Science Friday
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Science Friday
Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.
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1286 awọn episode
Green stuff, brown stuff: Secrets to a great compost pile
If you’re a gardener, thinking about getting your soil in shape probably means thinking about compost. But composting can be a mysterious process. Wha...
Why so many studies can’t be replicated
How do we know what we know? That's where science comes in—it gives us a method for testing our ideas and getting trustworthy results. But some resear...
How a sound designer gave an alien its voice (and 250 words)
Movies may be a largely visual medium, but sound plays a huge role in setting tone, creating new worlds, and fleshing out characters. Sound designer E...
Can GLP-1 drugs treat addiction?
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound are prescribed for weight loss, diabetes, and blood-sugar management. But as more people use them, pati...
What a sperm whale’s birth tells us about whale culture
Scientists recently published the first footage of a sperm whale birth, and it was a crowded ordeal. More than 10 other sperm whales were there for th...
Is the US backing out of the electric vehicle market?
Last year, Chinese carmaker BYD sold millions of electric vehicles, overtaking Tesla to become the world’s biggest seller of EV cars. And BYD cars wer...
Can algae help pull microplastics out of our water supply?
Microplastics and nanoplastics have been found just about everywhere: in our soil, our bodies, and our water. Recent research involving bioengineered...
Artemis II test flight heads toward the moon
On Wednesday, NASA’s Artemis II mission launched, kicking off on a roughly 10-day trip that will carry four astronauts around the moon and back to Ear...
Should Pluto be a planet again?
In 2006, a vote by the International Astronomical Union determined that Pluto was no longer a planet. The decision sparked a heated public debate, and...
How to poop better, according to a gastroenterologist
For many of us, what happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom: According to a recent survey, 1 in 3 Americans are too embarrassed to talk about t...
Harnessing the superpowers of silk
A listener recently called in asking how they might get a pair of functioning web shooters so they could operate as a local Spider-Man. While web shoo...
CERN finds a new particle + News alerts for the cosmos
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland have announced that they discovered a new subatomic particle. Roughly four times more massive...
Move over, vibe-coding. Vibe-proving is here for math
When ChatGPT first came onto the scene, it wowed users with its writing abilities, but drew laughs for generating images of seven-fingered hands and s...
Is Punch the monkey really just like us?
When Punch the monkey was abandoned by his mother, zookeepers gave him a surrogate and unexpected source of comfort: a stuffed animal. Videos of Punch...
Could bird flu still spark a pandemic?
Bird flu has flown off the national news radar, with only scattered, local reports of dead birds in parks and poultry farms. Is it simply no longer a...
The secret powers of flowers
Flowers peeking up through the soil are a welcome sight after a long cold winter—and are one of the first markers of spring. Biologist David George Ha...
Apple: trying to think different for 50 years
The Apple Computer Company was founded on April 1, 1976, and in the 50 years since, the company has evolved from a handful of Silicon Valley misfits t...
‘Project Hail Mary’ brings a new kind of alien to the big screen
Science fiction nerds, rejoice: the long-awaited adaptation of “Project Hail Mary” is in theaters now. Host Flora Lichtman chats with book author Andy...
Building a digital ant gallery, from the ground up
A project called Antscan has generated high resolution images of thousands of ants, representing over 700 species. To make it happen, researchers brou...
The heaviness and (not) hope of climate change
For decades, renowned environmental writer Elizabeth Kolbert has taken readers to remote corners of the planet to understand how all life is connected...
Could a ‘digital twin’ help you get better health care?
There’s an idea bubbling up in medicine called the “digital twin.” The concept is to take personal health data like genetics, blood test results, tiss...
Who uses Farmers’ Almanacs? + Zebra finch home design
Farmers’ Almanacs have been around for hundreds of years, offering detailed advice about things like the best time to plant certain crops, and when to...
Slow Breaking News: A Giant Tortoise Revival
In February, conservationists released 158 young tortoises onto Floreana Island in the Galapagos. The Floreana tortoise subspecies had long been thoug...
How Is AI Being Used In The Iran War?
The military use of AI is capturing headlines this month. After a dustup with the Pentagon, the AI company Anthropic is out, and OpenAI is in. Meanwhi...
Is There Science Behind The ‘Nervous System Reset’?
On social media, the vagus nerve often gets billed as the gateway to nervous system nirvana: It’s your ticket to better rest, relaxation, and health i...
AI Music Is On The Charts. Where Does It Go From Here?
In recent months, AI music has moved from novelty act into the realm of listenable music. For the first time, AI-generated songs from AI-generated art...
The Surprising Science Of Why Sneakers Squeak
March Madness is almost upon us, which means basketball arenas across the country will be filled with the thunderous roar of fans and the surprisingly...
Can ‘Suggestion-Box Science’ Make Public Health More Useful?
Skepticism around public health policy, experts and institutions has left some researchers asking basic questions about their role and relationship wi...
Fixing Society's Toughest Problems? ‘It’s On You’
Ever heard an alcohol ad that tells you to “please drink responsibly”? Or a gambling ad that warns, "when the fun stops, stop”? Or been urged to reduc...
3D Images Of Galaxies Will Rock You (Ft. Queen)
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see."
Ther...
Slow Release Of Federal Science Funds Holds Up Research
Earlier this year, Congress pushed back on the Trump administration’s attempts to slash funding for many science research programs, and restored that...
The Evolution Of An Enzyme Engineer Who Changed Chemistry
In nature, enzymes are the catalysts that make much of biology work. They jumpstart chemical reactions that either wouldn’t happen, or would happen su...
The Art And Science Of Staving Off Cognitive Decline
The new semi-autobiographical play “The Reservoir” spins a comedic narrative around cognitive reserve, the idea that doing brain-stimulating activitie...
Into the Woods, From Chestnut Genetics To Tiny Forests
American chestnut trees once towered over the landscape, dominating forests in parts of the eastern United States. But in the late 1800s, a fungal bli...
EPA Repeals The Legal Basis For Regulating Greenhouse Gases
On February 12, the Environmental Protection Agency dealt a major blow to the government’s power to fight climate change by rescinding a key piece of...
How One Gene Affects Alzheimer’s Risk
An estimated 500,000 people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States each year, but the causes and mechanisms of the condition rema...
Are My THC Gummies Going Away?
Does the availability of “hemp-derived” THC products have you dazed and confused? A legal loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill lets these items be sold over...
Why Aren’t There Biomarkers For Mental Illness?
Despite major advances in our understanding of the biology of mental health disorders, there’s no blood test or brain scan that will confirm if you h...
Autism Rates Appear To Be Even Across Sexes. Diagnosis Is Not
There’s a long-held idea that autism is more prevalent in boys than girls—the CDC says it’s three times as common. But a growing body of research sugg...
AMA Joins Effort To Launch Independent Vaccine Review Panel
The gap between vaccine science and vaccine policy has been widening under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Now, the American Medical Associatio...