Obama’s Science Envoys, Nobels on Climate, Eons of Laughter

President Obama speaking in Cairo

This week: President Obama wants to send “science envoys” around the world. Global warming grabs the attention of Nobel winners, the Chinese government, and top U.S. officials. Humans and their ancestors have been laughing for a long time. Plus, some very old bowls, and can peer pressure make us conserve?

Envoys: In his speech in Cairo, President Obama proposed sending “science envoys” to the Arab world and beyond. What would this initiative mean for science, and for diplomacy?
Guest: Vaughan Turekian, head of the Center for Scientific Diplomacy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Global Warming: Last week, 19 Nobel Prize winners met in London to talk about climate change.
Guests:
BBC environment correspondent David Shukman
Yuan Tseh Lee, 1986 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

China: China leads the world in greenhouse gas emissions. Several American officials have visited China recently, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to talk about how the U.S. and China can reduce emissions.
Report: By The World’s Mary Kay Magistad

Science News:
We – and our primate relatives – have been laughing for at least ten million years. (The study.)

Listen to the apes laughing (sound files provided by the University of Portsmouth):

Bonobo:

Orangutan:

Chimpanzee:

Gorilla:

Something else has been around for a while too: bowls. Researchers report they’ve found perhaps the oldest clay bowl ever, in a cave in China. (The study.)
A new study will look at whether peer pressure can induce people to use less electricity.

Songs:
Neil Sedaka, Laughter in the Rain

The Mighty Lemon Drops, Laughter

Tags: ape, archaeology, bonobo, climate change, human, laughter, Nobel, Obama, peer pressure, science envoys, social signals