http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-779743.mp3
Albany, NY – TEACHER BRINGS REAL-LIFE SCIENCE LESSONS INTO HER CLASSROOM
MRS. GLEASON'S JOURNEY: SCENES, SCIENCE AND STORIES FROM ANTARCTICA -
Children can watch all kinds of TV shows, movies, and DVDs about science and nature. But it's not the same as talking to a researcher who's actually been to remote places in the world. And when that researcher is your own 4th grade teacher, it makes lessons come to life. Hear the excitement from Bach Elementary School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Kyle Norris from The Environment Report. (2:49)
** As we mentioned at the conclusion of the above story, for teachers, students and parents who would like to see more about Mrs. Gleason's Antarctica adventures, here are the links. They are very interesting and worth looking at.
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/people/postcards/andrill/robin_frisch_gleason_bio.html
http://arise-in-antarctica.blogspot.com/search/label/Robin
http://bach.a2schools.org/bach.home/_mrs._gleason_s_journey
ORIGINS OF LIFE - SCIENCE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION SERIES
PUTTING THE SQUEEZE ON BIOLOGY:
BIOMOLECULES UNDER PRESSURE, Pt. 2 of 2 -
Because living under high pressure is not a part of our regular daily human experience, we tend t ignore the subject. (In this case, we're talking about actual physical pressure, not mental pressure caused by politics and the economy).
It would probably surprise most people to learn that more than half, 62% of our biosphere is above 100 bar. To put that in perspective, 100 bar is about 1500 psi, or about 60 times the pressure of your car tires. The biosphere is defined simply as our global ecological system, integrating all living beings and their relationships.
This then gives us a real appreciation of the extreme pressures in the deepest oceans which reach 12 - hundred bar, or pressures up to 1- thousand 200 times the normal pressure in which most humans live.
Proteins are nature's own molecular machines that perform an amazing array of tasks within every living cell. Modest pressure in the biosphere has an extraordinary effect on proteins. The challenge for scientists is to understand the effects of pressure. X-ray studies of membranes and proteins under pressure help do that. And lessons learned have important implications for the freezing of protein crystals.
This is important to keep in mind as we talk with Dr. Sol Gruner, from the Department of Biophysics at Cornell University in New York. TBOOK's discussion with Dr. Gruner focuses on his seminar topic, Putting the Squeeze On Biology: Biomolecules Under Pressure.
Glenn Busby reports. (8:47)
The preceding is part of our Origins of Life Series, supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
**(Attention Listeners and Program Directors. For more information about this story, or any of the other 150 stories featured in this exclusive radio series, or if you would like to hear them again via your computer, the website given at the conclusion of the above segments is: www.origins.rpi.edu.)**
AMERICA'S FASCINATION WITH THE CSI PHENOMENA REACHES ACROSS TO THE ITALIAN SCHOOL OF INVESTIGATION SCIENCE -
Thanks to Hollywood and American television, forensic science has spread its popularity to Europe. The Italian town of L'Aquila has become home to the first Italian School of Investigation Science. And it's opened the way for a whole new generation of academically qualified investigators. The three-year course is the first university degree of its kind in Italy.
Danielle Mitzman reports. (6:17)