As always. Working at NPR’s Science Desk is both enlightening and entertaining.
Check out our latest video - a surprising collection of pumpkin facts! And send pics of your science-y pumpkins to nprskunkbear@gmail.com.
Claire. Dakar, Senegal, 2013.
What is beauty? We went to Brazil, the plastic surgery capital of the world, and asked 7 women to talk about it.
"For me, being beautiful is being skinny," says Thairine (in the pink dress).
More portraits by Jimmy Chalk + words from Thairine, Janet, Maria and Gisele (above) — and three other women:
—> Look At This <—
recent posts from my the wonderful Claire Harbage.
A video @skunnkbear and I made. Connecting the dots of evolution through a glass of beer.
Watch our latest video to find out what the history of the earth, ancient whales and the evolution of Homo sapiens have to do with a single pint of beer.
And if you can’t get enough of beer science, check out jtotheizzoe's recent video and my old scientific drinking song.
Scientists Step Up Food Fraud Efforts Following Horse Meat Scandal
Last year, the great European horse meat scandal alerted consumers around the world to food fraud. Traces of horse meat were found in Ikea meatballs and Burger King beef patties, in cottage pies sold at schools in Lancashire, England, and in frozen lasagna sold all over Europe. Arrests were made in the U.K. and in France.
The contamination didn’t pose any real public health threat — horse has the same amount of protein as beef, and less fat. But in the U.K., where horses are viewed as pets rather than food, people weren’t happy to learn they had been eating horse unawares. And as we reported, in France, where eating horse is more common, customers were angry that they had been paying beef prices for cheaper horse meat.
"Consumers felt cheated and lost trust. It was just a total loss of confidence in the supply chain," says Markus Lipp of U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, a nonprofit that sets food and medicine safety standards. “It raised questions: Were these racehorses? Were they treated with veterinary medicines that were bad for human consumption?”
As a result of the scandal, European governments started rethinking their food regulation practices. And scientists started kicking into high gear, looking for ways to improve the technology to quickly test batches of meat for contaminants. Just this month, a paper in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry details a new method that uses mass spectrometry to quickly detect even tiny traces of pork and horse mixed into raw and cooked beef products.
The new technology looks promising, Lipp says. “But there is no way [food regulators] can test 100 percent of the food. We can never test ourselves to safety.”
Photo: The French enjoy horse meat — here’s a horse meat butcher in Paris. But even the French were angry that they had been paying beef prices for it last year. (Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)
Robert Krulwich’s science blog “Krulwich Wonders" is ending, but we made one last video together about an animal that seems to be … immortal:
Outtake from previous Goats and Soda shoot. Mathew Fred, Liberian activist.
This was a good trip. Mauritania 2013. On the iron ore train. Nouadhibou, Nouakchot to Zouerat. Here the wonderful partsofreality stops at St. Exupery’s house.
Keeping Up With The Interns: First Summer Roundup →
The cool thing about working at NPR is the richness and diversity of its internship program. The interns are from all over the country and they’re at just about every desk and department at 1111 North Capitol Street.
Here’s a roundup of what some of us have been working on. Some of these stories…
Kid Quai, left, and Nova, hang out in a convenience store after shooting a music video. Meadville, PA
Check out my Science Desk friends npr
NASA engineers use origami as inspiration when they fold up solar panels for their trip to space. Shown here: the Miura fold. Once a piece of paper (or solar array) is all folded up, it can be completely unfolded in one smooth motion. You can read more about origami in space here, and learn how to do the Miura fold in this video:
Image: Astronaut Scott Parazynski repairs a damaged ISS solar panel (NASA)
It’s been a busy week in wolverine news!
Wolverine spotted in Utah for the first time in 35 years
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced the sighting last Wednesday. UDWR biologist Adam Brewerton had set up a camera trap (that same technique used to catch those pics of the adorable Pallas’s cat) baited with a roadkill deer. When he collected the camera he found images of a curious wolverine snuffling around the (by that time empty) trap.
Should wolverines be listed as a threatened species?
Back in February of 2013, the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that wolverines be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Here’s their logic:
- Wolverines build their dens in deep snow to protect their young.
- Climate change tends to melt snow.
- Wolverines have a small but stable population now (~300 individuals) but in the future they will be in trouble.
