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NCPR Programs: Natural SelectionsEach week join Martha Foley and Professor Curt Stager from Paul Smith's College as they discuss various topics from the world of nature. You can hear Natural Selections on Thursdays at 8:35 am, and on Sundays at 8:55 am.
Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager look at climate change today, and in centuries past.
Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager look at climate change and it's effect, not on temperature, but on rainfall patterns.
Blister beetles are common in many parts of the world, including the Northeast. Oily secretions from their joints can raise blisters on skin. The oil has other qualities—being the source of the highly toxic male aphrodisiac, Spanish Fly. Curt Stager and Martha Foley discuss the life cycle and habits of this beetle.
Carbon-13
Scientists use isotopes of carbon—carbon-13 and carbon-14— to study the age of organic material. But the activity of humans is distorting the clock. Curt Stager tells Martha Foley how added carbon in the atmosphere, pollution, and nuclear testing have made it harder to study the natural world.
Why does the moon look bigger when it's on the horizon, than it does when it is high in the sky? Many listeners have weighed in since our first look. Curt Stager shares further theories with Martha Foley. More...
Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talk about eye shine, and why some animals' eyes reflect light and others' don't.
Between the ages of 20 and 50, the average American doubles his or her body fat. As turkey and trimmings are placed on the table and visions of sugar plums dance, get "the skinny" on fat from Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley.
The old school biology map of the tongue, with discrete areas sensing salt, sweet, etc., has been replaced by a more complex picture where the brain averages out chemical reports that vary in accuracy and intensity from many different taste buds. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley savor the nuances of sensory perception.
Why does the moon look bigger when it's on the horizon, than it does when it is high in the sky? Curt Stager shares some theories with Martha Foley.
Martha Foley poses the classic child's question. According to Dr. Curt Stager, the answer lies in the composition of the atmosphere, and in the refractive qualities of different wavelengths of light.
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(7/18/02)
Natural History
