PodcastDirectory.com's listings of the Science Friday Podcasts

President Obama's Science Spending

The president's proposed budget was unveiled this week. How did science make out? This hour Ira Flatow and guests look at the budgets of the major U.S. scientific institutions. How are research, alternative energy development and space travel affected? And will Congress sign on?

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Dinosaurs are often portrayed as a drab green or grey, but some may have been much brighter. Reporting in Science, Jakob Vinther and colleagues analyzed the fossilized feathers of 150-million-year-old dinosaur Anchiornis huxleyi and found its plumage was surprisingly flashy.

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Roughly 27 million Americans took prescription antidepressants in 2005, making them the most commonly prescribed class of medications in America. Ira Flatow and guests discuss depression, from how it's diagnosed and treated to how antidepressants stack up against psychotherapy and placebos.

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Cheating athletes used to rely on steroids to pump up performance. Then they discovered erythropoietin and human growth hormone. What's next? Gene doping, or genetic manipulation, according to Dr Theodore Friedmann, chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency's Gene Doping Expert Group.

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NASA rover Spirit is stuck in the Martian dust. But don't give up yet, says Steven Squyres, principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. Squyres discusses tactics for freeing Spirit and what projects are on the horizon for the rover if it survives the Martian winter.

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The Hayden Planetarium in New York takes opera to the moon with a new production of Il Mondo Della Luna. Diane Paulus and Philip Bussmann talk about merging cosmos footage with music, how science can enhance the arts and the future of technology and theater.

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Bdelloid rotifers haven't had sex for 30 million years and that's puzzling. Most asexual animals are doomed to extinction. Reporting in the journal Science, Paul Sherman and Chris Wilson explain the extraordinary adaptations that allow these rotifers to persist in celibacy.

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The $4 million the United States spends each year to detect near-Earth comets and asteroids is not nearly enough to detect all potentially threatening objects, according to a new report. Faith Vilas and Michael A'Hearn, two authors on the report, discuss options for keeping Earth safe.

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It's easy to find a dictionary definition of "time." But ask a group of theoretical physicists and the answer isn't as clear. Sean Carroll of CalTech discusses the mysteries of time in his book, From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time.

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People have texted millions of dollars in donations to victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Is this the new model for philanthropy? Timothy Ogden, editor in chief of Philanthropy Action, explains the technology and the future of charity work in the information age.

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Genetically modified food, vaccines and synthetic biology are all hot-button issues. But they shouldn't be, according to guest Michael Specter, author of the new book Denialism. He argues that the scariest threat is not science itself, but the reluctance to discuss it.

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Last week, the FDA warned against exposure to a chemical called BPA, found in hard plastics. But how dangerous is the chemical? Gardiner Harris, of The New York Times, discusses the FDA's statement, and what it indicates about the future of the organization.

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Brenda Tan and Matt Cost, high school seniors from Trinity School in New York City, used a technique called DNA barcoding to find out what species were present in over 200 animal products. Their results suggest buyers should beware!

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Reporting in The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers write of creating working neurons from embryonic stem cells. When transplanted into an infant mouse brain, the cells hooked into the correct brain areas, as normal neurons would. Study author James Weimann discusses the findings.

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Facial recognition technology is already used at border crossings, the DMV and in photo-management software. But how do machines stack up against humans? Ira Flatow and guests discuss what facial recognition technology can and can't do, and talk about privacy issues concerning its use.

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The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has reset its famous "Doomsday Clock," a symbolic marker of how close the world is to annihilation by humans. Physicist Lawrence Krauss explains why the scientists feel a bit more optimistic about the world’s chances for survival.

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In 1960, a physicist shined a flash bulb into a ruby crystal tube and the first laser was born. Ira Flatow and guests discuss the history of the laser, the intrigue surrounding its invention and why you can't pick up the phone or get in a car without having a laser to thank.

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Daily TV viewing is statistically associated with an increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and other medical causes, according to a new study in Circulation. Study author David Dunstan explains the findings.

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The Chinese government has pledged that 15 percent of its energy will come from renewable sources by 2020. To that end, China announced a contract with California's eSolar to build one of the biggest solar plants in history. Bill Gross, CEO of eSolar, discusses the project.

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The 2010 census form has a box to check for race, but what do the categories mean? Some scientists say there’s no biological basis for dividing people into races. Others say race can be an important marker for disease. Ira Flatow and guests look at the science of race.

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