SUMMARY: The Thwaites Glacier is the largest, most menacing source of rising sea levels all over the world, and it is melting at an alarming rate. For years, scientists have warily watched it from afar, but in November, a team set out on a perilous journey to investigate what is happening below. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports on what they discovered.
SUMMARY: There's a dire need to repair aging infrastructure in the U.S., and an innovative building material could be a game changer. Embedded with steel fibers, ultra-high performance concrete [UHPC] is about five to 10 times stronger than standard concrete -- and unaffordable for most government-funded projects. Special correspondent Cat Wise reports from Iowa on how researchers are working to bring costs down.
SUMMARY: State governments continue to crack down on flavored e-cigarettes and other vape products, largely in response to the deaths and illnesses that began coming to light this past summer. But as lawmakers deliberate over their policy response to vaping, researchers are still trying to understand the cause of the illnesses. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.
SUMMARY: In 2019, American law enforcement agencies have identified over 70 suspects using a new technique called genetic genealogy, which California detectives leveraged in 2018 to identify the Golden State Killer. In the first of a two-part series, William Brangham shares the story of the first genetic genealogy case to go to trial — and how the science behind it solved a 32-year-old double murder.
SUMMARY: Genetic genealogy, the technique millions of people are using to learn about their family history, has now become a potent tool with which law enforcement can solve crimes. But the method has major privacy implications that are prompting some critics to urge that we slow down in our adoption of it. William Brangham shares a "cautionary tale" of how one person's DNA testing can have a wide impact.
SUMMARY: The world's oceans and seas have already absorbed an enormous amount of excess heat in our climate system, according to a new UN report [PDF download link]. And the risks of dire consequences for marine and coastal life will get significantly worse if carbon emissions don't change. William Brangham learns more from study co-author Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton University.
SUMMARY: The Gulf of Maine is known for lobsters, which form the foundation of an industry critical to the state’s economy. Due to climate change, the waters off southern New England have become too warm for the temperature-sensitive crustaceans, leaving Maine as the “sweet spot” for fishing them. But the Gulf’s own rising temperatures mean the lobster boom may not last forever. Miles O’Brien reports.
SUMMARY: As rates of chronic disease among children have skyrocketed over the past few decades, pediatricians have increasingly looked for solutions beyond the clinic. Sometimes that means actually prescribing time outside. Special correspondent Cat Wise reports from Oakland on the medical evidence that indicates escaping modern urban life, even temporarily, can yield health dividends.
SUMMARY: As health care costs continue to rise, practitioners in India are working to lower prices -- and bring their innovations closer to American shores. Health City Cayman Islands is a new frontier for India’s largest for-profit hospital chain. Focused on efficient health care delivery, its services are now drawing Americans to the Cayman Islands. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports.
SUMMARY: The global water supply is constantly and increasingly threatened by climate change, overconsumption and poor management, among other forces. In an effort to bolster it, scientists around the world are leveraging familiar scientific principles with modern technology to capture water from the moisture in fog. John Yang reports on these innovative efforts to address the worsening water crisis.
SUMMARY: This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, which first landed American astronauts on the moon's surface. Of the intrepid crew, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin have tended to dominate public attention, but it was pilot Michael Collins who flew the command module to the moon -- and faced his own distinct concerns about the return trip. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.
SUMMARY: Johnson Space Center in Houston houses more than 2,000 samples collected over six Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972 from various parts of the moon. The collection includes rocks, core samples, pebbles and dust that scientists are still learning from 50 years later. Hari Sreenivasan reports on the laboratory keeping these artifacts safe.
SUMMARY: Retired astronaut Scott Kelly spent a record-setting 340 days on the International Space Station. And while he was there, he took hundreds of photographs that he compiled into a book: "Infinite Wonder: An Astronaut’s Photographs From A Year In Space." He spoke with NewsHour Weekend about his experiences in space and the spectacular views of Earth.
