Inquiring Minds

By Bonnie Stevens

Flagstaff, AZ – Everybody knows trees breathe in carbon dioxide, but how long they can hold that breath affects the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

NAU forest ecologist Matthew Hurteau is studying ponderosa pine trees as carbon sinks, or structures that store carbon.

He says 50 percent of a tree is carbon, so big old growth trees can store a lot. Today's forests, crowded with small trees, can hold a lot of carbon as well, at least for a while.

By Bonnie Stevens

Flagstaff, AZ – Studies suggest there is an unusually high rate of cancer among Native Americans who live in areas where uranium was mined. Analytical chemist Jani Ingram is wading through water samples for carcinogens that may be impacting her tribe.

This is Inquiring Minds, insights from the campus of Northern Arizona University.

By Bonnie Stevens

Flagstaff, AZ – There's a housing crisis in the ponderosa pine forest. With a lack of big, standing dead trees, bats are in search of a place to live. . .maybe with you.

This is inquiring minds, insights from the campus of Northern Arizona University.

Bats provide a lot of benefits to the forest. Wildlife ecologist Dr. Carol Chambers says they fertilize soil, pollinate plants and eat all kinds of insects.

By Bonnie Stevens

Flagstaff, AZ –

Soaps, paints, furniture - even makeup - may be making us sick. Environmental endocrinologist Dr. Catherine Propper is looking into the effects of chemicals that are all around us. What's happening to frogs may not be a big leap from what may be happening to humans.

This is inquiring minds, insights from the campus of Northern Arizona University.

By Bonnie Stevens

Flagstaff, AZ – Rocks the size of living room furniture sail past us every week. . .so close, they're called Near Earth Objects. If they make it to Earth, astronomer David Trilling wants to be there to pick up the pieces.

This is Inquiring Minds. . .insights from the campus of Northern Arizona University.

By Bonnie Stevens

Flagstaff, AZ – If a picture truly paints a thousand words. . .then exquisitely illuminated book-art fragments of the mediaeval Manichaean religion speak volumes to art history associate professor Zsuzsanna Gulacsi.

This is Inquiring Minds. . .insights from the campus of Northern Arizona University.

By Bonnie Stevens

Flagstaff, AZ – There are only a handful of ice labs in the entire world and one of them is on the NAU campus. It's the closest astronomers like Stephen Tegler may ever get to the outer reaches of the solar system.

This is Inquiring Minds. . .insights from the campus of Northern Arizona University.

Flagstaff, AZ – When you smile, I smile. When you feel sad, I feel sad. NAU Psychology Professor Chad Woodruff says our ability to mirror other peoples' emotions may be all in the neurons.

This is Inquiring Minds. . .insights from the campus of Northern Arizona University.

Mirror neurons are social neurons. Social neuroscientist Chad Woodruff says they fire when we express an emotion or a movement, like a laugh or a wink. But they also fire when we watch someone else do that. How well they fire may affect our level of empathy.