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

In California, monitoring marine protected areas can get expensive. Current efforts—which include underwater surveys conducted by scuba diving volunteers—have already cost the state $16 million, and in some places, there’s no funding left. But testing DNA in water samples could provide an effective alternative to more costly methods. KQED’s science and environment reporter, Lauren Sommer, discusses this story and other science news from the week.

Plus, when it comes to their diet, polar bears aren't so finicky. Would they prefer a fatty ringed seal pup? Yes. But Robert Rockwell, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, explains in a new study in PLOS ONE that the longtime “flexible foragers” have incorporated snow geese, eggs, and caribou into their diet as the ice-free season increases in Canada’s western Hudson Bay. Rockwell reflects on the good and bad of polar bears’ ability to face climate change and discusses how the biggest threat to their livelihood might not just be warmer temperatures.

News Round-up: Testing Ocean DNA, Americans Pass a Science Quiz, and Polar Bear Diets

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.

News Round-up: Testing Ocean DNA, Americans Pass a Science Quiz, and Polar Bear Diets

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