PBS NewsHour - Science

What if you could make a train trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco in half an hour? It may sound farfetched, but a group of MIT students are developing a new form of transportation to bring that dream to life: the supersonic hyperloop, a pneumatic train powered by magnetism that would put the fastest high speed rail lines to shame. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.

In our NewsHour Shares moment of the day, a German research team from Kiel University used high speed cameras to capture the incredible gymnastic feats of the Amazon milk frog in slow motion. The NewsHour’s Julia Griffin explains how this tiny creature puts mankind’s best athletes to shame.

Biologist and Pulitzer winner E.O. Wilson has spent his life studying animals and fighting for their conservation. As species go extinct at 1,000 times the normal rate thanks to human interference, Wilson’s new book “Half Earth” holds a bold plan to preserve the world’s biodiversity: set aside half of the entire planet for natural habitats. Jeffrey Brown talks to Wilson for more.

What if coaches could know as soon as an athlete sustains a head injury? A startup in upstate New York has a wearable device that could help keep players safer by sending alerts and measuring hits as soon as they happen. Special correspondent Sasha-Ann Simons of WXXI and Innovation Trail reports.

Bells tolled 30 times in Kiev on Tuesday, once for each year since the world's worst nuclear disaster. Fallout from Chernobyl haunts Europe: It’s estimated that long-term radiation effects will claim at least 9,000 lives. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien offers a closer look at the science of nuclear power and Hari Sreenivasan talks to photographer Michal Huniewicz about the lasting effects.

In Jaipur, India, about 150 patients show up every day at an organization that creates low-cost prosthetic limbs for people with mobility problems. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on an innovative and affordable design being developed for those who have lost legs above the knee.

The world’s coral reefs are in perilous danger due to overfishing, pollution and climate change. But a team of scuba-diving scientists has developed a groundbreaking method for speeding up coral growth in hopes of stemming the underwater crisis. Hari Sreenivasan reports from the Florida Keys.

A new study conducted by the Pew Research Center found a large gap between what the public believes is dangerous and what scientists believe. Pew's Lee Rainie joins William Brangham from Washington with more.

The black box from AirAsia Flight 8501 provided some answers about what caused the crash, but also opened up questions about automation and why mistakes from past accidents haven’t been corrected. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien joins Gwen Ifill to discuss eerie similarities between AirAsia’s flight and past crashes and why the still-missing Malaysia Airlines flight was declared an accident.

2014 was the hottest year in recorded history, even despite below-average temperatures in the Eastern U.S. Judy Woodruff speaks with Gavin Schmidt of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies about the human impact on global warming.

The Obama administration announced a plan to significantly cut methane emissions produced by gas and gas wells by the year 2025 through executive action. Judy Woodruff talks to Coral Davenport of The New York Times and Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton University about President Obama’s strategy in addressing climate change and how environmentalists and the industry are reacting to the proposal.

Every year, millions of North American monarch butterflies head south for the winter -- but recently their numbers have plummeted by up to 90 percent. In Washington, responding to a petition submitted by conservation organizations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced a year-long review that could mean the the butterflies are placed on the Endangered Species List.

Professional and recreational uses for drones have driven a fast-growing industry, but safety and privacy laws are struggling to keep up. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports on why everyone from farmers to football coaches are flying drones, and what challenges the government faces in regulating the unmanned aerial vehicles.

A series of paintings created by Mark Rothko for Harvard University was thought irreparably damaged by years of sun exposure and removed from view. Thirty-five years later, the paintings have returned, thanks to art historians and curators using digital projection, which offers viewers the appearance of restoration for works too fragile to touch. Special correspondent Jared Bowen of WGBH reports.

In our news wrap Friday, British officials demanded an investigation of an incident that brought Europe’s busiest airport to a standstill. Also, the Pew Research Center found that the wealth gap between white Americans and minorities is growing.