Talk of the Nation

Egypt is set to start rewriting its constitution in March, a year after the fall of president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. During a visit to Egypt, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she "would not look to the U.S. Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012."

Grammy Award-winning pop diva Whitney Houston died Saturday at the age of 48. Her voice inspired a generation of musicians. Houston's musical director and friend Michael Baker and bass player Matthew Garrison, who played on Houston's 2009-2010 final tour, share memories.

NYU psychology professor Gary Marcus took up guitar at the relatively ancient age of 38, by starting with the video game Guitar Hero. Marcus shares his experiences and insights on the science of learning, which he's gathered in a new book Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning.

According to Rolling Stone magazine, sales of vinyl albums continue to grow, setting a new record in 2010. Does vinyl reproduce sound better, or is it just a trend? Two audio experts join guest host John Dankosky to talk about the science of audio, and how perceptions can shape the sound experience.

Transcript

JOHN DANKOSKY, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm John Dankosky, sitting in for Ira Flatow. Scientists have long been studied amyloid beta, those sticky protein fragments that build up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. What you may not know is that amyloid beta is produced in everyone's brain, including my brain as I speak to you right now.