Illegal Bird Trapping in Cyprus

As many as 2 million songbirds a year are killed in the Mediterranean country, most to be eaten as a delicacy in local restaurants.

Podcast: Report on the Fukushima Disaster

This Week: We learn about a new report that provides an in-depth look at the Fukushima disaster, hours and days after north-eastern Japan was struck by an earthquake and tsunami. European scientists have turned to DNA technology to identify illegally harvested fish. What do humans and ants have in common? Warfare, says ant researcher Mark Moffett. He says humans and ants fight in similar ways.

FishPopTrace Program Using DNA to Counter Overfishing

To protect endangered populations of fish, scientists in Europe are devising new forensic techniques that can identify where a fish was caught. This should enable regulators to make sure fish being sold come from sustainably harvested populations. Ari Daniel Shapiro reports.

Japanese educators trying make science cool

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Japan fears it may lose its edge in technology, as fewer and fewer young people pursue careers in science and engineering. Some Japanese educators are trying to reverse this trend by making science “cool” again. Ari Daniel Shapiro reports. Download MP3
Slideshow: Get a tour of Yokohama Frontier HS

The wildcat of Scotland

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Some of the world’s most endangered wildlife are obscure species, haunting far-flung corners of the planet, but other endangered creatures are much more familiar. Reporter Ari Daniel Shapiro recently traveled to Scotland, which is the last refuge of a small wild cat that has prowled parts of Great Britain since the last ice age. (Photo: Peter Cairns) Download MP3
Audio Slideshow: See images of Scotland’s wildcats

Inside a bug’s stomach

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Insects trapped in amber have long provided a window on the prehistoric world. Now scientists in France are using a particle accelerator called a Synchrotron to scan opaque amber and create 3-D models of these insects in exquisite detail. Ari Daniel Shapiro reports. (Photo: Paul Tafforeau for ESRF paleontological microtomographic database) Download MP3

• Slideshow: Watch an audio slideshow from Ari Daniel Shapiro
• European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
• Photos: See images from the ESRF
• Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the AMNH

Tales of Things

Many of the things we buy come fresh out of the box, new and glistening. But get something second-hand, and that object has lived out at least one life with somebody else before you even see it. What would it be like to get a glimpse of that other life? The World’s Ari Daniel Shapiro reports. (Photo: Tales of Things) Download MP3

• Tales of Things
• Tales of Things and Electronic Memory (TOTeM)
• More on Chris Speed
• Fields: places, memories, people

Saving Lebanon’s legendary Cedar trees

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Ari Daniel Shapiro reports on efforts to preserve Lebanon’s legendary cedar trees. The cedars have been an important part of life in the region for at least eight thousand years, but they’re vanishing from the landscape. (Photo: Olivier Bezes) Download MP3

Ari Daniel Shapiro produces the podcast One Species at a Time for the Encyclopedia of Life with Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
(Audio available after 5PM Eastern)

• Slideshow: See Ari Daniel Shapiro’s images of Lebanon’s cedars
• Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve
• René Mouawad Foundation Plant Nursery
• Encyclopedia of Life

China: A new force in stem cell field

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Ari Daniel Shapiro reports that China is quickly becoming a major player in the field of cloning and stem cell research.

Restoring Indonesia’s mangroves

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Mangroves were once widespread throughout the world’s warm coastal areas. The maze of tangled trees along the shore are a crucial ecosystem and a buffer against erosion But over the past few decades, mangroves have been disappearing around the globe. Now there’s growing recognition of their importance, and renewed efforts to restore and preserve them. Reporter Ari Daniel Shapiro visited one such project in Indonesia. >>>Click here to see more of Ari’s photos.
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