Science

"Everybody potentially is a killer, but some of us are potentially more than others." — Jim Fallon

Violence and brutality are grim realities of life. So why are some people violent, and others aren't? Are some of us born that way, or can anyone be pushed into committing acts of cruelty? What would it take for an ordinary person to become violent? In this hour, TED speakers explore the sinister side of human nature, and whether we're all capable of violence.

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Bring on the air sickness bags and light up the fasten seatbelt sign. A new study finds that flights are going to become more turbulent due to climate change. Paul Williams led the study. It's been published in the journal Nature Climate Change and he joins me now from Vienna. Welcome to the program.

PAUL WILLIAMS: Hi, Melissa, it's a pleasure to be here.

For years, undercover videos documenting animal cruelty at farms and slaughterhouses have cast the nation's meat and dairy farmers in a grim light.

In response, the livestock industry supported legislative efforts in multiple states designed to keep cameras from recording without permission in livestock plants. The Salt reported on these efforts, which activists call "ag gag" bills, last year.

What do animals do when they get sick? They can't go to the doctor's office. They can't go to the pharmacy. Heck, they can't even go online.

Nevertheless, a surprising number of wild creatures have figured out ways to use herbs, resins, and even alcohol and nicotine for health's sake.

Scientists review the ranks of animal pharmacists in the latest issue of Science.

Cary Grant's chin may appeal to you and Ingrid Bergman. But that might not be the case among the indigenous people of Australia.

And the idea that a guy's jutting jawline might not cause women the world over to swoon calls into question the notion that some characteristics are pretty much automatic signals of desirability for prospective mates, researchers say.

On a normal day, Kansas City, Mo., processes more than 70 million gallons of raw sewage. This sewage used to be a nuisance, but Kansas City, and a lot of municipalities around the country, are now turning it into a resource for city farmers hard up for fertilizer.

After the sewage has been processed at a treatment plant, it's piped out to Birmingham Farm on the north side of the Missouri River.