04/19/2013

Great Salt Lake Is No ‘Dead Sea’

21:35 minutes

Parts of Utah’s Great Salt Lake are 10 times saltier than the ocean. But the lake is host to plenty of life, including salt-loving microbes that can turn the water bubblegum pink. Bonnie Baxter, director of the Great Salt Lake, discusses how the bugs might hold the secrets to better sunscreen, hydrogen fuel cells, and even life on Mars.

 

NPR’s continuing live coverage of events in Boston preempted the April 19th broadcast of Science Friday. The recorded April 19th program aired April 26th.

Segment Guests

Bonnie Baxter

Bonnie Baxter is director of the Great Salt Lake Institute and a biology professor at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Meet the Producer

About Christopher Intagliata

Christopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.