Each year, popular science magazine unveils the top 100 technological innovations for the previous year. What items made this list for 2003? A few surprises to be sure as revealed on this week's episode.

The role of the brain in controlling behavior is almost taken for granted, but the development of this idea may owe its existence to one seventeenth-century scientist, Dr. Thomas Willis.

Technological innovations continue to puzzle and confound even the most savvy technophiles. But, figuring out how to use these modern marvels can often be half the fun, as we discussed with our guest, Gregg Steben.

The recent landing of the Mars Explorer rover has renewed interest in the red planet. On this program, we talked with Andrew Mishkin, a senior systems at NASA, about the status of past, present, and future missions to Mars.

Preserving the environment requires an interdisciplinary approach, especially in terms of maintaining biological diversity. On this program, we explored issues in bioecology with our guest, Prof. Shepley Chen.

Robotics is a field that continues to inspire both professional and amateur scientists. Fortunately, robotics competitions provide the perfect venue for exploring these interests. Contestants from such a competition held at Fort Mason Center chatted with us about their inventions.

As oil resources begin to dwindle, the search for alternative energy sources is already yielding promising results. However, the application of these various alternatives will rely strongly on the regions where they are implemented. These economic and environmental factors were discussed on this episode with Prof. Toshihiko Nakata.

The health of our bodies is often determined by our mental state. The physical relation between these two is now being investigated with modern methods. On this program, we explored the mind/body relationship with Dr. Gabor Mate.

We spend roughly a third of our lives sleeping, and much of that time dreaming. But, the scientific nature and meaning of dreams remains elusive, and was the focus of this discussion with Dr. Veronica Tonay.

Establishing adequate policies for maintaining the environment remains a profound challenge requiring international cooperation. On this program, we explored this multi-faceted issue with Dr. Masaka Yamabi.