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NPR Story
12:03 pm
Fri October 12, 2012

The Secret To Making Ultrastrong 'Gorilla Glass'

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 1:45 pm

Corning's Gorilla Glass isn't totally unbreakable, as anyone who's dropped a smartphone knows. But it's twice as durable as regular glass--at half the thickness. How do they do it? Dave Velasquez, director of marketing and commercial operations for Gorilla Glass, talks about the innovations that make this ultrastrong, ultralight glass possible.

NPR Story
12:03 pm
Fri October 12, 2012

Tracking The Ozone Hole, As It Waxes And Wanes

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 1:45 pm

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. 21 years ago this week, way back in October of 1991 on the first ever episode of SCIENCE FRIDAY, one of our show topics was the ozone hole, that bite out of the Earth's ozone layer caused by chemicals in our refrigerators, air conditioners, cans of hairspray. Our guest that day was the late Sherwood Rowland, who would go on to win the Nobel Prize for his work on the ozone hole.

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NPR Story
12:03 pm
Fri October 12, 2012

Enter an Optical Illusion

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 1:45 pm

Artist Julian Hoeber's "Demon Hill," now on view at the Harris Lieberman Gallery in New York City, is modelled after a roadside attraction called a "gravitational mystery spot" — where water runs uphill and gravity doesn't behave as expected. Science Friday talked to cognitive scientist Michael Landy about what happens to our perceptual system inside the exhibition.

Election 2012
11:58 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Biden Debate Coach On VP's Performance

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 12:46 pm

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Celeste Headlee. Michel Martin is away. Coming up, President Obama honored late labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez earlier this week but a new book questions whether the full story of his life and legacy isn't perhaps more complicated. That's in a moment.

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World
11:58 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, And Now The EU?

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 12:46 pm

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

This morning, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the winner of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize and they chose the European Union.

THORBJORN JAGLAND: The European Union is currently undergoing grave economic difficulties and (unintelligible) social unrest. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to focus on what it sees as the EU's most important result, the successful struggle for peace and reconciliation and for democracy and human rights.

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U.S.
11:56 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Casinos Not An Easy Bet For Local Governments

More states and cities are turning to casinos to generate revenue and plug budget holes.

The latest to try its luck is Maryland, where groups are waging an expensive campaign over a ballot question that will be put to voters next month. Proponents promise jackpots of jobs and funding for public schools, but analysts say the gamble doesn't always pay off at the levels promised for public coffers.

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The Two-Way
11:50 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Consumer Confidence Jumps To Pre-Recession Level, Survey Shows

Credit Michael Nagle / Getty Images
"Black Friday" 2011 in Manhattan: Retailers hope to see shoppers out again in force this holiday season. If confidence stays high, they may get their wish.

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 12:11 pm

"U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose to its highest in five years in October as consumers became more optimistic about the economy in a possible boost to President Obama's reelection hopes," Reuters reports.

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Krulwich Wonders...
11:45 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Sun Goes Down. Up Comes A Mystery

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 11:53 am

Here's a question you probably didn't know was a question: Why is the sky dark at night?

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Author Interviews
10:45 am
Fri October 12, 2012

The Man Who Tracks Viruses Before They Spread

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 12:53 pm

This interview was originally broadcast on Oct. 11, 2011. The Viral Storm will be published in paperback on Oct. 16.

The New Yorker once called virologist Nathan Wolfe "the world's most prominent virus hunter." Wolfe, the director of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative, spends his days tracking emerging infectious diseases before they turn into deadly pandemics.

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The Two-Way
10:24 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Panetta: 'Foreign Cyber-Actors Are Probing America's Critical Infrastructure'

Credit AFP / AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 1:14 pm

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta delivered a policy speech that he said was a "clarion call" for Americans to take cyber security seriously. Attacks that can cripple a country, he said, are no longer theoretical.

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