NCPR is made possible by
|
About
Natural Selections
On Natural Selections each week, join a short conversation on the natural world. Topics range from evolutionary biology to geology and wildlife, from climate science to animal and human behavior.
The program is hosted by NCPR news director Martha Foley joined by naturalist Dr. Curt Stager of Paul
Smith's College.
Support for Natural Selections is provided by the Glenn
and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated
to improving the quality of life for year-round residents
of the Adirondack Park, and by Paul Smith's, the College of the Adirondacks.
New Book: Deep Future
"The course we take in the coming decades will affect not just the next hundred years, but the next hundred thousand years of life on this planet." --Curt Stager
In bookstores now
Order at: Amazon | Borders
Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Powell's Books
And please remember your local independent booksellers. Find one near you.
|
|
 Natural Selections
Natural Selections with hosts Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager airs Thursday mornings during The Eight O'Clock Hour and Sundays on FM in the Morning.
Suggest a topic for Natural Selections
Get a Natural Selections widget for your web page Subscribe to the Natural Selections podcast
Recent Natural Selections programs
Indian Pipe is a symbiote
(02/02/12) Symbiotes are species that must collaborate with another to survive. But some partners are more equal than others. Martha Foley and Curt Stager talk about how organisms can monitor cheaters in symbiotic relationships. It's the first of two conversations about the biological marketplace.
Nerve tissue may be part of our original equipment. Photo: wikipedia
(01/26/12) With our bodies replacing most cells over a period of a few years, it raises the question "Is any part of us original equipment?" According to Curt Stager and Martha Foley, the answer is yes--parts of the eyes and teeth, as well as many nerve and (bad news for dieters) fat cells.
The squid has helical muscles in its tentacles that act like springs.
(01/19/12) Vertebrates get around by using their muscles to apply leverage to the bones. But how does an animal move when there are no levers, only muscles? Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley look at some boneless examples: the worm, the elephant's trunk, and the squid.
(01/12/12) Chipmunk, cluckmunk? Chipmunks and many animals have a variety of sounds used to express different things. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager sample the vocabulary used by this common denizen of North Country woods and villages.
(01/05/12) Horns and antlers are more than different variations on animal head gear. Antlers are temporary and contain no actual bone. Horns are for keeps. Martha Foley and Curt Stager discuss pointy-headed creatures.
(12/29/11) As the secrets of the natural world give way to science, it's nice to know some mystery remains. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley explore one of the last great conundrums: How do cats purr? Science has theories, but no definitive answer.
(12/22/11) In some places, winter is just too long to ignore. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley explore some ways to have fun in extreme cold--from thowing hot water up into the air to guessing the temperature by the facial-hair scale.
Northern Short-tailed Shrew. Photo: Giles Gonthier
(12/15/11) Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley revisit this feisty predator, whose fierce reputation comes from a high metabolism and the need to consume 80-90 percent of their body weight in food each day to survive. The small insectivore is active throughout the winter, shrinking in size until spring.
It's not that hard to be (glowing) green. You just need the gene to create this protein. Source: Wikipedia
(12/08/11) Gene sculpting is gaining cautious acceptance for purposes of medical research and treatment, but a bioluminescent rabbit created by a "transgeneic artist" for esthetic purposes is pushing the limits of the debate. Dr Curt Stager and Martha Foley discuss the implication of Alba, the glowing bunny.
(12/01/11) Pencil leads and diamonds are chemically identical--the difference is in the crystal structure. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talk about carbon crystals, and what it take to form a natural diamond.
1-10 of 341 stories next 10 » last »
|
Nature features
Curt Stager on On Point
 Listen to Dr. Curt Stager as the guest on On Point, 3/24/11, talking about his new book, Deep Future: the Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth.
Launch in player
Curt's Save the Carbon Blog
We've been having a difficult time with weather this year in the North Country. But let's not... moreSpread your arms out sideways and your hands will be roughly one meter apart. Use that span to sculpt an... moreSix days after Irene drove the Ausable River and its tributaries over their banks, Kary and I visited the heavily... moreFormer hurricane ("tropical storm") Irene did relatively little damage last Sunday near my home in Paul Smiths, here in... moreSnapping turtle laying eggs beside a road in Paul Smiths, NY.June is egg-laying time for snapping turtles here in the... more
 Natural History
Honey bee colonies around the United States are in decline, threatened by several different diseases and parasites. John Hafernik, a professor of biology at San Francisco State University, describes how a parasitic fly that was thought to prey... Researchers identified 208 new species in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia in 2010, according to a report released by the WWF conservation group Monday. A hundred years ago, two teams were racing to the South Pole. The Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen made it first, beating British explorer Robert Scott. But only Scott did pioneering science—and photography—along the way. Ira Flatow... CT scans and new DNA technology indicate that a bone sharpened into a spear was used to kill a mastodon in the northwestern U.S. 13,800 years ago. The research revisits an old debate about the evidence for an early hunt in North America. While the results are a technical tour de force, the researchers did not find any genetic feature that could explain why the Black Death was so virulent. In fact, the germ behind the medieval plague isn't much different from the one that causes...
|
St. Lawrence University, Canton,
New York 13617 • phone: 1-877-388-6277 • email
radio@ncpr.org
National Public Radio • 
American Public Media • 
Public Radio International