dr. shini somara. when you think chattanooga tennessee, you don't necessarily think of a digital hub but in fact it's the fastest internet in the western hemisphere. >> how fast is the interent at your apartment? >> i think it's about eight megabits per second. in chattanooga, every resident has 1000mega bits per second, a whole mega bite, a giga bit for them to use. >> wow, so how long would it take to download an entire movie? >> two minutes. it's lightning fast. >> two minutes, it goes so fast. >> let's just go to chattanooga and watch movies all day. it's incredible. >> i'm totally in. but hang on, the us ranks 26 on the global scale of internet speeds. >> so why is chattanooga so advanced compared to the rest? >> well, if you go outside chattanooga, they are still using satellite and dial-up to get online. there's nothing else. >> really seems like that town in tennessee represents the digital divide that we don't just see in the us, but what we see around the world. let's take a look. >> it's 5pm

i'm phil torres, joined by cara santa maria, marita davison, and dr shini somara. as been taking us on a journey through greenland. we have seen the flights and the science. what was it like to be there with the scientists? >> well, i got to experience that first hand. we were staying in the statement location as where the n.a.s.a. crew live. it was pretty amazing, to say the last. really cold. let's take a look. >>> i came to greenland to join n.a.s.a.'s operation icebridge. their goal is to collect the critical data on how polar ice sheets are changing. here the an arctic they days are long at this time of year. you have to stay up until nearly midnight to catch the famous northern lights. to the n.a.s.a. scientists home kiss. >> just taken off my boots. they are so heavy, it's a relief to take them off. i'm keeping them outside my room, because it's a custom. i noticed that my room used to be a storage room, so welcome to my humble dwelling. i told you it was basis. these are flip flops, essential when you share a bathroom with men and women. this is a second bed

dr. shini somara.a debate that somehow is still raging on - is the climate changing, is man to blame and is there anything we can do to stop the disaster. most agree the answers is yes. that's most scientists, not all of them. shini, crystal, lindsay, you each had a piece of the story. >> at the c.i.a. i was trained to analyse complex and sometimes contradictory data. climate change fits into that model as well. washington d.c. - politics are part of the equation. no matter what the science is, there's going to be contentious debate. >> i had a different experience. i was dealing with the scientists and citizens who are not debating if climate change is happening, but they are living it now. >> i think it's interesting that both sides of the debate claim to be on the side of science, and use studies as ammunition. we wanted to know who is right. things got interesting. >> as scientists we are trained to look at the data and go from there. that's what we try to keep in mind as we delve into the debate -

>> dr shini somara is a mechanical engineer. dr. crystal dilworth is a neuroscientist. >> we're standing by a pipe marked heated sludge. >> and i'm phil torres, i'm an entomologist. >> that's our team ... >> it smells very organic. >> now lets do some science. >> hey guys, welcome to techknow. i'm phil torres and today we are going to be talking trash and a ton of it. joining me with this trash talk dr. crystal dilworth, dr. shini somara. now first up the water bottle, by some estimates here in the u.s. we use 50 billion of these every year and myth number one is that this is going to be recycled. >> correct, actually it's probably not going to be recycled. a lot of water bottles that we think are headed for recycling facilities end up in landfills and those landfills can have some really negative impacts on the surrounding communities. >> it's actually quite shocking that a material that is designed to be used over and over again actually only gets used once and what we've done is take a water bottle just like this and follow its j

dr. shini somara. guys there are outlaws out there working in the shadows committing horrible acts against defenseless yet majestic animals. we're talking about the ivory poachers who have decimated the populations in africa. >> it's really alarming because ivory goes for about a thousand dollars a pound, that's more valuable than illegal drugs. >> and you know what that means is that the damage has been devestating over a hundred thousand elephants have been killed in just the last three years and the question is what can we do about it? we found a team of scientists who are using some unexpected weapons- dna and radiocarbon dating- let's check it out. >> april 18th, 2015. thai customs intercepts 4 tons of ivory smuggled in bean sacks from the democratic republic of congo. it is the largest seizure in this country's history. the ivory, on the way to laos seized in bangkok after a tip. the seizure makes headlines >> thai customs displayed over 3 tons of confiscated african ivory worth 6 million dollars

dr. shini somara and cara santa maria. you guys let's jump right into it. gmos, just three letters but a whole lot of debate. and of course we're talking about genetically modified organisms here, anything from tiny bacteria to fish to even giant trees. and guys this debate it targets science and scientists. >> it's true you know the anti-gmo movement it's got a lot of street cred, it's very popular. but it's also really anti, i don't know another way to put it, it's anti-science. >> i covered the march against monsanto and i was actually really kind of personally hurt that most people think that science is a really bad thing when it comes to gmo. >> yeah and let's be real this is a sensitive one for us because we're scientists. but as scientists we're trained to look at the data and that's what we try to keep in mind as we investigated genetically modified foods... >> genetically modified food... a subject that inspires controversy and fear. >> [crowd chanting] hell no gmo! >> but one scientist is fighting back. trying to debunk one myth at a time...even i

dr shini somara is a mechanical engineer. onight "techknow" on the road in greenland. >> we are on our way to the air base. i'm nervous. >> we are on board for n.a.s.a.'s operation icebridge - flying over some of the largest ice sheets on the planet.

dr. shini somara

dr. shini somara is a mechanical

dr. shini somara is a mechanical engineer. she'll share the results of her investigation. >> now how dangerous is that for human beings? >> and i'm phil torres, i'm an entomologist. i visit a shrimp farm in the middle of indiana... yes, indiana... that could revolutionize the industry. >> wow, this is like a little laboratory here. >> yes it is. >> and a shrimp farm. >> cara santa maria is a neuroscientist. >> imagine that you are one of the first to take a trip to mars. this is the definition of pioneering. >> that's what makes it exciting. >> that's our team, now let's do some science. >> hey! i got some! >> hey guys and welcome to techknow i'm phil torres joined by doctor shini somara and cara santa maria. now guys i'm not going to lie, one of my favorite things is shrimp sizzling away on a hot grill. but i also have a fair amount of hesitation when it comes to actually knowing where that shrimp comes from. >> yeah and you may not realize it but shrimp raised overseas can have high levels of antibiotics and other additives