The following aired on KCBS.

By: Dominique Sims

The environment? Please. I just wanted a free trip to Bangladesh. That’s why I applied for a cultural exchange program, but I came back with more than just pictures.

While touring through the Sundarban Forest in Bangladesh, I saw a man bathing in a river. I asked my tour guide, “Is this water clean?” He chuckled, “Of course not! This river is one hundred percent not water. It’s made up of oil, feces, and trash.”

According to my host sister, cyclones in Bangladesh are becoming more common, and recently they’ve wiped houses and waste into the surrounding water. Although these cyclones cause massive damage, she said the environment is not a priority for people in Bangladesh -- instead, they’re worried about getting through the congested traffic to arrive at work on time.

I’ve been back home for two months now and I’ve participated in beach cleanups, avoided wasting food, and I’m putting together a fashion show to raise awareness about reusable products.

Now that I know all the negative effects humans can have on the environment, I’m trying to positively impact my community.

A group of twenty six states, including California, released new K-12 science education standards this week, called The Next Generation Science Standards.

Two big takeaways include: tackling controversial issues to "combat widespread scientific ignorance," and emphasizing scientific and engineering practices (instead of just skills) -- like planning and carrying out investigations, and engaging in argument from evidence.

California is seriously considering adopting the new standards. Are teachers ready for the shift?

Teresa Barnett, Executive Director of Community Resources for Science (CRS), says teacher reactions have been mixed. CRS is a Bay Area organization that supports local science teachers. They recruit volunteers from the community (scientists, engineers and students from UC Berkeley) to teach hands-on science lessons in local classrooms.

Barnett said teachers they work with in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville, CA have expressed concern about how prepared they feel to teach the new standards -- making outside support even more important. “We believe scientists and engineers, who engage in these activities every day, can be great partners in adapting to these new standards,” she said.

While the transition to the new standards might be a bumpy road, Barnett ultimately feels that the change is positive. “The idea of using science content and investigations as a means to help students develop skills in critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration has the potential to transform education,” she said. 

Kate Anderson, a graduate student at the University of Arizona, recently conducted a study that showed people who experience racial discrimination have poorer health outcomes. African Americans are especially vulnerable to these symptoms. Anderson's results show 18.2 percent of black participants experienced emotional stress due to racial discrimination and 9.8 percent experienced physical stress.

Anderson’s study was brought up in the context of New York’s controversial Stop and Frisk policy, that allows police officers to stop anyone who looks suspicious. The policy is being challenged in court for targeting black and Latino people. Anderson’s results imply that the targeted population might be suffering from physical manifestations of racial profiling.

“Sometimes there are these unintended consequences of policy,” said Anderson, who recently submitted a paper for publication about the SB 1070 law in Arizona, that allows police to stop people they suspect to be undocumented, and ask for proof of legal documentation. “I don’t think anyone in Arizona was thinking, ‘Oh this is going to affect the health of this population’ -- but I think sometimes... the full manifestations of a law aren’t always thought through,” she said.

By Nick Miller

Researchers asked 160 high school students in New York to identify their close friends, regular friends and acquaintances, and then used the data to draw connections between friend circles and students' grade point averages, attendance and disciplinary actions, according to an article in Education Week.

The study, "Spread of Academic Success in a High School Social Network," used a social network approach to identify the relationships between students and their social circles. The study’s results showed that students were more likely to improve their GPA if they had friends who got good grades. Students who started with high GPAs who were friends with students with lower GPAs, were likely to see a decrease in their grades.

By Chantell Williams

This story aired on NPR's All Things Considered.

After school and evening are crunch time for most families. It's when crucial decisions get made that affect kids’ fitness and weight—and that includes snacks. According to a poll done by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Harvard School of Public Health and NPR, most parents believe their children are eating healthy.

Deborah Richards, from Oakland, CA, thinks she has a handle on her son Donta’s eating habits. “He’s fussy but he eats healthy. He has influenced me on eating better,” said Richards. But Donta, who is 17, disagrees. “My breakfast, I can say on the daily is a pack of Skittles. I make sure I get one every morning.”

According to the poll, 87% of parents believe their children are eating healthy. But according to high school senior Felix Pieske, from Portland, Maine, they may not have the whole picture. "Middle school might have been the last time that I really talked to my parents about, 'What did you eat today?' Other than that, I don’t really talk to them about it at all, or talk to them at all."

I still talk to my mom, Oya Autry. She expects that I’m keeping a good diet that includes lots of juices, water, fruits and salads and stuff. "I don’t think you eat a lot of chips, or fried foods,” she told me. That sounds right. But to be honest, I don’t make a point to keep track of what I eat. So for this assignment, I decided to keep a food diary. I’ll get to my results in a minute.

But first, my friend Jorisha Mayo. She is 18, lives in Concord, CA and loves to snack, starting right after school. “I do occasionally eat unhealthy,” said Mayo. “I think I snack probably around the three p.m. to four p.m. zone. Then when it gets later like 11 or so, that’s when I snack on cookies and ice cream, crackers and chips and stuff.” Nearly half of children say they snack on sweets everyday, and a quarter eat chips daily.

Today on the Youth Radio Podcast, we explore emerging research on the teenage brain. Two teenage girls turn to science to understand their internal battle with post-traumatic stress disorder. Also, we talk to a Stanford M.D. who’s research on hypnosis could relieve stress and anxiety in teens.

By Nick Miller

Students from Redwood High School in Redwood City, California collaborated with teacher/musician Tom McFadden to make a rap music video that teaches a science lesson.

The video is called "One Bottle At A Time (Save The Fishes)," and touches on many common environmental themes, like polluted creeks, wasted water, littering, and carbon footprints. The students rewrote the lyrics to two songs: "Blow The Whistle," by Too Short and "No Church In The Wild," by Kanye West and Jay-Z. The project was part of the Redwood Environmental Academy of Leadership (REAL) at Redwood High.

(Article continues below.)

Hypnosis is the oldest form of psychotherapy.  Researchers have proven its effectiveness in reducing certain kinds of stress and pain.  Yet hypnosis isn't taken as seriously as other forms of therapy. Youth Radio’s Chantell Williams visited Stanford University to find out about new research aimed to support hypnosis with hard science. 

When Katie Duchscherer, a 21 year old Senior at Stanford University, gets anxious during a psychology final exam, she takes a deep breath and puts herself into a hypnotic state:

By Denise Tejada and Ike Sriskandarajah

On a foggy night, a little yellow submarine is docked in Monterey Bay. The research submersible is about to introduce a group of young people to a whole new world and possibly a new line of work. Youth Radio's Denise Tejada went along for the ride.

Chris Randolph and Bailey Da Costa are juniors at Aptos high school in Aptos, CA. They are part of the school’s robotics club. Last year they built a small, remote-controlled submarine that actually explored a shipwreck. Now, team-member Michael Sheely is looking forward to stepping up their game, with some help from the pros. He says, "This year the theme for our robotics competition is going to be observation, so we’re just getting a feel for how the professionals do that sort of thing."

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