The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University, is the only institution to estimate the youth voter turnout on the day after the election, based on national exit polls.

Drumroll please...

49.3 percent of eligible voters between 18 - 29 years old showed up to vote in the 2012 presidential election, and CIRCLE expects that number to rise to about 51 percent in the next few days once all the votes are tallied. This number is almost identical to the youth turnout in 2008.

CIRCLE’s estimate of the youth share of the electorate (or the percentage of total voters who are 18 - 29) is 19 percent, up from 18 percent in 2008.

We spoke with Felicia Sullivan, Senior Researcher at CIRCLE, who broke the numbers down for us, and explained why her team believes this high youth turnout is the “new normal,” and politicians should prepare to reckon with a powerful generation of voters.

Between 22 and 23 million 18 - 29 year-olds cast votes yesterday. Sixty percent of those votes went to newly re-elected President Barack Obama, and 37 percent went to Governor Mitt Romney. “Obama didn’t have as strong support as he did in 2008 with this group, so he did lose some points to Romney... There are liberal dispositions in this group, but it doesn’t mean that the Democratic party has a lock on this group. I think with some smart organizing and some smart messaging and some thinking about what a new conservative movement [looks like] could appeal to this group,” said Sullivan.

The following originally aired on KQED-FM.

By: Bria Bryant

My doctor started with all the regular questions: are you eating your fruits and vegetables… that kind of thing. She listened to my heart and tapped my knee with the little triangle on a stick. I checked out fine. Then she looked at her chart and told me I was overweight. She tried to say it nicely, but it didn’t come out that way. I looked at her like she was crazy and then I laughed because I knew it wasn’t true.

My friends have always told me I’m too skinny. My family said I needed to gain weight. So what was this doctor talking about?

When I told my friends about it, several said the same thing had happened to them. That’s when I got curious about how doctors determine who’s fat and who’s not.

So I did a little research. The standard height to weight ratio is called the BMI -- short for Body-Mass-Index.

The problem is, the BMI is only based on one type of body. From Belgium.

Have you ever run out of dishes while you had guests over? Instead of going to buy some more, what if you could make your own dishes with the touch of a button? That’s where a 3D printer comes in handy.

Although 3D printers have been around for 25 years, they’re stepping into the spotlight now. The Mini Maker Faire in Oakland featured a few including the Series 1 by Type A Machines. This printer can produce objects up to 9x9x9 inches by melting environmentally friendly plastic layer by layer into a specific design (see yellow hat for example).

Andrew Rutter, the Founder and CEO of Type A Machines (the man in the yellow hat), warns that 3D printers can possibly duplicate anything. A recent New York Times article says parts of weapons are already being produced on 3D printers, and that regulators will have a hard time monitoring homemade guns. One gun control advocate cited in the Times story says he’s scared of felons having yet another way to access guns. 

Rutter predicts that in the near future, these machines will be in everyone’s home. Until then, interest groups and the government will have more time to come up with a solution.  Read more...

In honor of Election Day, Youth Radio takes a look back at some of our stories that relate to issues on the California ballot. Below is a listing of that coverage by Youth Radio's Juvenile Justice and Science desks. 

Don’t worry, we’re not trying to tell you how to vote – you’ve probably had more than enough of that by now! Our commentaries and narratives simply reflect the wide variety of voices of our youth reporters. So enjoy, and happy voting!

Human Trafficking (California Proposition 35)

Trafficked Part I

Trafficked Part II

A Pimp's Business Plan 

Criminal Justice (California Proposition 36)

Youth Court Gave Me a Second Chance 

Victim's Sister Says Life Without Parole Reasonable For Teens

Making Sense of California's Youth Sentences

 GMO labeling (California Proposition 37)

Environmental Award Given to Youth for Food Bill of Rights 

 Nutrition Labels are Meant to Confuse

Peace of Mind Is Also a Part of Being Healthy 

And What Is It Doing To Your Body?
by Susana Vuong
 

November is national diabetes awareness month. Though with 8.3% of Americans affected by it, you might think awareness is already pretty high.  Still, sugary drinks are among the largest contributors to diabetes, and people drink them in abundance.  So the Youth Radio Eats team decided we wanted to learn more about soda's effects.

We couldn't run an experiment on the relationship between soda consumption and diabetes, or a full investigation into the long-term impacts of soda on the human body. So we thought we'd try something more available: a penny.  Our experiment is pretty simple. We have one cup of brown soda (Coca-Cola) and one cup of clear soda (7-UP) and dropped a penny in each.  Everyday we will take pictures and record changes to each penny. At the end of the month, we will know the long-term effects of dark and clear soda on a penny.

