Algae Oil Omega-3 (start time 5:28). Omega-3 dietary supplements are all the rage. Many studies claim that this family of fatty acids benefits your brain, heart and vision, among other things. A non-fish source that already is infused in milk and other foods we consume is oil derived from marine algae. Cohost Susan Moran interviews Dr. Bill Barclay, a microbial ecologist who manages the Boulder division of Martek Biosciences (now DSM). He talks about how he discovered how to produce DHA omega-3 oils from microalgae, and how they can boost our health in an environmentally sustainable way (or at least free of concern about overfishing).
Little Ice Age (start time 15:25). Shortly after the Middle Ages, something strange happened. Suddenly, the entire world got a little cooler. And then it hung on. The cooling lasted over 500 years, all the way to the 1800s. Those five cool centuries are known as the Little Ice Age. How it happened has been a mystery that modern climate scientists have worked hard to figure out, and one they’ve argued about. Now, a University of Colorado Boulder-led study appears to have finally solved the mystery. HOE’s Shelley Schlender interviews the lead author of the study, CU-Boulder Professor Gifford Miller.
Hosts: Tom McKinnon, Susan Moran
Contributor: Breanna Draxler
Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:54 — 21.9MB)
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Underwater Volcanoes (start time 5:45). Most of our planet’s volcanoes are out of sight, and largely out of mind. Hidden under sometimes thousands of feet of water, volcanoes on the sea floor bubble and boil away without our knowledge and largely without our understanding. We talk with Oregon State University volcanologist 
Sleep (start time 15:50). As any mother knows, when children get cranky, one of the best solutions is to “go take a nap.” What is less understood is whether or not those naps can be now and then, or whether it’s important to keep them regular. We speak with an expert who has just published a study that looks at the question of napping among preschool children. Her name is 
nicotine patches really help you stop smoking? Shelley Schlender interviews a scientist who says they don’t. 
In last month’s election, Boulder voters gave the go-ahead for the city to move forward on municipalizing the electrical utility. The chief motivation for that decision was to put more renewable energy on the grid. There are a large number of policy options to incentivize renewable energy – so many that it’s hard to keep them all straight. 
Mountainous areas like the Rockies are hotspots for plant and animal biodiversity but as the climate warms many of these species – including Colorado’s iconic pica — are under threat. Much research has focused on the effects of temperature change, but less has focused on the interactions of temperature and precipitation in a changing climate. University of Colorado biologist 
elley Schlender visited with Colorado State University Scientist and Paleolithic Lifestyle expert 
One often hears people state “I’m not good at math” or that they don’t like math because it they don’t think it has any relevance to their day-to-day life (other than, maybe, to balance a checkbook). However, both of those myths are addressed head-on in a new book titled “