MUSIC: "Our World" theme
Straight ahead on "Our World" ... Secondhand smoke and the health impacts on young people ... a debate over "alternative" medicine ... and the risks of nanotechnology:
REJESKI: "So along with these products, obviously some questions arise about their safety, their potential risks to consumers, the workers, to the general population. And those questions need to be answered sooner rather than later."
Those stories, a prime subject for our Website of the Week, and more. I'm Art Chimes. Welcome to VOA's science and technology magazine, "Our World."
The space shuttle Discovery returned to Earth on Monday, safely ending a two-week mission to do repairs on the International Space Station and to test changes to the shuttle's external fuel tank meant to reduce shedding of its foam insulation during launch. Pieces of insulation struck the shuttle Columbia during its launch in 2003. They damaged the spacecraft's heat shield and caused it to burn up during reentry, killing its seven-member crew. NASA officials said they were pleased with the performance of the modified fuel tank. And they said future shuttle missions will be focused on completing construction of the International Space Station.
Although we often refer to NASA as "the U.S. space agency," NASA's full name is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Aeronautics focuses on aviation research in areas like wing design and safety. It's a relatively small part of NASA's overall mission ? and budget ... and getting smaller. Aeronautics research is currently about five percent of NASA's total spending, and is projected to decline over the next five years.
Scientists appearing before members of the House of Representatives Science Committee this week warned that the declining aeronautic share of the NASA budget puts critical research at risk.
MERRILL: "These needs and opportunities have been articulated and reiterated over the past decade by numerous public and private bodies. Together they make the case for an expansive government-supported, NASA-administered R&D [research and development] program."
Stephen Merrill, who headed a National Research Council study on NASA's aeronautics research two years ago, says his expert panel was struck by the disparity between NASA's aeronautics research needs and the budget it had to accomplish it.
NASA wants to focus its aerospace investigations more on basic research, but America's aviation industry, which has benefitted from NASA aeronautics programs, doesn't want the agency to abandon research that has such important practical applications. Michael Romanowski is with the Aerospace Industries Association, whose members include Boeing, Rockwell and Lockheed Martin.
ROMANOWSKI: "Is US industry satisfied with the direction of NASA aeronautics? The short answer is no. Mr. Chairman, our nation's federal investment in aeronautics research is at a crossroads, and the consequences to our nation are potentially serious. If NASA will not conduct this type of research, who will?"
Subcommittee chairman Congressman Ken Calvert said U.S. aerospace companies accounted for $67 billion in exports last year, and that much of it depends on NASA research.
CALVERT: "It's important to realize that NASA-developed technology can be found in virtually every airplane flying today. The return on the original investment has been tremendous."
Which is why Republican Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis of Virginia expressed concern that NASA aerospace reseach funding has been cut in half over the last 12 years.
DAVIS: "I don't think we have an aeronautics vision. And I've got serious concerns that the United States is losing their critical expertise in aeronautics research and development."
NASA officials have expressed strong support for aerospace research, and the budget is almost $900 million this year. But NASA's space programs still get the lion's share of the budget, and most of the agency's attention is focused on sending astronauts back to the Moon and on to Mars.
Earthbound flying now. Bees are a familiar and vital part of the natural ecosystem, producing honey and pollinating flowering plants, including many agricultural crops.
This week, scientists are reporting that the diversity of bees and the flowering plants they pollinate has declined in parts of Europe, a possible indicator of a global problem. Other scientists worried about species extinction call for the formation of an international body to monitor such threats to biological diversity, similar to one that now tracks global warming. VOA's David McAlary reports.