Raptors in Beijing and other Cities, Roman Ingots, Asteroid Water
This week: We’re talking about urban raptors over at the Science Forum. Don’t forget to stop by and join the conversation with wildlife biologist David Bird. Two stories in today’s podcast are linked to this latest Forum discussion. One’s about raptors struggling to survive in Beijing. The other is about cities around the world that are providing good habitat for birds of prey. You’ll also hear about some fascinating new images of the Sun. Elsa’s back with stories about Roman ingots, neutrinos and asteroids.
Protecting Beijing’s Raptors: Birds of prey still streak Beijing’s skies. But their numbers are dwindling. Thankfully for these birds, some people are watching out for them.
Report by: Ari Daniel Shapiro.
See photos for the long-eared owls and other birds in Ari’s story.
Beijing Raptor Rescue Center.
World Center for Birds of Prey.
Raptors Elsewhere are Adapting to City Life: Urban life isn’t always bad for birds of prey. In fact some species are flocking to cities around the world. What do cities have to offer? Listen to this interview to find out. And don’t forget to join our online conversation with wildlife biologist David Bird over in our Science Forum. The conversation is open until May 7th.
Guest: David Bird.
Stop by the Science Forum discussion with Professor Bird.
Watch live videos of the Peregrine family at Université de Montréal.
Elsa’s Favorite Stories:
- Frosty Asteroid: Astronomers have spied evidence of water ice on an asteroid. Most asteroids seem to have dried up already, but this one harbors water that’s probably billions of years old. Researchers think a similar body could have crashed into the early Earth and filled the oceans.
There are two studies, here and here.
BBC coverage. - Roman Ingots: Lead bricks from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck will shield a high tech particle detector in Italy. The lead on board the ship is so old that it is no longer radioactive, making it the perfect barrier to keep stray radiation away from sensitive experiments. One such experiment aims to clarify the nature of subatomic particles called neutrinos.
Nature News coverage.
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events.
A report about neutrino science, from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. - Bat Flowers: Bats are important pollinators for flowers in deserts and the tropics. Bat flowers make more pollen than their hummingbird-pollinated relatives–but it’s not because the bats waste it. A new study suggests a rather counter-intuitive explanation for the flowers’ heavy load.
The study.
Pictures of bat-pollinated flowers.
The researchers’ website.
New Images of the Sun: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in Tucson Arizona has been taking pictures of the Sun. And they recently released a set of fascinating new images. Don’t forget to check them out through links below. And you MUST watch (below) this movie of an explosion on the sun’s surface.
Guest: John Leibacher, an astronomer at the National Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
See more images taken by NASA’s SDO here.
Watch this video of an eruption on the surface of the Sun.
