TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE

Sunday    02 Nov 2008         

PROMO 11/2/2008      "DNA & Discovery"
*Shortly after her mother died of ovarian cancer, Jessica Queller had herself
tested for the dreaded BRCA gene mutation.  She tested positive, which meant
she had an 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer, and a nearly 50
percent chance of ovarian cancer.  So Queller did the unthinkable: at the age
of 34 - unattached and still wanting a family - she had both her breasts
removed.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the new era of genetic
testing.

PROGRAM RUNDOWN:   "DNA and Discovery"

0:00 - 1:00    Billboard (1:00)

1:00 - 6:00    SILENCE (5:00)

6:00 - 28:43   SEGMENT 1: (22:44)
     Jessica Queller tells Anne Strainchamps why she decided to have a double
     mastectomy after she tested positive for the breast cancer gene and her
     mother died of ovarian cancer.  Her book is called "Pretty Is What
     Changes."  Also, MD and best-selling novelist Michael Crichton talks
     with Jim Fleming about the ethical problems he envisions with permitting
     patents on human DNA. Chrichton's latest novel is "Next."
          
     Segment One Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio International."

28:44 - 29:13  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

29:14 - 41:36  SEGMENT 2: (12:23)
     Sean Carroll is the author of "The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the
     Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution."  He tells Steve Paulson about
     new discoveries in evolutionary history, including the existence and
     purpose of fossil genes.  Carroll is an evolutionary biologist at the
     Howard Hughes Medical Institute and at the University of Wisconsin.  
          
     Segment Two Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio International."

41:37 - 42:06  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

42:07 - 59:00  SEGMENT 3: (16:53)
     James Watson is famous for cracking the code of DNA, along with Francis
     Crick, and infamous for picking fights with other scientists and making
     inflammatory statements.  His latest book, "Avoid Boring People"
     contains advice for young scientists.  Watson talked to Steve Paulson
     and you can judge for yourself whether he's mellowed any.  Also, Anne
     Strainchamps talks with two teenagers who were finalists in the Siemens
     Competition in Math, Science and Technology.  Sarah Waliany and Caroline
     Lang explain what their experiments were about and why they like
     science. 
          
     Segment Three Outcue: PRI Audio Logo


For a copy of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number 11-2-
A.


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