Then, it’s off to Kenya to hear about how bio-fuels are also being touted there as a way of meeting energy needs, and improving the local economy. Some are worried that growing crops for bio-fuels might mean increased pressure on nature preserves, though.

We’ll also tell you about the integrated circuit, which you might know better as the microchip. It was 50 years ago that the first patent was taken out on this technology, which has revolutionized computing and therefore our day-to-day lives. The highlight of our interview with computing professor Stephen Furber is his description of what computing life was like before the microchip. Nothing like a bit of perspective to make you better appreciate what your five year old laptop can do.

And since the microchip has been such a stunning global success, we’ll balance things out by ending with a segment on failure. But not just any kind of failure. We’ll be talking about The Institute of Brilliant Failures in the Netherlands, where they celebrate those cock-ups that cause us to learn and grow in unexpected ways. Swing by their website and nominate your favorite, and find out why Viagra is considered the poster child for serendipitous failure. If that’s not enough to entice you, here’s one for you Apple lovers/haters — Steve Jobs has also been nominated.

This week: It’s the 100th episode of The World Science Podcast!  We re-trace our steps since the beginning of the podcast and give you updates on stories we’ve covered before. You’ll hear about click languages, champagne bubbles and how the blind can see with sound. We’ll also give you a podcast-exclusive preview of stories to come later this year.  And don’t forget to stop by our online conversation about magic and the human mind with Macknik and Martinez-Conde in our  Science Forum.

Updates on Elsa’s Favorite Stories:

• Click Languages: In July, 2009, we brought you a story about an endangered click language from Africa. Elsa caught up with researcher Amanda Miller for an update. She has now documented a new kind of click, called a retroflex click, in a dialect of the !Xung language. It’s the most difficult click to execute, and is made by touching the bottom of the tongue to the roof of the mouth. Miller and her colleagues believe it is also the most ancestral click, which has morphed into other clicks in different dialects.
  Listen to the old story in Podcast no. 24.
  Amanda Miller’s website.
  Video tutorial for pronouncing the clicks in Khoekhoegowab, another click language.
• Champagne Bubbles: In podcasts 34 and 80, we brought you news about champagne bubbles and how best to pour your champagne so you don’t ruin the drink’s flavor. Elsa checked in with the authors of the studies and learned that they are now studying what happens to champagne as it ages.
  Listen to the original stories in podcasts 34 and 80.
  More on champagne bubbles in American Scientist.
  The researchers’ website (in French).
  The study on aged champagne.
  A champagne experiment in The World newsroom. Check out the results in this video!
  
• You Can’t Get Drunk Through Your Feet: Physicians in Denmark have disproved the Danish urban myth that you can get drunk by soaking your feet in a tub of vodka. The doctors tested the folklore by sticking their own feet in a bowl of “very cheap vodka,” says study author Peter Lommer Kristensen. And the British Medical Journal published their results in their Christmas 2010 issue.
  The study.
• Seeing With Sound: With a software program that converts images to sounds, blind people can navigate and even “see.” After just several hours of training, their brains begin to send the information from their ears to the visual cortex for interpretation.
  Listen to the original story in podcast 81.
  The inventor’s website. (To make and hear your own line drawings, click on the “demo” button at the very bottom of the page.)
  See and hear the rest of the walk around the yard.
  Check this NPR story for a completely different reason to convert information into sounds.
• Scary Sex for Water Striders: When it’s time to mate, some male water striders climb on top of the females and start tapping the surface of the water. This behavior attracts predators from below–the threat of which intimidates females into mating more quickly to stop the tapping.
  Listen to the original story in podcast 80.
  The study.
  Some crickets have taken the opposite route: The risk of being eaten has made males completely mute.
  More on how predators affect mating signals in other animals (a weighty pdf from the Quarterly Review of Biology).

Strawberry and Cacao Genomes Sequenced: Scientists have just sequenced the genomes of the cacao and strawberry plants. The World’s science and health editor David Baron tells us how the sequences could help scientists, crop breeders and farmers.
Guest: David Baron

This week: In last week’s podcast, you heard about the possibilities of world leaders agreeing on a new climate treaty at next month’s climate summit in Copenhagen. You’ll hear from Connie Hedegaard, the Danish minister for Climate and Energy who will be chairing the summit in Copenhagen next month. You’ll also hear a story on efforts to get wildlife off restaurant menus in Vietnam. Then, a story on how Israel is trying to come up with Hebrew names for Uranus and Neptune. Some disturbing news about plastics in our oceans and new clues to the day-to-day existence of the ordinary Mayan.

Oh! And a big thanks to all our listeners who participated in our last week’s Science Forum. Your thoughtful comments and questions made the Forum a big success!

Danish Climate Minister: The climate summit in Copenhagen is barely a few weeks away. And scientists, environmental activists and law makers from around the world are preparing for that upcoming meeting. Connie Hedegaard is the Danish minister for Climate and Energy and she will chair the climate summit in December. She says that leaders must remain committed to forging a strong, new international treaty to reduce carbon emissions.
Guest: Connie Hedegaard.
Links:
Collection of BBC stories on the Copenhagen summit.
Denmark’s Ministry of Climate and Energy.

Elsa’s Favorite Science Stories:

• More Plastic in Our Oceans: Scientists now think that the Pacific Garbage patch may not be the only collection of plastic waste in our oceans. There are similar plastic dumps in other oceans, like the Atlantic and Indian. It is only a matter of time before they find those too.
  New York Times article (including a slide show).
  The Plastic Ocean, the blog of researcher Bonnie Monteleone
  More on ocean garbage from the Algalita Foundation.
• Why Do Humans Talk and Chimps Don’t? Part of the answer may lie in our genes. A new study published this week shows that a genetic player in brain development does completely different things in humans and chimps. The results suggest that some of the answers to the mysteries behind humans’ highly developed language skills may lie in the gene called FoxP2.
  The study.
  BBC coverage.
  More on language evolution from NOVA ScienceNOW.
• The Musty Smell of Old Books: Scientists have identified the cocktail of volatile chemicals emitted by old books. The chemicals are released when the compounds in paper start to degrade. Different kinds of papers decay at different rates and emit different chemicals. The researchers want to use the findings to develop a non-destructive sniff-test to identify books and papers in need of better preservation and storage.
  The study.
  BBC coverage.
  All about preserving old papers, from the Cornell University Library.
• Picture of the Ordinary Mayan Life: Archaelogists exploring a “painted pyramid” in Mexico have uncovered murals depicting rare images of the daily life of ordinary Mayans. The pictures show what ordinary people in the Mayan civilzation wore, cooked and traded.
  The study.
  Information on Maya culture from the National Gallery of Art. (Note from Elsa: Find out some of the things I did not know about the Mayan elite!)

Naming Uranus and Neptune, in Hebrew: Did you know that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy? Well, the Israelis did. And they decided to commemorate the occasion by coming up with Hebrew names for Uranus and Neptune. These planets were discovered after the ancient Hebrews named the other six planets in our solar system.
Report: By Daniel Estrin.
Links:
Jerusalem Post coverage.
The Academy of the Hebrew Language.

Getting Wildlife off the Menu: Wildlife delicacies such as snakes and monkeys have become increasingly popular in Vietnamese restaurants. But its hurting the country’s wildlife population. And that’s why two environmental groups are now trying to change attitudes and discourage the Vietnamese from indulging in wildlife cuisine.
Report: By The World’s Mary Kay Magistad.
Links:
Read a transcript of this story.
More about the WWF restaurant campaign in Hanoi.
Wildlife consumption is a problem in other parts of the world, too. Learn more from the Bushmeat Crisis Taskforce.