But now a regional FWS director, biologist Noreen Walsh, has raised questions about the proposal. She says there’s not enough scientific evidence to accurately predict climate change’s effect on wolverines. She even mentioned the Utah sighting as anecdotal evidence that wolverines are expanding further into their historic range. Critics say she was swayed by political pressure from state agencies. A final ruling from the FWS will be made by August 4th, so I’ll keep you posted.
Meet The Musicians And Storytellers Of Kenya
One musician traces his ancestry by playing his nyatiti while another uses his powerful vocals to express his frustration toward Kenya’s politicians. A storyteller makes the crowd giggle and roar as she shares timeless tales of domineering lions and clever hares. These were three Kenyan artists who gave visitors a virtual trip to Kenya during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival this summer.
Eric Wainaina: A Million-Selling Musician Who Tells It Like It Is
Dressed in ripped jeans, T-shirt and fedora, Eric Wainaina quietly slips into the seat behind his keyboard. His smooth, powerful voice soon silences a chattering audience as he moves into his first performance at the festival – a song aimed at the politicians of Kenya.
"You wind up your window of your fancy car/ Turn on your AC/ You can’t feel the potholes/ You can’t feel the heat."
He’s definitely not shy about making politicians feel the heat. “Fancy Car” is about Kenyan officials who use taxpayers money to buy luxury goods.
The 40-year-old singer is one of the most popular musicians — and political activists — in Kenya. His songs are often banned on state-run radio but remain widely requested on private stations. And his award-winning albums are among the country’s top-selling records: His first sold more than 2 million copies. He’s even been appointed Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations Environmental Programme.
While studying at Berklee College of Music, Wainaina wrote “Kenya Only,” which became the country’s mourning song following a 1998 terrorist attack that killed more than 200 people in the capital city of Nairobi.
Since then, his music – a fusion of pop and benga, a Kenyan genre known for its fast-paced rhythmic beats and upbeat guitar riffs – has caught international attention. The lyrics reflect Wainaina’s social and political indignation and resonate with the millions who disapprove of Kenya’s authoritarian and corrupt political culture.
Photos (top to bottom): Eric Wainaina, Ayub Ogada, Alumbe Hellen Namai (Ryan Kellman/NPR)
This Kenyan Runner Can’t See But He Has A Far-Reaching Vision
When Henry Wanyoike and Joseph Kibunja first started running, it was out of necessity. The childhood friends had no other way to travel the three miles from their Kenyan village to school. So they made the barefoot trek every day, in both directions, regardless of weather.
Thirty years later, Wanyoike and Kibunja are still running together, only now, they’re headed to the finish lines of races around the world — and often getting there first.
Although Kenya is known for producing champion runners, the duo stands out: Wanyoike is blind and Kibunja serves as his guide.
In 1995, two years after graduating from high school as a track star, Wanyoike suffered a stroke. He lost his sight and thought he’d never run again. Three years later, at a rehabilitation center, someone suggested he try with a partner. To his amazement, it worked. And it worked even better once his pal Kibunja took on the guide role.
They stay side-to-side and hold a foot-long blue and green rope between them — in Wanyoike’s right hand and Kibunja’s left. Through a combination of verbal and physical cues, Kibunja indicates when they need to turn, avoid an obstacle and, of course, speed up to stay ahead of the competition.
The technique has allowed them to win gold medals at multiple Paralympics, set world records (including the fastest blind marathon in just 2:31:31) and serve as an example for just about everyone they meet.
"Our message is that we need to work together. We can achieve more with combined effort," Wanyoike says, just after leading a group fun run at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., last month. He and Kibunja were part of the Kenyan delegation showcasing their culture to visitors on the National Mall.
The power of Wanyoike’s story, says Kenyan singer Linda Muthama, has made him one of the most beloved people in the country. She even sings a song about him: “He dreamed, he overcame.”
Photo: Joseph Kibunja guides blind runner Henry Wanyoike (in sunglasses).(Ryan Kellman/NPR)
Another picture from an old roll. This time from Los Angeles.
Claire and Burn
The lovely Claire Harbage who did an amazing project about young adults of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, has had said project featured over at burn magazine which always does a great job feature interesting work. See more of Claire’s work here.