B. Scientists Propose a New Model of the Earth's Mantle

Narrator: This is Science Today. A proposed new model of the Earth's mantle may resolve a nearly 50-year old debate. Historically, seismologists have proposed the Earth's mantle circulates in one layer based on how far tectonic plates sink; but geochemists studying the composition of volcanic rocks had findings suggesting there was another, deeper layer. Louise Kellogg, a geologist at the University of California, Davis and her collaborators at MIT, merged previous observations into a single model and propose there are indeed two layers.

Kellogg:Basically we think there's this very hot layer which doesn't completely overturn.

Narrator: Kellogg says some have likened their model to a lava lamp.

Kellogg:A lava lamp has two compositions - it's got the clear stuff and it's got the waxy stuff. And the waxy stuff gets hot and starts to go up, but it doesn't mix with the clear stuff. Instead, it basically goes up a ways until it cools gets away from the lamp, then it drops back down again. And so we think something similar is happening in the deep mantle. That basically, there's a region of material, which is somewhat more intrinsically dense than the overlying mantle.

Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.

C. Couples Committing to Equal Work and Family Time Do Best

Narrator: This is Science Today. Married couples with children who are willing and able to commit to an equal share of family and work, are not only happier with their relationships, but are more effective as parents and their children seem to do better, too. These were the findings of Carolyn Pape Cowan, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who readily admits this type of equality may be hard to attain.

Pape Cowan: Especially since men often still earn more than women and sometimes have the steadier jobs. It doesn't make as much sense for them to take off, especially if their employers don't have anything like paternity leave or family leave. And what tends to happen is that the roles get more traditional than they predicted they would. The couples are not quite as happy with their relationships, in fact sometimes they're quite disappointed.

Narrator: But Pape Cowan found marital strain and divorce rates lessened if these couples spent a total of forty-eight hours over time with other parents in a supervised support group.

Pape Cowan: And people were struck by the fact that that's really not such a lot of time to think about offering to families when you see what it can really do.

Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin. .

D. A Personal Carbon Monoxide Sensor for Exposed Workers

Narrator:This is Science Today. There has never been an affordable way to accurately measure carbon monoxide in the field, so understanding the exposure risks has been limited. But a lightweight, carbon monoxide sensor and monitoring system developed by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory may change that. Michael Apte, of the Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, says this sensor can be easily worn.

Apte: If this is an occupational environment, you take the cap off the device, you clip the device to the worker's lapel, you instruct them not to cover it with a jacket and then it just sits in the open air all day.

Narrator: Workers then record the amount of time they were exposed, recap the device and send it to a lab. But Apte says they're currently working on designs that can read exposure rates in real time.

Apte: So, instead of having a time averaged concentration, which is what we get now, it actually measures the sense of response every minute or every five minutes and you can get a profile then of the carbon monoxide concentration over time.

Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.

E. Research Underway to Genetically Treat Obesity

Warden: Obesity is one of the easiest diseases to diagnose and yet it's been one of the hardest diseases to treat.

Narrator: This is Science Today. Craig Warden, a researcher at the University of California, Davis recently discovered a gene that controls how many calories we burn. This can help treat obesity, but first Warden says there has to be more understanding about the disease.

Warden: People have thought that obesity is because people overeat or are lazy and so what we're suggesting is it's not because people are lazy, but it's because their bodies are fundamentally different and so this then becomes like any other common complex disease.

Narrator: Which Warden says may be treated in the doctor's office just like high blood pressure or diabetes. The goal is to develop drugs to regulate the newfound gene controlling fat burning proteins.

Warden: And so that there is really great hope that really in the next few years there will be a whole slew of new treatments available.

Narrator: Nevertheless, Warden says it's still important to eat a healthy, low fat diet and get exercise. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.