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In 2009, scientists announced that they had detected large amounts of methane on Mars. NASA’s Curiosity rover found little evidence to back up those claims after its landing in 2012. But in late 2013 and early 2014, the rover detected a 10-fold spike in the amount of methane in its vicinity. This planetary “burp,” along with the discovery of the first Martian organics, are helping scientists piece together an increasingly detailed picture of early Mars. John Grotzinger, the NASA Curiosity rover’s chief scientist, talks about what these new findings might mean for life on Mars.


Does Mars Have What It Takes to Support Life?

Ryan Rykaczewski describes one of the most massive migrations on the planet, driven by the sun. Image by Tintinnidguy (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 

#ExplainTheSun  - The Largest Migration on The Planet

Once, there was the ordinary incandescent light bulb. It shone brightly, but wasted much of the energy put into it as heat. Then came the compact fluorescent. And as costs have dropped, consumers have increasingly been switching to light-emitting diode (LED) technology for many lighting applications, in an ongoing search for a more efficient bulb. Now, in work published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, researchers report that nanophotonic devices may be able to breathe new life into old incandescent technology. Marin Soljačić and Ognjen Ilic, two authors of the study, explain how they’ve been able to “recycle” some of the incandescent bulb’s wasted heat and re-emit it as visible light, boosting efficiency.

For the Lowly Incandescent Bulb, a Ray of Hope

Science, technology, and other cool stuff from public radio's Science Friday. It's brain fun, for curious people. From WNYC Studios.

Does Mars Have What It Takes to Support Life?

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