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Science Magazine Podcast

Converting carbon dioxide into gasoline, and ‘autofocal’ glasses with lenses that change shape on the fly

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News, News Commentary, Science

4.3842 Ratings

🗓️ 4 July 2019

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Chemists have long known how to convert carbon dioxide into fuels—but up until now, such processes have been too expensive for commercial use. Staff Writer Robert Service talks with host Sarah Crespi about using new filters and catalysts to close the gap between air-derived and fossil-derived gasoline.   Also this week, host Sarah Crespi talks with Nitish Padmanaban of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, about replacing bifocals with “autofocals.” These auto-focusing glasses track your eye position and measure the distance to the visual target before adjusting the thickness of their liquid lenses. The prototype glasses have an onboard camera and batteries that make them particularly bulky; however, they still outperformed progressive lenses in tests of focus speed and acuity. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy.   Download a transcript (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts.   About the Science Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This podcast is supported by the Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,

0:04.0

the academic arm of the Mount Sinai health system in New York City,

0:07.5

and one of America's leading research medical schools.

0:10.7

What are scientists and clinicians working on to improve medical care and health for women?

0:15.5

Find out in a special supplement to Science magazine prepared by the Icon School of Medicine

0:20.0

and Mount Sinai in partnership

0:21.6

with science. Visit our website at www.combe at www.combe-science.org and search for

0:26.3

Frontiers of Medical Research-Womeness' Women's Health. The Icon School of Medicine at Mount

0:31.7

Sinai, we find a way. Welcome to the science podcast for July 5th, 2019.

0:43.7

I'm Sarah Crespi.

0:45.1

In this week's show, we start with staff writer Robert Service.

0:48.5

We're going to talk about taking carbon dioxide out of the air and turning it into gasoline for cars will new high-tech

0:55.8

filters and catalysts make gas cheaper and less damaging for the environment.

1:01.9

And I talk with Natish Padmanaban about replacing reading glasses with high-tech glasses that

1:07.5

track eye position and change shape depending on what the wearer is looking at.

1:16.1

Now we have Robert Service, a staff writer at Science, and he's here to talk about a feature

1:20.8

story he wrote on, I guess you could say it's on capturing carbon dioxide from the air and

1:26.2

turning it into fuel,

1:29.9

but it's also about so much more, right, Bob?

1:30.7

That's true.

1:31.4

Yeah.

1:34.7

So this sounds like a good thing to my naive ears.

...

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