Why 7-UP and Coke? Most of us think that dark soda is worse for you.  That's why some of my peers expect the Coke will deform the penny more.  Others say both pennies will become shinier, while the rest say neither penny will change at all.

But a penny's one thing. What does all of this mean for the human body? At the end of the month, we’ll ask a nutritionist, and share what we find out.

What do you think will happen? Check back at the end of the month to find out! Read more...

By Ashley Williams

It’s poisonous, it’s in your yard, and you don’t even know it.  Lead is an invisible toxic menace-- but the good news is, it can be cleaned up.  Sixteen-year-old Asa Needle has helped de-lead over 40 yards in his neighborhood. For his contributions to the environmental health of his community, the Brower Youth Awards commended his work at a ceremony in San Francisco this week. 

Needle, from Worcester, Massachusetts, got involved in lead-removal in 2009 at the age of 13. That’s when he first joined the Toxic Soil Busters, a group of 10 youth-advocates whose mission and (paid) job  is to inform their community about lead contamination. In three short years, Needle became the leader of this group. 

Needle hasn’t announced how will spend his $3,000 prize, but it’s likely that it will go towards empowering the young voices in his town to be strong environmental advocates.  In a video by the Toxic Soil Busters, a young Buster raps, “TSB is a co-op/ we tryin’ to make it official/ Not just trying to get gwap/ it’s about the environmental.”

By Ashley Williams

“We have the right to healthy food at school, GMO-free food, and poison free food.” This is what 19-year-old Maya Salsedo promotes in her Youth Food Bill of Rights.  Salsedo's 17-point declaration for sustainable eating was recognized this week by the Brower Youth Awards in San Francisco. 

Salsedo lives in Santa Cruz, California, where she works for food justice and security in urban areas and farms. Number 13 on her Bill of Rights states, “We have the right to save our seed.” This article opposes legal restrictions that big seed companies can place on their seeds: “any law that prevents this should be reversed.”  Salsedo also promotes knowledge of where our food comes from and advocates for limited use of pesticides and labeling of genetically modified food. 

Salsedo inherited her interest in food from her parents. They emigrated from Puerto Rico to work in Hawaii’s sugar cane fields when she was a child.  During those days, her family had limited access to healthy foods. Now, with her award and its $3000 cash prize, Salsedo is on her way to helping young people like her gain better access to healthier foods.  The Youth Food Bill of Rights has not been ratified by any governmental agency, but recent recognition of her work may be the first step towards turning her articles into law. 

Calling all San Francisco teenagers: the library has a mission for you. Save the Earth, and have fun doing it.

“Save the Earth!” is the youth-generated theme that encompasses two days of digital media workshops held at the Ortega Branch library in San Francisco. Experts in 3D animation, radio equipment and gaming technology are holding workshops where young people can remix existing content or create new content... either to save the earth from zombies or pollution.

Jennifer Collins is the Teen Services Coordinator for San Francisco Public Libraries and organized the event. It’s officially called a Hive PopUp Digital Media Workshop.

“Hives” are networks of youth organizations that converge around the concept of digital learning -- a concept that originated in Chicago and New York, said Collins. Today’s event demonstrates the San Francisco pilot of a Hive PopUp.

“I think the library’s role is key and central. We are a neutral space for so many, free and democratic. It’s a place to convene on an equal platform with all sorts of different participants,” said Collins. “In school, they don’t have an expert in motion gaming technology demonstrating the stuff they do. What’s neat about the event is that it gives them a way to meet creative mentors... Schools try to have access to that, but they have limited resources. This supplements that,” she said.

A scoop of Smitten Ice Cream is something special. Youth Radio’s Chantell Williams brings you the “scoop” on this new company in this episode of Culinary Chemistry.

Williams visited Smitten Ice Cream in San Francisco, Calif., where all the ice cream is frozen right in front of you using liquid nitrogen technology. The nitrogen freezes the liquid base in about 60 seconds.

Just to make sure that eating it doesn’t have any health side effects, Youth Radio spoke with Barb Stucky, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Mattson, a company that develops new products for the food and beverage industry. She assured us that the nitrogen evaporates before it the ice cream reaches your mouth. 

Space shuttle Endeavor flew over the Bay Area for its last aerial travel before reaching its new home at a Los Angeles museum. We gathered pictures from Twitter as the shuttle made its last cruise, check out the pictures below.  

Timbuk2 Bags ‏@timbuk2: Space Shuttle Flyover over Golden Gate Bridge #NASA #sf #ggb #spaceshuttle