The Sounds of Science from the National Academies

The increasing popularity of blogs, social networking sites, and twitter has created many new and interactive forums for people to communicate about science. The National Academies recently invited Phil Plait, author of the blog BAD ASTRONOMY and president of the James Randi Educational Foundation to speak to us about these technologies and how they are being used be science. This weeks podcast provides some highlights from his presentation.

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. This podcast is based on the report Retooling for an Aging America which calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The report also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides.

The United States is increasingly dependent on information and information technology for both civilian and military purposes, as are many other nations. Although there is a substantial literature on the potential impact of a cyberattack on the societal infrastructure of the United States, little has been written about the use of cyberattack as an instrument of U.S. policy. In this podcast, cyberattacks- -actions intended to damage or adversary computer systems or networks-- are looked at from a variety of angles.

Pollinators- insects, birds, bats, and other animals that carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers for plant reproduction- are an essential part of natural and agricultural ecosystems throughout North America. For example, most fruit, vegetable, and seed crops and some crops that provide fiber, drugs, and fuel depend on animals for pollination. This Podcast looks at the role they play in our economy and the steps we need to take to protect them.

Public health officials and organizations around the world remain on high alert because of increasing concerns about the prospect of an influenza pandemic, which many experts believe to be inevitable. The 1918 - 1919 influenza pandemic killed more people in absolute numbers than any other disease outbreak in history. There are lessons to be learned for the 1918 outbreak in how we address the issues facing us today.

In this podcast the National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine examines the psychosocial consequences of the cancer experience, specifically on breast cancer in women because this group has the largest survivor population (over 2 million) and this disease is the most extensively studied cancer from the standpoint of psychosocial effects.

PNAS is one of the world's most-cited multidisciplinary scientific serials and has been published by the National Academies since 1914. This podcast looks at the history and future of this publication

What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators, teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences? This podcast takes a brief look into this increasingly important topic.

When it comes to motivating people to learn, disadvantaged urban adolescents are usually perceived as a hard sell. Yet, in a recent MetLife survey, 89 percent of the low-income students claimed I really want to learn applied to them. This report brief summarizes the major findings and recommendations in this National Academies report.

China and India, both with populations of over 1 billion, are drawing increasing attention from the United States. Their growing populations and interaction with the world presents both opportunities and challenges. Is we are to gain a much-needed understanding

The effect the mechanical revolution has had on farming is and continues to be enormous. From tractors to irrigation, our way of life would be not be the same without them. This podcast looks at just a few of the innovations that has changed the face of agriculture in the last century.

Over the past 50 years, thousands of satellites have been sent into space on missions to collect data about the Earth. Today, the ability to forecast weather, climate, and natural hazards depends critically on these satellite-based observations. At the request of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Research Council convened a committee to examine the scientific accomplishments that have resulted from space-based observations. This podcast takes a brief look at some of those accomplishments.

How can we know for certain when someone is up to no good? Most people will say, give them a lie detector test. But, is it truly the best, most reliable means? This weeks podcast reviews the reality of the lie detector test based on the conclusions of the report The Polygraph and Lie Detection.

Since its opening in 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway has provided a route into the Great Lakes not only for trade, but also unfortunately for aquatic invasive species (AIS) that have had severe economic and environmental impacts on the region. This podcast looks at research and efforts underway to reduce their effects and further invasion.

Soil has a bad reputation as just dirt, but in actuality it is a veritable wild kingdom where you can find more life concentrated in the three inches below the surface than anywhere in the world above the soil. In week's podcast, we explore the importance of soil.