What you missed on Scienceline

While you were out enjoying the winter wonderland, Scienceline was working hard bringing you robots, wasps and oil rigs. Here's what you missed.

Rose Eveleth explores the debate concerning the building of a road across the Serengeti.

What's a scientist to do when an oil rig explodes in his backyard? Rachel Nuwer tells us the story of Joe Griffitt, an ecotoxicologist, who dropped his other work and devoted himself to researching the impact of the oil spill.

The Mekong River: To dam or not to dam? Rachel Nuwer explains how hydropower might help the Laos region but risks loss of biodiversity and a way of life

In "Wasp wars," Sabrina Richards tells us how Hawaiian ecologists have figured out how to check booming populations of parasitic wasps: introduce other wasps that feed on their larvae.

What does our language tell us about how we think? Lena Groeger lets us in on new findings in the field and what it all means.

Although it might seem far-fetched to imagine robot cars on the roads, it's not. Google's hands-free car is fueling controversy with its latest technology and Madhu Venkataramanan explains why.

Any given Saturday night, you will likely find Jason Kendall in Manhattan's Inwood park, offering to give people a sight of the stars through his telescope. Joseph Castro and Sarah Fecht give us a glimpse of Kendall's life through video, and Castro shares the story of Kendall, an investment banker by day and amateur astronomer by night.

Stay tuned this week for giant telescopes, monkey business, brain machines and more!

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