neurologically al jazeera's science correspondent jake ward joins us. what does the research tell us about that? >> well, it's really - when you look at the sheer number of horos that poverty seems to inflict on children, it's hard to know where to begin. the most tangible version of the research that we know affects the brain has to do with how it affects the brain specifically the development of white and grey matter, the hippocampus, some of the most important parts of the brain. one study found that living in deep poverty caused white and grey matter to not grow as fast as it needed to, facilitating communication in the brain. the hippocampus turning short term into long term memories was stunted, and the emigulo all were stunted. it leads researches to cognitive disorders, antisocial behaviour and worse. we are see true tangible effect of living in poverty. >> when we do the research, are we talking about environmental factors, the places where poor children live, or the nutrition they get for the stimulation that the environment provides. what is

jake ward has been look going the devastating impact of chlorine attacks. hasn't chlorine been outlawed in syria? >> that is one of the first questions that comes to mind. but the truth is that chlorine is not banned in syria, because it would be almost impossible to ban it in any country. it is one of the most plentiful and useful elements we have on earth. think of it as salt. it's used in 85% of pharmaceuticals, building materials, agricultural materials, it is absolutely everywhere. so while syria is banned from using it as a weapon it is allowed to have it as is every other country in the world. >> it would be impossible, really, to make it illegal, but does that mean it is less dangerous than other nerve agents? >> that is really the great irony of this situation, just because it is common does not make it any less deadly. all around us the danger of chlorine is everywhere. here in the united states we see tens of thousands of train loads of this poisonous gas traveling by rail all over the place. in 2005 there was a derailment in north carolina. one

. >> science and technology correspondent jake ward shows us how they do it. [music] >> reporter: the students of uc berkeley a leading source of peace corp volunteers might seem like the last group of people likely to shoot an unarmed black man than armed white man. but you'll find the same racial bias here that serves the root of the controversy gripping the nation. >> as troubling as the implications are in policing in america today, it's a compelling demonstration of the power of these implicit ideas. >> the professor of public policy at uc berkeley. >> instead of asking people would you shoot a black guy faster. would you be okay shooting a black guy. we look at their behavior. we're looking at differences in milliseconds and it's reflecting unconscious process. they may not even be aware of. >> the participate is told to shoot all armed targets and not hit unarmed ones. the research shows that the subject would shoot unarmed blacks more than whites but they decide not to shoot an unarmed white person. >> i think this is the right thing to do, but it's to

as our science and technology correspondent jake ward tells us this could change how we track planes.> reporter: it was an unimaginable loss in our connected age. the total disappearance of 239 people. 2014 was full of bad news. a single week in july saw the shooting down of another jet in ukraine, a fatal trans-asia airways crash in taiwan and a crash in mali more than 700 people dead in just half the year with another eight commercial crashes to go. but when you step back and look at the statistics. 2014 was actually another very safe year in the single greatest period of aviation safety ever. the world was on track for 59 million commercial flights by 2030 but yet as the number of flights goes up, the number of crashes goes down. but there is at least one glaring problem left. in the vast stretches of ocean, there is no radar and when air traffic control looses contact with the plane it is it gone. 90% of long-haul flights carry a satellite based positioning system but they only ping their location every 30 or 40 minutes at most. they have started a trial that would increase that f

but as jake ward reports, in other cities it has also revealed shocking new information about the sheerume of gunfire in america. >> reporter: in many ways oakland, california is the perfect place to live. but like so many american cities, this city is plagued by the sound of gunfire. it's not only incredibly dangerous, it's also incredibly loud. and that has allowed police to detect the noise. shot spotting is one of several companies that sell this kind of system. the technology is born out of earthquake detection systems, which have also been adapted by the u.s. military to spot snipers. they install microphones, they can record conversations, but they are designed to detect gunshots, and when they do this system can triangulate the location and notify police. 80 cities are mic'd in this way, and new york a pilot program detected the sounds of gunfire in the december shootings of two police officers. the system may also reveal just how inaccurate our understanding of gun violence is in this country. official estimates are based on 911 calls, but gunfire may go unreported when it does

