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The Salt
3:01 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Vertical 'Pinkhouses:' The Future Of Urban Farming?

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Credit Courtesy of Caliber Therapeutics
This "pinkhouse" at Caliber Biotherapeutics in Bryan, Texas, grows 2.2 million plants under the glow of blue and red LEDs.
Credit Courtesy of Plantagon
An artist's rendering of what a planned vertical farm in Linkoping, Sweden, will look like.
Credit Courtesy of Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell
Cary Mitchell and Celina Gomez, of Purdue University, harvest tomatoes grown next to a tower of blue and red LEDs.
Credit Courtesy of Caliber Biotherapeutics
Plants at Caliber Biotherapeutics grow under blue and red LEDs, with wavelengths of light that match those that get absorbed by the photosynthetic machinery.
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By Michaeleen Doucleff

The idea of vertical farming is all the rage right now. Architects and engineers have come up with spectacular concepts for lofty buildings that could function as urban food centers of the future.

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The Picture Show
11:55 am
Tue May 21, 2013

'Nanogardens' Sprout Up On The Surface Of A Penny

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Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
Nanoflowers, each smaller than the thickness of a dollar bill, sprout up spontaneously on a surface dipped in salts and silicon.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
A field of nanoviolets sprouts up on a glass plate dipped into a solution of minerals and silicon.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
The flowers grow in a stepwise process. First, Noorduin seeds crystals at the glass plate's surface to create the pink vase. The green stems nucleate inside the vases. And then a burst of carbon dioxides triggers the violets to blossom.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
All of the flowers are crystals of silicon and minerals. Wim Noorduin sculpts the stems and blossoms by tweaking the environment in which the crystals grow.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
The images are falsely colored (because the electron microscope only photographs in black and white). But in this image, the colors represent the ones you'd actually see if the human eye could detect such small objects.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
Noorduin creates ripples in the petals by sending pulses of carbon dioxide through the solution.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
This flower would fit perfectly on Abraham Lincoln's jacket lapel on the backside of a penny.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
Each rose sculpture is about half the thickness of a dollar bill. The only way to see the sculptures is with a microscope.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
This microcorsage is sized perfectly for Abraham Lincoln's jacket lapel on the back of a penny.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin
Sense Of Scale: Nanoflower scupltures grow in front of the Lincoln Memorial imprinted on the back of a penny.
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By Michaeleen Doucleff

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 12:28 pm

April showers bring May flowers. But in this case, the blossoms are too small for even a bumblebee to see.

Engineers at Harvard University have figured out a way to make microscopic sculptures of roses, tulips and violets, each smaller than a strand of hair.

To get a sense of just how small these flower sculptures are, grab a penny and flip it on its back. Right in the middle of the Lincoln Memorial, you'll see a faint impression of Abraham Lincoln. These roses would make a perfect corsage for the president's jacket lapel.

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The Two-Way
6:01 pm
Mon May 20, 2013

Measuring The Power Of Deadly Tornadoes

Credit Sue Ogrocki / AP
John Warner surveys the damage near a friend's mobile home in the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park, destroyed in Sunday's tornado, near Shawnee, Okla., on Monday.
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By Steve Mullis

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 3:59 am

Damaging tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma on Sunday and Monday, causing widespread damage that is still being assessed, and additional severe weather is expected.

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Krulwich Wonders...
1:04 pm
Mon May 20, 2013

The Little Metronome That Wouldn't

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The Salt
10:01 am
Mon May 20, 2013

Can A Piece of Hair Reveal How Much Coke Or Pepsi You Drink?

Credit iStockphoto.com
Carbon isotope analysis: a scientific way to know just how much soda kids are drinking behind parents' backs?
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By Allison Aubrey

Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 11:00 am

One way to know how much soda people drink is to ask them.

The problem? We tend to underestimate, lie or forget what we've consumed.

And this is a challenge for researchers who study the links between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity.

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Shots - Health News
2:04 am
Mon May 20, 2013

If Your Shrink Is A Bot, How Do You Respond?

