"Bill Gates shares what he's learned in more than a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address the problems, and sets out a vision for how the world can build the tools it needs to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions. Bill Gates explains why he cares so deeply about climate change and what makes him optimistic that the world can avoid the most dire effects of the climate crisis. Gates says, "We can work on a local,...

Are libraries extinct? In these times of economic downturn and digital availability, what could provide libraries with a reason for being? In order to provide a vital presence on Facebook and Google+, you must provide a true sense of connection with the library's friends.

'Grunt' tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries--panic, exhaustion, heat, noise--and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat. She visits the fashion design studio of U.S. Army Natick Labs and learns why a zipper is a problem for a sniper. She visits a repurposed...

Examines cutting edge developments in science, technology, and medicine, covering a variety of topics that include: new findings in pandemic research; cyborg technologies; new developments in understanding the brain; the latest advances in extending human life; innovations in energy resources; developments under way to countervail potential water shortages.

While corn has fed the masses from ancient times to this day, its unique properties make it ideal for a number of applications. From packing material to plasticizers to fuel, corn is not only a vegetable and cereal grain, it is a vital comodity. Visit Lakeside Foods in Reedsburg, Wisconsin and see how tons of corn are harvested and canned within hours. Then to VeraSun Energy in Charles City, Iowa, to discover how corn is converted into fuel. Rats...

"This little-known WWII story introduces a renegade pilot whose personal mission to rescue his family from a POW camp changed modern air warfare forever. December 1941: Manila is invaded, and US citizen and Philippine Airlines manager, Pappy Gunn, is ordered to fly key military command out of the country, leaving his family at home. So Gunn was miles away when the Japanese captured his wife and children, placing them in an internment camp where they...