Bionic Eyes, Psychedelic Fish
Researchers and surgeons in London are helping the blind to see. They have devised an artificial retina—a crude bionic eye—that operates wirelessly.
Can evolutionary principles be applied to language? Some biologists say yes. They have studied how English is evolving and have identified what they believe are the most ancient words.
In environmental news, a group of Belgian scientists in Antarctica just opened the first polar research base powered entirely by wind and sun. We talk with project manager Alain Hubert. We also hear about dramatic changes in U.S. environmental policy. Mark Hertsgaard, who writes about the environment for The Nation, says the Obama administration has taken a new approach to renewable energy. The administration has also changed America’s position on a global treaty to combat mercury pollution.
There’s a newly discovered creature in the sea (hopefully not ingesting too much mercury). Biologists have found a very colorful fish in Indonesia. They suspect the species has been around for tens of millions of years.
You know those drawings of Tyrannosaurus rex chasing after prey, with arms hanging loosely down? It turns out this image is incorrect. In reality, the dinsosaur’s palms faced inward, toward one another, just like their descendants, birds. Scientists have long suspected this, but they now have proof. Paleontologists have found fossilized handprints and footprints made by a large meat-eating dinosaur from 198-million-year-old rocks in Utah.
Music:
The Six Million Dollar Man Theme
