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

The conversation about football and the future of the sport seems inextricably linked to concussions. Take former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland’s decision to leave the National Football League after his rookie season, citing fear of brain damage from repetitive head trauma, for example, or the fact that 50 percent of Americans say they don’t want their sons to pick up the sport.

A growing body of research is linking continuous head trauma sustained by football players with neurodegenerative diseases. One of these is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Previously seen in boxers and once known as “punch-drunk syndrome,” CTE was thrust again into the public consciousness when forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu uncovered CTE during an autopsy of former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster.

In her new book, Concussion, Jeanne Marie Laskas chronicles Omalu’s efforts to bring his findings to the NFL. Laskas and other researchers working on CTE join Ira Flatow to discuss what we do and don’t know about the disease and its link to repetitive head trauma.

It is important to note that media coverage has outpaced scientific inquiry into CTE at this point. And while the National Institutes of Health convened its first consensus conference to define “pathologic characteristics of CTE” in February 2015, some researchers question whether CTE is a distinct neurodegenerative disease. Several recent studies caution that additional work needs to be done to articulate what makes CTE a distinct disease.

Is Football Bad for Your Brain?

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.

Is Football Bad for Your Brain?

SciFri

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