B. A Three-dimensional Look at the Sea Floor

Narrator: This is Science Today. A new, three-dimensional laser imaging instrument developed by researchers at the University of California's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is providing scientists with a detailed look at life on the sea floor. Jules Jaffe, the project director, says conventional systems with two-dimensional cameras are limited because of their lack of range and depth.

Jaffe: We've been operating a system called 3-D sea scan, which is basically a pretty powerful laser, coupled with some scanning mirrors and a very wonderful camera, much like the camera in your desktop scanner. This one's more sensitive of course, and it works at a higher speed.

Narrator: The apparatus itself looks like an underwater manta ray and is towed by the scientists when taking pictures..

Jaffe: We've seen these wonderful sand waves, we're imaging coral reefs, we have pictures of sea grasses. I believe the whole future of imaging will be going three-dimensional, so we see ourselves as sort of pioneers in optical oceanography, but also in the general area.

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

C. Using Mars to Understand Global Climate Change

Narrator: This is Science Today. When it comes to studying global climate change, one of the most important aspects is to know how the atmosphere has been affected by human activities. To know that, one needs a record of what a human-less atmosphere looks like and how it works. Mark Thiemens, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego, says in this respect, Mars makes a nice case study.

Thiemens: You can study a more simple system. No people, no ocean, no life and so understand that part of atmospheric cycles, that when we look at our own perturbed atmosphere, we have another tool kit. And the reverse is true when we study Mars. We know from our studies of atmospheric samples on Earth, we can apply that same knowledge to the Mars case. So, it works both ways.

Narrator: Thiemens and his colleagues have been examining Martian meteorites to gain insight into the evolution of the Martian atmosphere.

Thiemens: The meteorites we get and analyze have come from different times in Martian history, so by looking at those, one has sort of a snapshot of what's happened over time in the Martian atmosphere.

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

D. Understanding High Altitude Sickness

Narrator: This is Science Today. If you've ever traveled to high altitudes, you may have experienced altitude sickness, which is basically a lack of oxygen. John West, a professor of medicine and physiology at the University of California, San Diego, says the body stores of oxygen are extremely small, so when a person is deprived of oxygen, symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and trouble sleeping set in.

West: As you go to higher and higher altitude, the total pressure decreases. It's not that the oxygen concentration decreases, but the total pressure decreases and therefore, the partial pressure of oxygen falls. And so the body just does not function as well.

Narrator: Because miners and astronomers are beginning to work more at higher altitudes, West and his colleagues developed a way to feed oxygen-enriched air into the workers' rooms using an inexpensive, rugged oxygen concentrator.

West: What they found is that their efficiency is greatly increased, the level of fatigue is very much less that they can do much more physical work, that they can sleep reasonably well. And so it's the difference between night and day working at that high altitude.

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

E. A Sensor that may Improve Aspects of Health and Security

Narrator: This is Science Today. Significant steps have been taken towards developing a real time, portable diagnostic tool that can be used in homes, clinics and in the field. David Whitten, a researcher at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, says they've created a luminescent sensor that's capable of detecting various biological and chemical agents.

Whitten: The things that make our sensor very special are probably the fact that it's very fast and it's very simple. We think that we can provide, say sensor capsules of some sort that are ready to use and that all one has to do is check a sample which is suspected of containing a biological agent by adding it to our capsule.

Narrator: The goal is to develop a sensor that has many applications.

Whitten: We think it will really help in disease diagnosis, in preventing anti-terrorism and many other activities, so we think it will be very important in improving the overall prospects for health and security.

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