jake ward in san francisco. >> black, blue and you three perspectives of a problem that is not goingy soon. that is our show for today. i'm ali velshi. thank you for joining us. west virginia [ ♪♪ ] . >> there are 100,000 girls, american girls, home-grown girls trafficked into sex slave each year in the u.s. when shawna goodwin resisted her mother shot her with shoirn, shawna goodwin remembers -- heroin shawna goodwin remembers falling on the water bed in a rush. that was her initiation. >>> "a path appears," the latest book by nicholas kristof and doesn't sheryl wudunn highlights problems in the u.s. and was turned into a pbs series examining domestic

jake ward in san francisco. >> black, blue and you, three perspectives of a problem that is not goingy soon. that is our show for today. i'm ali velshi. thank you for joining us. >> heavily armed combat tactics >> every little podunk wants their tank and their bazooka... >> with s.w.a.t. raids on the rise... >> when it goes wrong, it goes extremely wrong... >> what's the price for militarizing our police >> they killed evan dead >> faul lines, al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... >> they're firing canisters of gas at us... >> emmy award winning investigative series... deadly force: arming america's police only on al jazeera america

while it's far-fetched, jake ward explores the possibilities. >> reporter: the amount of carbon dioxidethe atmosphere spiked by 40%. trapping heat and changing the planet. the retreat of arctic sea ice doubled in the past five years. rising sea levels are creating disastrous storm surges like hurricane sandy. massive wildfires raging through the west, and the latest report lays the blame at the feet of human being. >> so what can we do. experts agree that the priority should be reduce our emissions. what happens if we can't. >> a small number of scientists are working on a backup plan. it's called geoengineering. in which engineers manipulate the atmosphere. one approach is to pull carbon dioxide out of the air scpshes a company in -- and a company in california has a machine that can do that. >> the national community moves slowly. we know we have to do something. this, we feel, is profitable, realistic solution, implementable today. >> the device removes cot from the atmosphere for use in fertiliser applications. scaled up, it could have an impact on the planet. >> by the time you bui

jake ward in san francisco. >> black, blue and you three perspectives of a problem that is not goingy soon. that is our show for today. i'm

philadelphia were victims of perception failure at more than twice the rate of white suspects and as jake ward recently reported on this show, experts at u.c. berkeley show unconscious bias affects everyone. here is some of what you found. >> and the trigger is here. >> reporter: the participant is told to shoot all armed targets and not hit unarmed ones. the research shows that subjects shoot an armed or unarmed black person more likely and more offense than whites but decide not to shoot an unarmed white man sooner and more frequently than a black man. >> performing in this task doesn't make you a racist person. >> reporter: even the researchers who conduct the study and repeatedly take it still see their own disturbing unconscious biases affecting their actions. >> are you still shooting unarmed black men? >> yeah. >> reporter: does that happen new. >> and failing to shoot armed white men that's the mistake i make most common hadly. >> reporter: researchers say unconscious bias is how the brain deals with information overload. the brain stores about 11 million pieces of information, but we

signs and technology correspondent jake ward is if san francisco with more on that. . >> reporter: john, the lawsuit against the anaheim police department and the sacramento county sheriff department stems from their refusal to turnover a full accounting of their use of what's called sting ray technology. but this is not an isolated case it turns out hundreds of how enforcements across the country have been hide this is technology from the publicist and the courts for better than 10 years. at least half of americans own a smart phone. as a result they constantly carry e-mail, text messages, photographs, contacts and often a gps device with them for law enforcement. the ability to detect a suspect's smart phone and follow it from place to place would be an incredible convenience. and it turns out that for at least a decade police have been using a secretive technology to do exactly that. the technology purchased from a specialized contractor often using federal grant money is called an mc catcher. better known by the brands name sting ray. your cell upon constantly reg

our science and technology editor jacob ward is in san francisco with that jake. >> the study focuses as you say on these ice shelves the edge of larger glaciers, acting as a door stop and holding back these glaciers. as they go so goes the rest of antarctica. western tarveghta antarctica is seeing the greatest amount of thawing. the biggest pine island and twates are draining extremely fast. red fastest blue slower and green the slowest. they form what are called ice shelves, floating extensions of the ice that helped to hold back the glaciers. trouble is, scientists have determined that the ice shelves here have been melting 70% faster in the last decades than they were before. the speed of the flow of the ocean is increasing every year. scientists say that the smith glacier one of the smallest in this region is changing fastest and it's a good way of understanding why these scientists are so worried. not only is the glacier itself melting, the bounding line the place where the glacier is firmly attached to rock, is melting away and moving inland. here is where the bounding line loo