NPR: Science Friday Podcast – National Public Radio
Science Friday, as heard on NPR, is a weekly discussion of the latest news in science, technology, health, and the environment hosted by Ira Flatow.  Ira interviews scientists, authors, and policymakers, and listeners can call in and ask questions as well. Hear it each week on NPR stations nationwide — or online here!

WNYC’s Radio Lab – Jad Abumrad & Robert Krulwich
On Radio Lab, science meets culture and information sounds like music. Each episode of Radio Lab® is an investigation — a patchwork of people, sounds, stories and experiences centered around One Big Idea. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, Radio Lab is produced by WNYC public radio.

BrainStuff – HowStuffWorks.com
How much sugar do they put in soda? Why does table salt contain iodine? Feed your curiosity by tuning in to BrainStuff, a podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.

Hidden Universe HD: NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope – NASA’s Spitzer Science Center / NASA / Caltech
Witness our universe in a whole new way! This video series (in 720p High Definition for Apple TV and hi-res monitors) highlights some of the most exciting discoveries from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. In-depth ‘Showcase’ features, striking ‘Gallery Explorer’ montages, and other whimsical specials take you beyond the visible to a universe of dust and stars hidden from Earth-bound eyes. Spitzer is the infrared component of the NASA Great Observatory program which also includes Hubble (visible), Chandra (x-ray), and Compton (gamma ray). For faster, iPod-compatible downloads search for the companion ‘Hidden Universe’ standard definition feed, also available on iTunes.

Scientific American Podcast – Scientific American
The Scientific American Podcast is a weekly science audio show covering the latest in the world of science and technology. Join Steve Mirsky each week as he explores cutting-edge breakthroughs and controversial issues with leading scientists and journalists. He is also an articles editor and columnist at Scientific American magazine and his column, “Antigravity”, is one of science writing’s rate venues for humor. Check our the new daily podcast from Scientific American: “60-Second Science.” To view all of our archived podcasts please go to www.sciam.com/podcast

60-Second Science – Scientific American
Leading science journalists provide a daily minute commentary on some of the most interesting developments in the world of science. For a full-length, weekly podcast you can subscribe to Science Talk: The Podcast of Scientific American. To view all of our archived podcasts please go to www.sciam.com/podcast

NPR: On Science Podcast – National Public Radio
From NPR: The award-winning staff of NPR’s Science desk brings you the week’s best in Science News.  Hosted by Joe Palca and Christopher Joyce who will take you  inside NPR’s Science Desk…

The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe – Dr. Steven Novella
The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe is a weekly Podcast talkshow discussing the latest news and topics from the world of the paranormal, fringe science, and controversial claims from a scientific point of view. -The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe: Your escape to reality -Produced by the New England Skeptical Society in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation(JREF) : http://www.theness.com

NOVA scienceNOW – WGBH Science Unit
Our podcast offers irreverent stories and introduces intriguing personalities from the world of science. For more content from the producers of NOVA scienceNOW — and to watch our broadcast series online — visit us at http://www.pbs.org/nova/sciencenow

Science Times – The New York Times
David Corcoran, a science editor, explores the topics addressed in this week’s Science Times.

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Chemistry: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Chemistry: Thomas A. Steitz
Chemistry: Ada E. Yonath
Economics: Elinor Ostrom
Economics: Oliver E. Williamson
Literature: Herta Müller
Medicine: Elizabeth H. Blackburn
Medicine: Carol W. Greider
Medicine: Jack W. Szostak
Peace: Barack Obama
Physics: Willard S. Boyle
Physics: Charles K. Kao
Physics, George E. Smith

Source: Nobelprize.org

Here’s a list of WHO pandemic phases and what each one means:

Phase 1: No animal influenza virus circulating among animals have been reported to cause infection in humans.

Phase 2: An animal influenza virus circulating in domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans and is therefore considered a specific potential pandemic threat.

Phase 3: An animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people but has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks.

