Medical historian Howard Markel traces descriptions of epilepsy through the millenia.

When it comes to engineering tissues, the cells are doing the work, says bioengineer Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic.

How aging infrastructure and outmoded communications hobble the electrical grid.

We'll talk about the art and science of several films out this summer, from documentaries chronicling an astronomy project, to a mass-market blockbuster featuring antimatter in a supporting role.

Astronomers have a new theory on how blue straggler stars are formed.

We'll look back on 400 years of telescopes.

We'll look at how Hollywood became a driving force in the invention of new technologies.

Hear about a new suite of office programs -- running in your web browser.

A look at search engines--how they work and where they are headed.

In another holiday trip in the wayback machine, we bring you a 1993 discussion of some newfangled thing called the "Internet."

Could popping a pill turn a couch potato into a long-distance runner? [12 mins. 28]

With the Olympics approaching, we take a look at the science of drug testing. [17 mins. 47]

What do circadian clocks have to do with sporting events? New research suggests that a sports team competing more in sync with theri internal clocks might have a competitive advantage.

Ira talks with paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, co-discoverer of the 'Lucy' fossil.

We'll talk about research into how people hear, from the tiny hair cells within the ear, to the body's ways of dealing with loud noises.

We'll talk about some of the research presented this week at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.

Almost all obituaries of the late Walter Cronkite referred to how trusted he was. But why do we trust some people and not others?

Scientists say they've found a way to disrupt the formation of fearful memory associations in mice. The work could one day help people with post-traumatic stress disorder. [14:6]

Rather than filling your home landscape with exotic plants from the local nursery or home center, why not plant species that should be in your landscape naturally? The idea of planting 'native plants' has received plenty of attention,...

Ira talks with Jane Smith, author of a new biography of plant cultivation pioneer Luther Burbank.

The frost is on the pumpkin in some parts of the country - how did your garden grow? In this segment, we'll talk about fall gardening, from crops that can be planted now, to what you can do now to prepare your garden for next year. [35...

Researchers report that they've been able to block the decay process that causes cut Christmas trees to shed their needles.

Composting-pioneer Malcolm Beck explains the art and science of fertilizing organically.

America's widely eaten banana variety, the Cavendish, could be wiped out by a fungus.