Pluto's Close-Up

Top of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 109, Segment 5

Jul 23, 2015 • 14m

Guest: Jani Radebaugh, Ph.D., Planetary Scientist at the BYU Department of Geological Sciences; Denise Stephens, Ph.D., professor in the BYU Department of Physics and Astronomy The first color footage of Pluto and photos of all five of its moons recently arrived on Earth and got planetary scientists really excited.

Other Segments

Mitsubishi ApologyJul 23, 201520mGuest: James Parkinson, J.D., Co-Author of "Soldier Slaves: Abandoned by the White House, Courts and Congress." An Apology is Top of Mind today. Mitsubishi has become the first private corporation to apologize to American soldiers captured during World War II and forced into deplorable conditions as slave laborers for years in the mines and factories for Japanese companies.

Guest: James Parkinson, J.D., Co-Author of "Soldier Slaves: Abandoned by the White House, Courts and Congress." An Apology is Top of Mind today. Mitsubishi has become the first private corporation to apologize to American soldiers captured during World War II and forced into deplorable conditions as slave laborers for years in the mines and factories for Japanese companies.

Water Filtration Systems in PeruJul 23, 201518mGuest: Randy Lewis, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at BYU Floating on Peru’s famous Lake Titicaca near the city of Puno is a cluster of man-made islands. Some 1,200 people called the “Uros” live on the artificial archipelago made of thick reed mats that have to be regularly repaired and refreshed. It’s a precarious life, made more so by the lack of clean water for drinking. Yes, they’re surrounded by Lake Titicaca, but the waters are polluted by solid waste and sewage.

Guest: Randy Lewis, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at BYU Floating on Peru’s famous Lake Titicaca near the city of Puno is a cluster of man-made islands. Some 1,200 people called the “Uros” live on the artificial archipelago made of thick reed mats that have to be regularly repaired and refreshed. It’s a precarious life, made more so by the lack of clean water for drinking. Yes, they’re surrounded by Lake Titicaca, but the waters are polluted by solid waste and sewage.

Computers Grading WritingJul 23, 201513mGuest: Joshua Wilson, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Delaware Any English teacher will tell you that the downside to teaching writing is grading all those papers! Teachers may even choose to assign less writing than they’d like just because they just don’t have time to read all that student work. Fortunately, in this digital age, teachers can use essay-grading software to analyze and grade student’s essays, without having to sit down and read every paper.

Guest: Joshua Wilson, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Delaware Any English teacher will tell you that the downside to teaching writing is grading all those papers! Teachers may even choose to assign less writing than they’d like just because they just don’t have time to read all that student work. Fortunately, in this digital age, teachers can use essay-grading software to analyze and grade student’s essays, without having to sit down and read every paper.

Listening for Life in SpaceJul 23, 201526mGuest: Seth Shostak, Ph.D., Senior Astronomer and Director of the Center for SETI Research The search for what's out there just got a very big boost from Russian tycoon Yuri Milner. He's injecting $100 million into a major new Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence initiative.

Guest: Seth Shostak, Ph.D., Senior Astronomer and Director of the Center for SETI Research The search for what's out there just got a very big boost from Russian tycoon Yuri Milner. He's injecting $100 million into a major new Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence initiative.

Regenerating Herniated Back DiscsJul 23, 201512mGuest: Grace O'Connell, Ph.D., Professor at University of California Berkeley Maybe it’s all of the sitting at desks we do in America, or the extra weight so many Americans are carrying, or just the fact that we’re living longer. But back pain – and by the same token back surgery – seem to have become a fact of middle age. Just imagine if scientists could figure out how to – say with a simple injection – get that herniated disc in your back to regenerate and become healthy again?

Guest: Grace O'Connell, Ph.D., Professor at University of California Berkeley Maybe it’s all of the sitting at desks we do in America, or the extra weight so many Americans are carrying, or just the fact that we’re living longer. But back pain – and by the same token back surgery – seem to have become a fact of middle age. Just imagine if scientists could figure out how to – say with a simple injection – get that herniated disc in your back to regenerate and become healthy again?