Phase 4: Human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to sustain community-level outbreaks has been verified.

Phase 5: The same identified virus has caused community level outbreaks in two or more countries in one WHO region.

Phase 6: In addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5, the same virus has caused sustained community level outbreaks in at least one other country in another WHO region.

Source: World Health Organization

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On the list are a pea-sized seahorse, caffeine-free coffee and bacteria that live in hairspray. The top 10 new species also include the very tiny (a snake just a slither longer than 4 inches or 104 millimeters), the very long (an insect from Malaysia with an overall length of 22.3 inches or 56.7 centimeters), the very old (a fossilized specimen of the oldest known live-bearing vertebrate) and the very twisted (a snail whose shell twists around four axes). Rounding out this year’s list are a palm that flowers itself to death, a ghost slug from Wales and a deep blue damselfish.

The taxonomists also are issuing an SOS – State of Observed Species – report card on human knowledge of Earth’s species. In it, they report that 18,516 species new to science were discovered and described in 2007. The SOS report was compiled by ASU’s International Institute for Species Exploration in partnership with the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, International Plant Names Index, Zoological Record published by Thomson Reuters, and the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

Here are the top 10:

1. A tiny seahorse – Hippocampus satomiae – with a standard length of 0.54 inches (13.8 millimeters) and an approximate height of 0.45 inches (11.5 millimeters). This pygmy species was found near Derawan Island off Kalimantan, Indonesia. The name – satomiae – is “in honour of Miss Satomi Onishi, the dive guide who collected the type specimens.”
2. A gigantic new species and genus of palm – Tahina spectablilis – with fewer than 100 individuals found only in a small area of northwestern Madagascar. This plant flowers itself to death, producing a huge, spectacular terminal inflorescence with countless flowers. After fruiting, the palm dies and collapses. Soon after the original publication of the species description, seeds were disseminated throughout the palm grower community, to raise money for its conservation by the local villagers. It has since become a highly prized ornamental.
3. Caffeine-free coffee from Cameroon — Coffea charrieriana is the first record of a caffeine-free species from Central Africa. The plant is named for Professor Andre Charrier, “who managed coffee breeding research and collecting missions at IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement) during the last 30 years of the 20th century.”
4. An extremophile bacteria that was discovered in hairspray by Japanese scientists. The species – Microbacterium hatanonis – was named in honor of Kazunori Hatano, “for his contribution to the understanding of the genus Microbacterium.”
5. Phobaeticus chani made the list as the world’s longest insect with a body length of 14 inches (36.6 centimeters) and overall length of 22.3 inches (56.7 centimeters). The insect, which resembles a stick, was found in Borneo, Malaysia.
6. The Barbados Threadsnake – Leptotyphlops carlae – measuring 4.1 inches (104 millimeters) is believed to be the world’s smallest snake. It was discovered in St. Joseph Parish, Barbados.
7. The ghost slug – Selenochlamys ysbryda – was a surprising find in the well-collected and densely populated area of Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales.
8. A snail – Opisthostoma vermiculum – found in Malaysia, represents a unique morphological evolution, with a shell that twists around four axes. It is endemic to a unique limestone hill habitat in Malaysia.
9. Chromis abyssus — a beautiful species of damselfish made it to the top 10 representing the first taxonomic act of 2008 and the first act registered in the newly launched taxonomic database Zoobank. As a result, in the first month following its original description, it was the most downloaded article in Zootaxa’s history and was among the top 10 downloaded articles for 11 months in 2008. The discovery also highlights how little is known about deep-reef biodiversity.
10. A fossilized specimen – Materpiscis attenboroughi – the oldest known vertebrate to be viviparous (live bearing). The specimen, an extremely rare find from Western Australia, shows a mother fish giving birth approximately 380 million years ago. The holotype specimen has been nicknamed “Josie” by the discoverer, John Long, in honor of his mother.

