Talk of the Nation on UPR Too

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan at the Aspen Institute. News from the Middle East often focuses on problems: violence in Syria; political infighting in Egypt; bombs in the new Iraq; nuclear facilities in Iran; ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan.

Wander through one of this country's fine museums of natural history and you'll see animals you'll never see in a zoo: the wooly mammoth, the dodo bird, animals extinct for centuries. But for Stewart Brand extinct doesn't mean gone forever. He's working on a new project, "Revive and Restore," to de-extinct animals we never thought we'd see alive.

As the climate changes, scientists are documenting measurable shifts in the natural world — from a tremendous loss in Arctic sea ice and an increase in extreme weather like drought, floods and heatwaves, to the migration of plants and animals to new latitudes.

The Supreme Court has delivered a split ruling on Arizona's immigration law, striking down several key elements but upholding the "show me your papers" provision. The controversial provision allows local police to check the immigration status of people they stop in the normal course of their duties.

E.O Wilson and Sylvia Earle see the through very different lenses. Wilson started with his eyes to the ground, following ants as they lead him to the study of biodiversity and human nature. Earle dove into the Gulf of Mexico to focus on aquatic plants. That underwater view ultimately led her to study the relationship between degrading seas and life everywhere.

What if you needed a new toothbrush and all you had to do was hit print? What if doctors could print out transplantable organs and pastry chefs turned to a printer, not a kitchen, for their next creation? Ira Flatow and a panel of guests discuss 3D printing technology, how far it's come and what a 3D-printed-future could look like.

Philadelphia's Mütter Museum has a lot of heart, and other organs too. Items in this collection of medical specimens include a gangrenous hand, a wallet made of human flesh, and a colon the size of a medium suitcase. And that's just the stuff on display, imagine what's in the basement.

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Thirty-five years ago, NASA launched a pair of spacecraft called Voyager 1 and 2 in hopes of learning more about the outer planets of solar system, those big gas giants. The Voyagers beamed back dazzling close-ups of the big red spot on Jupiter and the rings of Saturn, but scientists wanted to see even more of what's out there, see how far the Voyagers could go before running out of fuel.

A pair of Canadian skyscrapers have been dubbed the "Marilyn Monroe" towers due to their shapely form. In Abu Dhabi, twin towers are shielded from the sun by computer-controlled shading screens. Architect Antony Wood discusses features of some tall buildings that make them standouts across the world.