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Credit YouTube
Ellie is a computer simulation designed to engage real people in meaningful conversation and take their measure. The computer system looks for subtle patterns in body language and vocal inflections that might be clues to underlying depression or other emotional distress.
Credit YouTube
Ellie (right) is a computer simulation designed to engage real people, like the woman on the left, in meaningful conversation and take their measure. The computer system looks for subtle patterns in body language and vocal inflections that might be clues to underlying depression or other emotional distress.
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Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 4:19 pm

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Health
2:03 am
Mon May 20, 2013

Bans Of Same-Sex Marriage Can Take A Psychological Toll

Credit Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images
Opponents of same-sex marriage participate in the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C., on March 26, as the Supreme Court hears arguments on California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.
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Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 8:25 am

As the country awaits two important Supreme Court decisions involving state laws on same-sex marriage, a small but consistent body of research suggests that laws that ban gay marriage — or approve it — can affect the mental health of gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans.

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Science
3:58 pm
Sun May 19, 2013

The Unsuccessful Quest For A Universal Language

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By editor

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 5:18 pm

Within science circles, trying to come up with a new universal language was a trendy past-time in the 17th Century. Even the man who discovered gravity, Sir Isaac Newton, took a stab at it. Arika Okrent, editor-at-large at TheWeek.com, talks about its failure to catch on with Weekends on All Things Considered host Jacki Lyden.

Alabama Wind Farm
8:44 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Residents Opposing Lookout Mountain Wind Farm

Credit www.independentaustralia.net
Some residents near a proposed wind farm on Lookout Mountain say they oppose the project.
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Some residents near a proposed wind farm on Lookout Mountain are getting organized to oppose the project.

The Gadsden Times (http://bit.ly/189DqYI ) reports that about 35 residents met Saturday to share their opinions about the project planned by Pioneer Green Energy of Austin, Texas.

Resident Brandon Balenger said the project shouldn't be so close to people who live at the base of the mountain. Chris Lipscomb said his house is about 1,900 feet from the project, and he expects it to cut his home value in half.

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Krulwich Wonders...
4:48 am
Sat May 18, 2013

David Foster Wallace Tells Us About Freedom

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Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 10:24 am

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Environment
4:18 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Not Your Grandpa's RV: This Roving Lab Tracks Air Pollution

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Credit Richard Harris / NPR
Ira Leifer, next to an RV he has outfitted with methane sensors and other equipment to sniff the air.
Credit Courtesy of Ira Leifer and Paige Farrell, et. al. / Published in Atmospheric Environment
This map shows methane measurements Ira Leifer took as he drove in his RV around the Los Angeles basin. Notice the pronounced spike in levels of methane around the La Brea Tar Pits in the center of the image. Geological faults here allow "natural" methane to escape. The redder the color, the more methane was detected.
Credit Richard Harris / NPR
Ira Leifer, at his garage-turned-lab in Santa Barbara, has been studying the levels of methane in the atmosphere.
Credit Richard Harris / NPR
Leifer stands atop his roving chemistry lab. He and his team took 6,600 methane readings on the cross-country drive from Florida to California.
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Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 12:45 pm

If you're driving down the road someday and you come across a camper with a 50-foot periscope sticking up into the sky, you just might have crossed paths with Ira Leifer. His quirky vehicle is on a serious mission. It's sniffing the air for methane, a gas that contributes to global warming.

Leifer is an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But you'll more often find him off campus, in a garage, next to a string of auto body shops near the airport.

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Environment
3:20 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Scientists Agree On Climate Change, Why Doesn't The Public?

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By editor

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 5:52 pm

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. Yesterday, President Obama sent out a tweet drawing attention to a study about climate change. The study found that scientists who say climate change is largely caused by human activities vastly outnumber the skeptics. NPR's Richard Harris has more on the study that caught the White House's attention.

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NPR Story
10:23 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Resetting the Theory of Time

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By editor

Generations of physicists have claimed that time is an illusion. But not all agree. In his book Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe, theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that time exists--and he says time is key to understanding the evolution of the universe.

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