Source: Arizona State University International Institute for Species Exploration

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2009 Carnegie Science Awards recipients:

• Chairman’s Award: Westinghouse Electric Company
• Advanced Manufacturing: Karen Craig, Dirk Kammermier, PhD of Kennametal Inc.
• Advanced Materials: Robert Hunt, Brian Long, Rick Starcher of Bayer MaterialScience LLC
• Catalyst: Lenore Blum, PhD, Computer Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University
• Corporate Innovation: Idea Foundry
• Elementary Educator: Cyndy Carroll, Canon-McMillan School District
• Middle Level Educator: Maribeth Varganin, Quaker Valley School District
• High School Educator: William Diehl, Anita Schuchardt, PhD, Shady Side Academy
• School District: Derry Area School District
• University / Post-Secondary Educator: John F. Mahoney, MD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• University/Post-Secondary Student: Donna J. Haworth, University of Pittsburgh
• Emerging Female Scientist: Priya Narasimhan, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University
• Start-up Entrepreneur: David Palmer, ClearCount Medical Solutions
• Entrepreneur: D. Raja, Computer Enterprises, Inc.
• Environmental: Rebecca Flora, AICP, LEED AP, U.S. Green Building Council
• Information Technology: Peter Feiler, PhD, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
• Journalism: Joe Miksch, Pitt Med Magazine
• Life Sciences: Yuan Chang, MD, Patrick Moore, MD, MPH, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute

Source: Carnegie Science Center

Mississippi’s rate was more than 60 percent higher than the national average in 2006, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The teen pregnancy rate in Texas and New Mexico was more than 50 percent higher.

The three states have large proportions of black and Hispanic teenagers — groups that traditionally have higher birth rates, experts noted.

The lowest teen birth rates continue to be in New England, where three states have teen birth rates at just half the national average.

Here are the top 10, with number per 1,000 births:

1. Mississippi: 68.4%
2. New Mexico: 64.1
3. Texas: 63.1
4. Arkansas: 62.3
5. Arizona: 62.0
6. Oklahoma: 59.6
7. Nevada: 55.8
8. Tennessee: 54.7
9. Kentucky: 54.6
10. Georgia: 54.2

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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View the list: NASA’s top events for 2008

Ten of the top accomplishments of America’s space agency in its golden anniversary year are listed below:

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION NEARS COMPLETION ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY — NASA completed four space shuttle missions in 2008 to deliver modules and hardware to the International Space Station, allowing it to grow in size, volume and science capability. The flights also prepared the station to house six crew members for long-duration missions and to expand scientific exploration. The activation in 2008 of the European Space Agency’s Columbus module and Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle, as well as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory, marked the beginning of new human spaceflight control centers in Germany, France and Japan that are working with existing control centers in the U.S., Russia and Canada. Nov. 20 was the 10th anniversary of the launch of Zarya, a Russian control module that was the station’s first component. In the decade since Zarya arrived in orbit, the station has grown to become the largest spacecraft ever built. Its mass has expanded to more than 313 tons, and its interior volume is more than 25,000 cubic feet, comparable to the size of a five-bedroom house. The station now hosts 19 research facilities, including nine sponsored by NASA, eight by European Space Agency and two by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. >> Watch the anniversary video

PHOENIX WRAPS UP SUCCESSFUL MISSION TO MARS — NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander ceased communications Nov. 2 after successfully returning unprecedented science data to Earth. Launched Aug. 4, 2007, Phoenix safely touched down on Mars on May 25, 2008, at a site farther north than where any previous spacecraft had landed. Phoenix’s soft landing on Mars was the first in 32 years and only the third in history. Cameras on Phoenix sent more than 25,000 images back to Earth. Preliminary science data shed light on whether the Martian arctic environment ever has been favorable for microbes; documented a mildly alkaline soil environment unlike any found by earlier missions; discovered small concentrations of salts that could be nutrients for life; located calcium carbonate; and detected perchlorate salt. The findings also advanced the goal of documenting the history of water on Mars. Phoenix exceeded its planned operational life of three to five months. Analysis of data from its instruments continues.

