Biological Treatment Technologies: Bioremediation
While the term 'biological treatment' traditionally refers to sewage and wastewater facilities, a newer science known as bioremediation broadens the use of living organisms to concentrate or decompose contaminants. The ..
Biological Treatment Technologies: Co-Metabolism
While traditional bioremediation can degrade most organic elements, a newer process called co-metabolism is required for certain chemical contaminants, such as synthetic organics, pesticides and detergents. The key to s..
Biological Treatment Technologies: Microorganisms and Metabolism
From the polar ice caps to the bottom of the sea, microorganisms that provide the backbone of biological treatment are becoming our greatest ally in the quest for a cleaner environment. The microbial kingdom is comprise..
Biological Treatment Technologies: Phytoremediation
Traditional bioremediation uses microbes to degrade organic substances. However, toxic metals are already in an elemental form, and cannot be degraded further. Phytoremediation, a fascinating extension of bioremediatio..
Biosphere II
Paul Ehrlich, best known for his work on population growth, talks about Biosphere II and efforts to use technology to substitute for natural ecosystems (which he says are the most important part of our environment).
Bipolar Disorder
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about bipolar disorder, explaining the cyclical, up and down nature of the illness. Dr. Leuchter notes that it tends to run in families, then discusses the..
Bipolar Illness and Depression
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison talks about the confusion that sometimes occurs during attempts to diagnose or characterize psychiatric illnesses. "The evidence has been clear for a long time," Dr..
Bipolar Illness or Manic-Depressive Illness?
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison explains that "manic-depressive illness" is a more exact and descriptive term than "bipolar disorder." Dr. Jamison acknowledges, however, that some people prefer to..
Birth and death: the life cycle of language
It is predicted that within a century more than half of the world's languages will become extinct, but as languages are lost, new ones emerge naturally or are constructed. In this program, Noam Chomsky; Esperantist Thoma..
Birth of a Language
Melvyn Bragg begins the story of English in Holland, finding ancestral echoes in the Frisian dialect. What follows is a chapter on survival as the English language weathers Viking and Norman invasions, vying with and eve..