Now Playing

Loading streams...

Podcasts & RSS Feeds

More from KUOWRSS
All ContentRSS
View all podcasts & RSS feeds

More from KUOW

Pages

Oscars 2013
9:54 am
Fri February 22, 2013

Despite Dark Themes, A Big Oscar Bounce

Credit DreamWorks
Despite its dark themes (slavery and the Civil War are hardly feel-good topics), Lincoln, like other Oscar nominees, has done very well at the box office. Disney has spent about $10 million campaigning for the best-picture prize, hoping for a payoff down the line.
Share
E-mail
By

Originally published on Fri February 22, 2013 3:47 pm

How much is a best-picture Oscar worth? Not the statuette — winners are required to sell that back to the Academy for a buck if they want to get rid of it. No, what's the Oscar worth at the box office?

Read more
Nature
9:00 am
Fri February 22, 2013

Bird Talk: Not Always As Pretty As It Sounds

Credit Photo/Caglar Akcay
SMAC attacks.
Share
E-mail
By producer

Just as humans aren’t born knowing how to talk, birds aren’t born knowing what songs to sing. Take the song sparrow: Their songs are combinations of buzzing, trilling and music notes. Each song sends a message: “This is my territory,” or “Don’t mess with me.”

An aggressive sparrow mimics another bird's song, like a sort of playground argument. “Stop copying me.” “Stop copying me.” “Stop it!” “Stop it!” – until it comes to blows. Michael Beecher has been studying sparrow communication for nearly 30 years. Katy Sewall joins him in the field to start a sparrow fight.

Read more
Health
8:30 am
Fri February 22, 2013

Parents, Just Say No To Sharing Tales Of Drug Use With Kids

Credit iStockphoto.com
Have a talk about avoiding drug use early and often. And don't overshare.
Share
E-mail
By editor

Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 4:55 am

It's a moment many parents dread — sitting down to talk with their kid about drugs. What should they say? Will the conversation have any effect? And should they mention their own youthful indiscretions?

Parents can get advice from the family doctor or pediatrician and places like the Partnership at Drugfree.org (formerly the Partnership for a Drug-Free America), though there's not been much evidence to back up the recommendations.

Read more
Science
12:27 am
Fri February 22, 2013

Honey, It's Electric: Bees Sense Charge On Flowers

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Adam Cole / NPR
Credit Kevin Collins
Ultraviolet (false color). Bees and other pollinators can see the ultraviolet end of the spectrum. They are guided by patterns on flowers that are invisible to humans.
Credit Adam Cole / NPR
Fragrance plume (artist's depiction). Bees follow specific odors to locate flowers and, once they arrive, use scent maps to move toward the center of the flower. Fragrance that clings to a bee provides information for other bees back at the hive.
Credit Adam Cole / NPR
Electric field (artist's depiction). Flowers have a weak negative electric charge relative to the air around them. Different flowers have different electric fields, often with charge concentrated at the tips of the petals.
Credit Kevin Collins
Visible spectrum. Certain bright colors and petal shapes attract certain pollinators.
Share
E-mail
By editor

Originally published on Fri February 22, 2013 4:47 am

Flowers are nature's ad men. They'll do anything to attract the attention of the pollinators that help them reproduce. That means spending precious energy on bright pigments, enticing fragrances and dazzling patterns.

Now, scientists have found another element that contributes to flowers' brand: their distinct electric field.

Anne Leonard, who studies bees at the University of Nevada, says our understanding of pollinator-flower communication has been expanding for decades.

Read more
Alternative Energy Sources
8:00 pm
Thu February 21, 2013

Harvesting Wind Power With Philip Warburg

Credit Flickr photo/Alex Abian
Windmills capturing wind energy.
Share
E-mail
By

Wind can be a very significant power provider in the United States, especially in the Midwest. Environmental lawyer and writer Philip Warburg talks about wind as a resource, including how it relates to the economy and climate change. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on December 4, 2012. The talk was introduced by Denis Hayes, CEO of the Bullitt Foundation and coordinator of the first Earth Day.

Read more

Pages