SUMMARY: Fifty years ago today, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the surface of the moon. Now, for the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972, NASA is planning an ambitious launch in 2024 to return astronauts to the moon, and to sustain a human presence there by 2028. Hari Sreenivasan reports from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
SUMMARY: Despite the availability of vaccines, the flu still kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. each year, and hundreds of thousands more worldwide. But public health officials fear that an even graver threat lies ahead: the emergence of a new, much more deadly flu virus. As William Brangham reports, the scenario has occurred before.
SUMMARY: Public health officials agree the constantly mutating influenza virus has the potential to cause a major outbreak and a deadly global crisis. For the second part of the NewsHour’s series on preparing for such a pandemic, we examine how research and testing depends on animals. William Brangham has the story of scientists looking for potential new flu strains in unexpected places, such as the beach.
SUMMARY: Influenza is a shape-shifter virus that could spark a global pandemic. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are working to deliver what is referred to as The Holy Grail in the fight: a universal flu vaccine that could protect against all strains of the virus. William Brangham concludes our pandemics series by learning what it will take to develop a universal vaccine.
SUMMARY: Sophisticated and inaccurate altered videos known as “deepfakes” are causing alarm in the digital realm. The highly realistic manipulated videos are the subject of a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday. As Miles O’Brien reports, the accelerating speed of computers and advances in machine learning make deepfakes ever more difficult to detect, among growing fears of their weaponization.
SUMMARY: After a series of high-profile suicides last year, one restaurant owner in Sacramento, California, decided to confront a problem plaguing kitchens around the country. The fast-paced, high-pressure environment and often low wages can take its toll on workers' mental health. His peer-to-peer counseling and support program, “I Got Your Back,” is now starting to spread. John Yang reports.
SUMMARY: There's no shortage of powerful images and video when it comes to natural disasters like wildfires and melting glaciers. But a pair of artists are now using those images in new ways, as part of their mission to warn people about climate change and its devastating impact on familiar landscapes. Miles O'Brien takes a different look at fire and ice and the balance between horror and beauty.
SUMMARY: It’s been six months since the most deadly and destructive wildfire in California history, the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and burned 19,000 structures in November 2018. But even at the peak of the inferno, some scientists moved toward it, in an attempt to understand more about the intensity and spread of the flames. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien has the harrowing inside look.
SUMMARY: Antarctica is virtually uninhabited by people. There are no roads, no cities, no government. But thanks to a remarkable Cold War diplomatic breakthrough, the last continent ever discovered remains a place devoted almost exclusively to science. William Brangham reports on how humans first found Antarctica, and how it proves that occasionally, even rivals can become partners.
SUMMARY: A black hole is a cosmic abyss with gravity of such intensity that nothing, not even light, escapes it. Now, for the first time, a team of astronomers has released an image of the space anomaly, which is created when a star collapses. Professor Brian Greene of Columbia University and the World Science Festival provides context and talks to Judy Woodruff about this scientific breakthrough.
SUMMARY: Ron Naveen used to be a lawyer for the EPA, but he left government in the 1980s to start Oceanites, a nonprofit that tracks the health of penguins that breed on the Antarctic Peninsula. Now, that 800-mile stretch of land is warming faster than almost anywhere else in the world, and the changing climate is affecting the "glorious creatures" Naveen studies. William Brangham reports from Antarctica.
SUMMARY: Asbestos is no longer ubiquitous in building materials, and since it's proven to cause cancer, many Americans likely assumed the substance had been banned entirely. But not only is asbestos a naturally occurring mineral, it is also still used to make some household products. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports on "broken" U.S. regulation and why we continue to import the carcinogen.
SUMMARY: In Paradise, California, thousands of residents are trying to cope with disruption and displacement resulting from November's devastating Camp Fire. Children attend school in a repurposed hardware store, where counselors try to help them manage their trauma. Meanwhile, amidst millions of tons of toxic debris, finding safe and stable housing is a challenge. Special correspondent Cat Wise reports.