ARES I ROCKET PASSES IMPORTANT DESIGN MILESTONE — NASA successfully completed the preliminary design review for the new Ares I rocket in 2008. Starting in 2015, the rocket will launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew of four to six astronauts, and small payloads to the International Space Station. The rocket also will be used as part of missions to explore the moon and beyond in coming decades. The preliminary design review is the first such milestone in more than 35 years for a U.S. rocket that will carry astronauts into space. The review examined the design of Ares I to confirm the planned technical approach will meet NASA’s requirements for the fully integrated vehicle and ensure all of the rocket’s components and supporting systems are designed to work together. NASA is preparing for the rocket’s first test flight in 2009. Hardware for the test flight, including the forward skirt and the upper stage simulator, began arriving at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this fall.

ARCTIC SEA ICE DECLINE CONTINUES — In September, Arctic sea ice coverage reached the second-lowest level recorded since the dawn of the satellite era, according to observations from the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado. While slightly above the record-low set in September 2007, this season further reinforces the strong negative trend in summer sea ice coverage observed during the past 30 years. In March, when the Arctic reached its annual maximum sea ice coverage during the winter, scientists from NASA and the data center reported that thick, older sea ice was continuing to decline. NASA developed the capability to observe the extent and concentration of sea ice from space using passive microwave sensors.

LIGHTING UP THE NIGHT — Researchers using a fleet of five NASA satellites discovered in 2008 that explosions of magnetic energy occurring a third of the way to the moon power substorms that cause sudden brightenings and rapid movements of the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights. The cause is magnetic reconnection, a common process that occurs throughout the universe when stressed magnetic field lines suddenly snap to a new shape, like a rubber band that has been stretched too far. These substorms often accompany intense space storms that can cause power outages and disrupt radio communications and global positioning system signals. Scientists are studying the beginning of substorms using a network of 20 ground observatories located throughout Canada and Alaska and five THEMIS, or Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, satellites.

HUBBLE FINDS PLANET CIRCLING A DISTANT STAR — Astronomers announced in 2008 that NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first visible-light snapshot of a planet circling another star. Observations taken 21 months apart by the coronagraph on Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys showed the object orbiting around a star named Fomalhaut. The planet, called Fomalhaut b, is approximately 10 times the distance of Saturn from our sun. Estimated to be as much as three times Jupiter’s mass, Fomalhaut b is located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Australis, or the “Southern Fish.” Fomalhaut has been a candidate for planet hunting since an excess of dust was discovered around the star in the early 1980s by NASA’s Infrared Astronomy Satellite. The planet is brighter than expected for an object of three Jupiter masses. One possibility is that it has a Saturn-like ring of ice and dust reflecting starlight. Scientists theorize that the ring might eventually coalesce to form moons.

NASA COMPLETES FIRST TESTS ON NEXT-GENERATION ROCKET ENGINE — NASA engineers successfully completed in 2008 the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets. Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and on to the moon by 2020. Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars. NASA conducted nine tests of heritage J-2 engine components from December to May as part of a series designed to verify J-2 performance data and explore performance boundaries. Engineers at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., conducted the tests on a heritage J-2 “powerpack,” which, in a fully assembled engine, pumps liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the engine’s main combustion chamber to produce thrust. The test hardware consisted of J-2 components used from the Apollo program in the 1960s through the X-33 program in the 1990s.

This list of breakthrough devices and therapies was selected by a panel of Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists and was unveiled during Cleveland Clinic’s 2008 Medical Innovation Summit. The innovations touch on avian influenza, electronic medical records, and various minimally invasive surgeries to treat uterine fibroids, to repair heart valves, and to remove organs through the body’s natural orifices.

The Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2009

10. Private Sector National Health Information Exchange: A comprehensive system of electronic health records that link consumers, general practitioners, specialists, hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, and insurance companies is in the process of being established. Primarily a private-sector effort, this computerized system has the potential to replace paper-based medical files with digitized records of patients’ complete medical history.

9. Doppler-Guided Uterine Artery Occlusion: Fibroid tumors occur in upwards of 40% of women older than 35, triggering pelvic pain, pregnancy complications, and heavy bleeding. There is a new, non-invasive approach to treat fibroids called Doppler-guided uterine artery occlusion, or DUAO.

8. Integration of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (Tractography): Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is the new technology that allows neuroscientists to non-invasively probe the long-neglected half of the brain called white matter, with its densely packed collection of intertwining insulated projections of neurons that join all four of the brain’s lobes, allowing them to communicate with each other.

7. LESS and NOTES Applications: LESS (laparoendoscopic single-site surgery) takes laparoscopic surgery to an entirely new level by reducing the process to a small cut in the belly button. NOTES (natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery) bypasses normal laparoscopic incisions altogether. Instead, the surgeon gets to an appendix, prostate, kidney, or gallbladder through one of the body’s natural cavities, such as the mouth, vagina, or colon.

6. New Strategies for Creating Vaccines for Avian Flu: A newer vaccine approach that uses a mock version of the bird virus called a virus-like particle (VLP) may offer a better solution to protect people against infection from the deadly avian virus.

5. Percutaneous Mitral Valve Regurgitation Repair: Using a tiny barbed, wishbone-shaped device, the heart is fixed non-surgically from the inside out. A catheter is carefully guided through the femoral vein in the groin, up to the heart’s mitral valves. The clip on the tip of a catheter is then clamped on the center of the valve leaflets, which holds them together and quickly helps restore normal blood flow out through the leaflets.

4. Multi-Spectral Imaging Systems: The imaging system is attached to a standard microscope, where researchers can stain up to four proteins using different colors and look at tissue samples with 10 to 30 different wavelengths, allowing for the accumulation of more information than is currently available. This helps researchers to better understand the complicated signaling pathways in cancer cells, and to develop more targeted therapies, which might allow physicians to better personalize treatment for individual patients.

3. Diaphragm Pacing System: Four electrodes are connected to the phrenic nerves on the diaphragm. Wires from the electrodes run to and from a control box about the size of two decks of playing cards worn outside the body. When the electrodes are stimulated by current, the diaphragm contracts and air is sucked into the lungs. When not stimulated, the diaphragm relaxes and air moves out of the lungs.

2. Warm Organ Perfusion Device: Once a heart becomes available for transplant, surgeons have just four hours before the organ begins to decay. This device, though, recreates conditions within the body to keep the heart pumping for up to 12 hours.

1. Use of Circulating Tumor Cell Technology: A blood test that measures circulating tumor cells – cancer cells that have broken away from an existing tumor and entered the bloodstream – has the ability to detect recurrent cancer sooner, while also predicting how well treatment is working and the patient’s probable outcome. The test results will allow physicians to better monitor a patient’s progress, adjusting treatment if necessary.

The Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2009 were announced at the sixth annual Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit. In developing the Top 10, Cleveland Clinic enlisted the expertise of AlixPartners, LLP, an independent international management advisory firm. AlixPartners led the process to probe the opinions of Cleveland Clinic physicians and researchers, create a field of nominated innovative technologies for consideration, and develop a consensus perspective on the Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2009.

Source: Cleveland Clinic

While economic times may be getting tough, the well-to-do can still afford to improve their appearance with a nip here and a tuck there. Before you know it, those unsightly wrinkles and extra pounds are little more than an unpleasant memory.

But how many Americans are actually going this route? The American Society of Plastic Surgeons keeps count.

According to the organization, these were the most popular forms of cosmetic surgery for 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available:

– Breast Augmentation: 347,524

– Liposuction: 301,882

– Nose Reshaping: 284,960

– Eyelid Surgery: 240,660

– Tummy Tuck: 148,410

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons