Articles by Kayla Iacovino

Welcome back to Science Saturday! This week, discover Pluto’s new moon thanks to Hubble, see the first ever close-up view of asteroid Vesta, learn how the space shuttles will become museum pieces, and explore Gale Crater with the next Mars rover! All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: bionic glasses!

Say au revoir to the space shuttle program as Atlantis is the last ever shuttle to launch into space. The James Webb Space Telescope is in danger of being cut; What do we stand to loose? Plus, holodeck technology is in the making, and how to harness power from thin air. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: Terrafugia flying car gets street legal!

This week in Science Saturday: help support the search for ET life, get a brain memory extension, tell time for 10,000 years, and discover some missing moon dust. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: HD cameras streaming live from the ISS!

This week in a very spacey edition of Science Saturday, wave bon voyage to Mars rover Curiosity, win $500k for sending humans to another star, tour the universe and help scientists discover new objects in our galaxy, and see Star Trek on This Week @ NASA. All this and more plus our gadget of the week: Futuristic transparent airplane!

This week in Science Saturday, hear all the latest NASA news, say thanks and give a teary goodbye to Mars Rover Spirit, collect asteroid samples, send humans into deep space, and get a great view of Earth from orbit. All this plus our resident Mars expert’s take on “Bio Station Alpha”, a rumored new tricorder, personal jetpacks, and more!

This week in Science Saturday: It’s getting crowded in here! Galaxy may contain billions of starless wandering planets; Hear the first ever papal call to the ISS; Track tornado destruction from space; and witness the growth of Saturn’s super storm. All this and more plus our gadget of the week: LCARS-style laptop concept.

This week in Science Saturday, have a conversation with a dolphin, sail over the Grand Canyon in a jet suit, join Captain Piccard on an international solar-powered flight, and discover Io’s magma ocean. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: converted sci-fi motorcycle helmets.

Welcome back to another exciting edition of Science Saturday. Celebrate the vernal equinox with the chemistry of Cadbury Creme Eggs, peer beyond the Big Bang with an underground telescope, imagine life on alien worlds, see the latest from SDO solar observatory, and check out four possible commercial manned spacecraft. All this and more plus an Easter Egg Gadget and our DIY gadget of the week: Phi wall art!

This week, witness the Navy’s newest laser weapon, visit the retiring space shuttles (and the Enterprise), prep for spacecraft Juno’s upcoming launch, and hear the first ever Earth-Space flute duet in honor of Yuri Gagarin, first man in space. All this and more plus your gadget of the week: NAVI (Navigational Aid for the Visually Impaired).

This is a big week for science, with a giant new rocket unveiled by SpaceX, Richard Branson going from Galactic to Oceanic with a cool one-man submarine, FermiLab physicists discovering a new particle (or maybe a new ‘force’ or something they aren’t sure), and NASA telescopes spotting a star being literally torn apart by a giant black hole. We have all that plus a do-it-yourself cannon, and the birthday of the Internet (maybe).

This week in Science Saturday, why warp drive is possible but photon engines aren’t, how comets can shape planetary rings, and scientists discover the secrets of the Nexus. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: RealSnailMail, e-mails sent via snail!

This week’s Science Saturday dispatch looks at how Washington budget cuts could be bad news for the future of human spaceflight, but NASA’s robotic efforts showed promise this week with a first around Mercury and showing us a cool storm on Saturn. We also are getting a close look at the ‘super moon’ for the weekend and watch Germans simulate weightlessness by dropping stuff. All that plus an Archimedes death ray and floating cars! 

View Japan quake aftershocks in near-real-time, watch the light show at Kilauea volcano, make a map of the brain, and interact with a Data-like android. All this and more in this week’s Science Saturday!

Have we made “first contact” with fossilized alien microbes? A recent study by astrobiologist Richard B. Hoover of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center says “yes”. Pretty much everyone else says, “no,” or at the very least, “I’m skeptical.” If the claim is indeed verified, it will be a turning point in human history; If not, just another item in the list of unresolved questions surrounding the search for life beyond Earth.

Welcome to another edition of Science Saturday. This week: how to use a laser like a tractor beam to pull objects, detect cancer with a very Trek-like smartphone app, look inside the sun to find the missing sunspots, and see the most beautiful, hi-res photo mosaic of the moon ever created. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: jetpack skiing!

Welcome once again to Science Saturday! This week: Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off for the last time (plus, Star Trek theme will play on board!), buy a 1961 Soviet space capsule, the man who survived a particle accelerator to the head, and how atomic oxygen can restore works of art. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: Neptunic’s super shark suit.

Welcome back to another exciting edition of Science Saturday (still happily living in its new time slot). This week: fly by Comet Temple 1 with Stardust, scan your skin Trek-style, cure bald captains of the future, and pretend to travel to Mars with Mars500. All this and more plus our gadget of the week: electronic contacts.

Welcome to Science Saturday on it’s new day of the week! From now on, your favorite science column will be on Saturdays, not Fridays. This week: how Apophis WON’T hit Earth, how to rent part of NASA HQ, how astronomers find exoplanets, plus watch Sir Patrick Stewart’s intro to the latest European mega-science facility. All this and more plus our gadget of the week: The sudoku solving photo app.

Welcome back to Science Friday! It’s been a long hiatus while I was away on field work in the great white south, but I’m back in action. So, be on the look out for regular Science Fridays again! This week, on a special Monday edition, Astronaut Mark Kelly makes a tough decision, heal burn victims in days with a new spray gun, and give a send off to Robonaut 2 as it prepares to launch into space. All this and more plus an infographic, image, and gadget of the week!

Greetings once again and a happy new year from Mount Erebus, Antarctica! Your humble science editor is reporting once again from the southernmost active volcano in the world. Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ira Flatow, host of NPR’s Science Friday radio program, to celebrate the end of 2010 at the end of the Earth. Hear the short interview (below) to learn about my research here in the Great White South.

Welcome back to another Antarctic edition of Science Friday. But, before you travel south, learn about why NASA’s new arsenic-based life form may not be real, hear the latest on Captain Piccard’s solar plane, and get your own sonic screwdriver. All this and more, plus last week’s Antarctica questions answered as well as some new photos.