates mountains that lie beneath the humongous ice sheets of Antarctica. Produced by David Levin and Rob Chapman. Original interview by Josh Seftel and Tom Miller. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Exclusive funding for "The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers" provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Learn more at pbs.org/nova/secretlife