Preparing for and Forecasting the Next Big Earthquake

Preparing for and Forecasting the Next Big EarthquakeTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 961, Segment 4

Dec 10, 2018 • 18m

Guest: Ron Harris, Professor of Geology, BYU The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck just beneath Anchorage, Alaska last month, twisting roads and damaging homes, was not a surprise. Alaska is the most seismically active region of the United States – it gets an earthquake in the magnitude 7 range every other year, or so. But knowing exactly when and where the next one will hit still stumps seismologists.

Other Segments

Election Fraud Investigation in NC Congressional RaceDec 10, 201817mGuest: Michael Bitzer, Professor of Political Science, Catawba College The winner of North Carolina’s 9th Congressional seat is still undecided because the state’s board of elections has refused to certify the result. As of now, Republican Mark Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes. But the state board is investigating allegations that the Harris campaign may have benefited from mail-in ballots that were collected fraudulently.

Guest: Michael Bitzer, Professor of Political Science, Catawba College The winner of North Carolina’s 9th Congressional seat is still undecided because the state’s board of elections has refused to certify the result. As of now, Republican Mark Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes. But the state board is investigating allegations that the Harris campaign may have benefited from mail-in ballots that were collected fraudulently.

World's First Gene-edited Babies Are Causing an UproarDec 10, 201824mGuest: Henry T. Greely Professor of Law, Director of the Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford University. A Chinese scientist announced last month that the first gene-edited babies have been born in China after editing the DNA of the twin girls’ embryos to help make them resistant to HIV infection. Dr. He Jainkui said he implanted the embryos in their mother, and the babies were born and are alive and healthy. But the scientific community is in an uproar over the announcement.

Guest: Henry T. Greely Professor of Law, Director of the Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford University. A Chinese scientist announced last month that the first gene-edited babies have been born in China after editing the DNA of the twin girls’ embryos to help make them resistant to HIV infection. Dr. He Jainkui said he implanted the embryos in their mother, and the babies were born and are alive and healthy. But the scientific community is in an uproar over the announcement.

When Women LieDec 10, 201810mGuest: Laura J. Kray, Professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley Imagine you are selling your car and you know it’s got an oil leak. Do you tell the buyer during the negotiation or not? What if the car belongs to a friend who asked you to sell it for her - would you tell the buyer about the oil leak in that case? According to one recent study, your answer in both cases may depend on your gender.

Guest: Laura J. Kray, Professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley Imagine you are selling your car and you know it’s got an oil leak. Do you tell the buyer during the negotiation or not? What if the car belongs to a friend who asked you to sell it for her - would you tell the buyer about the oil leak in that case? According to one recent study, your answer in both cases may depend on your gender.

EEG Test Provides More Effective Way to Measure PainDec 10, 201818mGuest: Carl Saab, Professor of Neurosurgery, Brown University, Director of the Pain & Neural Circuits Center research lab, Rhode Island Hospital. Chronic pain is among the thorniest problems in medicine. It affects 1 in 6 American adults and we simply don’t have very effective treatment for it. That’s one reason overuse of opioids has become such an epidemic problem. We also don’t have very good ways of diagnosing pain other than the “rate your pain on a scale of 1-10” method, which scientists agree is not very scientific.

Guest: Carl Saab, Professor of Neurosurgery, Brown University, Director of the Pain & Neural Circuits Center research lab, Rhode Island Hospital. Chronic pain is among the thorniest problems in medicine. It affects 1 in 6 American adults and we simply don’t have very effective treatment for it. That’s one reason overuse of opioids has become such an epidemic problem. We also don’t have very good ways of diagnosing pain other than the “rate your pain on a scale of 1-10” method, which scientists agree is not very scientific.

Are Your Bananas At Risk?Dec 10, 201816mGuest: Norman C. Ellstrand, Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside Quick quiz – how many varieties of apple can you name? Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Pink Lady are available at the local grocer. But if you had to name a few types of banana. . . . uh, what? Here in the US, there’s only one kind of banana in the supermarket – sweet, yellow, no seeds, about as long as your hand. It’s a variety called Cavendish and it dominates the international banana market. Which turns out to be a big problem.

Guest: Norman C. Ellstrand, Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside Quick quiz – how many varieties of apple can you name? Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Pink Lady are available at the local grocer. But if you had to name a few types of banana. . . . uh, what? Here in the US, there’s only one kind of banana in the supermarket – sweet, yellow, no seeds, about as long as your hand. It’s a variety called Cavendish and it dominates the international banana market. Which turns out to be a big problem.