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Preserving the Past

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The valley's first public cemetery closed more than half a century ago. It contains the remains of some of Arizona's first pioneers. But as KJZZ's Peter O'Dowd reports, some fear their final resting place will be forgotten forever.

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  • Obama Policy Shelves Most Bush-Era Stem Cell Lines
    President Obama's stem cell policy, announced a year ago this month, opened up federal funding for more stem cell lines created from human embryos. But now, scientists are facing a bitter irony — a few popular stem cell lines that could be studied with federal money under President Bush are suddenly off-limits.
  • Bacteria On Your Fingertips Could Identify You
    We all have bacteria growing on our skin, and the kind and number we carry around is unique to each person. Now, researchers say bacterial "fingerprints" could be a valuable forensic tool.
  • Naughty Kids More Likely To Report Chronic Pain As Adults
    Middle-aged adults who behaved badly as kids were more likely to have chronic pain than grownups who were angels, a British study finds. A disruption in the brain may be the common thread.
  • Temporary Hearing Loss May Rewire Kids' Brains
    Research shows hearing loss in one ear during critical periods of brain development can rewire the auditory cortex, changing the way the brain processes sound. After hearing is restored, the brain eventually catches up.
  • On-Demand Body Parts: Inventing The Bio-Printer
    A medical invention currently in development may one day be able to create new organs, right there in the hospital. The 3-D bio-printer takes cells from a patient's failing organ and "prints out" a new organ — almost like a 3-D ink-jet printer. Guy Raz explains how the device works with the man who developed the prototype, Gabor Forgacs.
  • Celebrate Pi Day With Your Own 'Pi-Ku'
    It's March 14 — or 3/14 if you write down the date in the m/d format. And that means it's time to celebrate that mysterious mathematical relationship between a circle's diameter and its circumference: 3.1415926535...
  • Haiti's Geology Slowly Giving Up Its Secrets
    Researchers studying the origin of the recent deadly earthquake have found signs of an actual fault rupture offshore, and figured out what triggered a small tsunami. But not all the causes of the natural disaster were, in fact, natural.
  • The Mad Hatter's Secret Ingredient: Math
    The first numbers that come to mind when thinking about Tim Burton's <em>Alice in Wonderland</em> might be how much money the movie is raking in at the box office. But mathematicians say the books are full of algebraic lessons &mdash; such as why a raven is like a writing desk.
  • Ancient Shipwrecks A Wonder Of 'Baltic Triangle'
    A dozen ancient shipwrecks have been discovered in the Baltic Sea, just east of Sweden. The well-preserved ships are hundreds of years old. The oldest wreck may date back 800 years.
  • Can Biotech Crops Feed The Developing World?
    Biotech has promised innovations like drought-resistant corn and vitamin-packed cassava to the developing world. But how has it delivered on those dreams? Ira Flatow and guests discuss the status of those projects, and how "technologies in a seed" fit in with other agricultural improvements.
  • The Secret Life Of Caves
    Pigmentless grotto salamanders, blind Ozark cavefish and parasitic horsehair worms are a few of the animals living in Missouri's 6,000-plus caves. Ira Flatow and three expert spelunkers look at the biology, geology and history of underground attractions in the "Cave State."
  • Living Spaces That Stress Less
    From switching to energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances, to collecting rainwater and installing photovoltaic panels, how are experts making buildings that use less energy and generate less waste? Ira Flatow and guests explore the latest in green materials and design.
  • Do Big Quakes Increase Global Seismic Activity?
    There have been three deadly earthquakes already this year &mdash; in Haiti, Chile and Turkey &mdash; and a fourth that caused damage in Taiwan. Is this a coincidence? Seismologists can't answer that question directly, but they say there's a growing realization that big earthquakes can trigger other earthquakes many thousands of miles away.
  • Battle Over Ivory, Tuna Expected At Wildlife Meeting
    Wildlife experts convene next week in the city of Doha in Qatar to consider how to control the trade in rare animals and plants. Trade in elephant ivory continues to be a contentious issue. And this year sees a brand new effort to move offshore and protect some of the ocean's most charismatic and sought-after species.
  • Computers One Step Closer To Reading Your Mind
    Clairvoyant computers may be nearer to reality than you'd think. In a new study, a computer program that analyzes brain scans was able to detect participants' thoughts &mdash; or at least their memories of a short film they were thinking about.