The Pulse – January 17, 2014

Bedbugs have made a comeback in recent years, spawning stress and anxiety for those combatting home infestations. We hear from the scientists trying to learn more about their “M-O” and stop their advance, as well as individuals battling the bugs in their home.

We go on the job with some highly trained dogs that can sniff out deadly cancers. Hopes are high that these “super dogs” will guide scientists toward more readily available and easily affordable ovarian cancer screening tests.

A former Philadelphia medical examiner decided to apply his 18 years of experience stitching up holes in dead bodies to patching up holes in your wall. We take you behind the scenes as he pitches his big idea to potential investors.

In this week’s citizen science segment, we go outside to measure local ice in hopes of contributing to global solutions to climate change.

Scientists could be on the verge of 3D printing living human organs. We look at the motivations driving these advances in biotechnology and the ethics behind actually applying them.

In this week’s Patient Files, 25-year-old Scott Clifford had broken 50 bones by the time he was just eight. Then he stopped counting. Clifford talks about living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or brittle bone disease.

And WHYY’s Peter Crimmins reviews a play written by and starring former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Boryla about his brief stint in football’s elite and the epiphany that convinced him to abandon a promising career in the NFL.

For those stories and more, click on the audio icon above.