A.
Investigating The Sights And Sounds On Mars
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Imagine hearing what it sounds
like on Mars? We may find out later this year when
the Mars Polar Lander touches down on the Red Planet
equipped with a small recording device. Space scientist
Greg DeLory of the University of California, Berkeley
helped create the Mars Microphone to sample sounds
while the lander probes the planet's climate and
soil.
DeLory:
Little green men was not what we plan to find, however
we're open to anything, certainly. The most exciting
thing we're going to hear is obviously the sound
we didn't think of and that really is the motivation
for developing any new instrument.
Narrator:
DeLory admits we won't hear familiar sounds such
as trees blowing in the wind or birds calling.
DeLory:
But we are very interested in the sounds we are
going to hear and that could be, possibly - the
first recording of a Martian sandstorm. And within
a sandstorm, there's theorized that there could
be a type of lightning discharge. Maybe we'll hear
that - Martian thunder, I think that's pretty exciting.
The microphone is continuing on a tradition here
of really trying to stimulate the public's awareness
about space exploration and bring it that much closer.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
Back Injury And Job Stress: It's Not All In Your
Mind
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Job stress has been linked
to a higher incidence of back injury. Dr. Niklas
Krause, an epidemiologist at the University of California,
Berkeley says before, job stress was considered
a characteristic of someone's personality - not
a cause of injury. With both physical workload and
job stress in mind, Krause studied the rate of back
injury in bus drivers.
Krause:
It's known that they have a very stressful job -
you know, they're not just driving a big vehicle
but have hundreds of people and safety issues in
their mind and have to deal with customers. And
we saw that the more problems they had - crime or
accidents or fare evasion or trouble with a supervisor
- the more injuries they've had.
Narrator:
These findings are significant since it proves for
the first time factors other than physical workload
can be predictors of injury.
Krause:
It's another piece of evidence that will lead to
the acceptance as job stress as a risk factor for
low back pain at the workplace. So you can not blame
the individual of not dealing right with the stress
in this case anymore. It doesn't make sense.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
An Increased Awareness About Infant Cognition
Narrator:
This is Science Today. For years, there's been a
common assumption that infants are not capable of
engaging the world beyond their immediate experience.
But lately, a number of cognitive scientists have
been re-examining this assumption. Dr. Gavin Huntley-Fenner
of the University of California, Irvine is one of
those scientists.
Huntley:
We now have techniques that weren't available years
ago to look at what babies know about the world.
Things that folks noticed but didn't pay much attention
have been used to ask deep questions.
Narrator:
Such as the fact babies become bored over time if
they hear or see the same thing over and over again.
Huntley-Fenner:
Folks have figured out how to use that phenomenon
to probe infant's appreciation of the world more
deeply. So you can ask, well if they're bored seeing
the same thing over time, what counts as the same
thing? Can I change the shape, can I change the
color and find that babies are no longer bored?
How much do you have to change the shape or the
color? Can you turn an object into another object
and find that they're no longer bored?
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
Stomping On Cigar Chomping
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Just what's behind the popular
trend of cigar smoking? Health policy researcher
Lisa Bero of the University of California, San Francisco
is trying to find out. Since the early Nineties,
cigar sales have risen 50 percent. At first, Bero
thought this was a reaction against what she calls
the >health police.'
Bero:
I thought that was kind of an interesting idea.
People are maybe fed up with this idea that they
just have to be healthy all the time. But what was
interesting is in our sample so far, that hasn't
come up as a big reason for why people are smoking
cigars. It hasn't been the reaction to the health
police. What it has been is this whole power and
glamour and success story. That's been the big theme
that's coming across.
Narrator:
Bero and her colleagues have been studying the portrayal
of cigars in the media, particularly print. They've
found the coverage has been pushing the glamour
factor without noting the health risks.
Bero:
If you read these articles that are glamorizing
cigars - think about what's bad about cigars. And
think you're being led down the same road that you
were led down with cigarettes.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
The Causes Of Toxemia During Pregnancy
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Oxygen has been found to
play a key role in the development of toxemia during
pregnancy, a life threatening disease. Dr. Susan
Fisher of the University of California, San Francisco
says in the early stages, too much oxygen affects
the growth of the placenta.
Fisher:
The placenta responds to oxygen very differently
than the fetus proper. These cells actually grow
when they're deprived of oxygen. Normally cells
don't grow.
Narrator:
The placenta grows faster with low oxygen and the
embryo has more time to implant, but if it this
low level continues for too long, the attachment
of the placenta will be faulty.
Fisher:
What people would really like to be able to do is
go back when placentation is occurring and being
able to say yes, it happened correctly or no, it
happened incorrectly. And our study gives them insights
into how diagnostics might be designed to do that.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
