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.
Episodes
Blue Origin explosion hits NASA timeline + Artemis III crew
When Blue Origin’s New Glenn spacecraft exploded in an enormous fireball during a ground test a couple weeks ago, it sent shockwaves not only through the air, but through NASA’s timeline for the upcoming Artemis missions.
It also came at an especially bad time for Jeff Bezos’ rocket company—just days after it was awarded a slew of NASA contracts to deliver equipment to the moon. Blue Origin had al
Why can I handle tequila but not rum?
‘Tis the season for porch beers and happy hours, and we’re taking on listener questions about how alcohol affects us. Like, is a glass of wine at dinner really good for you? And why do sugary drinks give us hangovers?
Joining Guest Host Jane Lindholm to answer these questions and more are brewer and chemist Tom Shellhammer and neuroscientist Jacqui Barker.
Guests:
Dr. Jacqui Barker is an associate
AI + turfgrass science in the most high-tech World Cup yet
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest one yet, and FIFA is trying to make it the most high-tech, too. The federation has partnered with tech giant Lenovo to launch Football AI Pro, which is designed to analyze over 2,000 different metrics and deliver real-time insights to coaches, players, and analysts. Guest Host Jane Lindholm chats with ESPN writer Ryan O’Hanlon about how AI analytics actually
How extreme athletes like Alex Honnold keep their cool
Elite athletes spend a lot of time training their bodies for strength, endurance, coordination, and precision. But what about their brains? Can psychology help athletes achieve peak performance?
Joining Flora Lichtman to talk about this are professional climber Alex Honnold and Jessica Bartley, psychologist for U.S. Olympians and Paralympians.
Guests:
Alex Honnold is a professional climber, fou
Parenting tips from the animal kingdom
If you’ve ever been a child, had a child, or seen a child face down in a supermarket aisle screaming, you know that parenting can be tough. But humans aren’t the only ones raising their young, so how do animals deal with toddlers that won’t follow directions or little ones that are constantly begging for snacks?
Parent and science journalist Elizabeth Preston, who wrote the book “The Creatures' Gu
Wait, is my washing machine playing Schubert?
A few weeks ago, we talked to two sonic branding experts who compose music for household appliances. And we played for them a song “sung” by a washing machine that they didn’t really appreciate. But many of our listeners immediately identified the tune, a famous melody by 19th-century composer Franz Schubert.
And, as our guest tells us, it’s not just any tune—it’s one of Schubert’s most beloved co
A virus hunter in Nigeria has thoughts on the Ebola outbreak
The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring Uganda is caused by the Bundibugyo virus. There’s no specific treatment or vaccine for this strain, unlike the more common Zaire strain that caused the 2014 outbreak.
Molecular biologist Christian Happi has dedicated his career to improving genomic sequencing capabilities and virus monitoring across the continent o
How did Neanderthals deal with illness and injuries?
If you look up where medicine originated, or the earliest medical interventions, you’ll probably find yourself reading about ancient Greece or Egypt or Mesopotamia. But what about before that? How did early humans treat illnesses or cope with injuries? What did a Neanderthal do if she broke a rib or had a toothache?
Flora digs into these questions with archaeologist Penny Spikins and microbiologi
Looking for life in the clouds of Venus
A group of researchers and private investors are planning a series of privately funded missions to Venus, hoping to find signs of life. That may seem like a startling possibility. Although Venus is a close neighbor to Earth, it has a smothering atmosphere of carbon dioxide that has allowed the planet’s surface to heat to temperatures that would melt lead. There’s crushing pressure. And to top it o
Meet the drug developer taking on wildlife diseases
Many of the forces driving species to extinction—habitat destruction, pollution, climate change—also fuel the spread of disease. And plants and animals around the globe are facing their own little pandemics, from cancer to fungal diseases.
But what if we could treat them with cutting-edge medicines? Is there something drug developers could do to help? Chemist Tim Cernak thinks so. He has been deve
Can the shingles vaccine stave off dementia?
The benefits of getting a shingles vaccine seem relatively straightforward: It will prevent you from getting shingles, a painful rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. But researchers have found a surprising link between getting the shingles vaccine and a lower risk of developing dementia. And that’s not the only vaccine that seems to have additional benefits. So what’s going on her
Inside the Nebraska quarantine facility responding to hantavirus
Two disease outbreaks are dominating the news: Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and hantavirus, which started spreading on a cruise ship.
The U.S. has a one-of-a-kind medical facility that exists just for emergencies like this. It’s called the National Quarantine Unit, and it’s in Omaha, Nebraska. Right now, 18 Americans from the cruise ship where hantavirus broke out are in quaranti
Surveying wildlife along Lewis and Clark's route, 220 years later
When Lewis and Clark crossed the United States in the early 1800s, they recorded their wildlife observations along the way. Now, more than 200 years later, an expedition is following the same route and partnering with scientists across the U.S. to catalog animals and track the changes. Expedition leader Roland Kays joins Host Flora Lichtman to share some highlights.
Plus, using cell phone data and
Pope Leo's encyclical on AI, and the Vatican science advisors
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV presented his encyclical, an open letter from the church, on AI. The 42,000-word document covers a lot of terrain—from screen time to resource extraction to job loss—but the core message is summed up in the title: “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding The Human Person In The Time Of Artificial Intelligence.”
How did the pope arrive at these views? Among those advising him
Bizarre exoplanet clouds + Counting insects with weather radar
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have observed clouds on a hot gas giant exoplanet called WASP-94A b, some 700 light-years away. But these clouds aren’t your usual wisps of water vapor—they’re vaporized sand. Astronomer David Sing joins Host Flora Lichtman to describe the planetary weather, and how the researchers were able to observe it.
Then, ecologist Elske Tielens joins Flora
A trailblazing geneticist reflects on her life and work
It’s common knowledge that many diseases and conditions have some kind of genetic link. But that wasn't always the case. In 1990, long before the Human Genome Project tied so many health issues to differences in genetics, researchers identified a gene called BRCA1. It was the first gene linked to a hereditary form of any common cancer. People with certain variants of BRCA1 stood a higher risk of d
Is that spooky old house full of ghosts, or just infrasound?
Old creepy houses are a horror cliche, but why? Why do they freak us out? According to new research, it might have something to do with infrasound: a sound that’s below the range of human hearing, potentially emitted by low-rumbling pipes or old boilers more common in older houses.
Psychologist and pseudoscience researcher Rodney Schmaltz explains his new study, and what role infrasound could pl
How do clinical trials work, and who can participate?
We recently got a call from a SciFri listener in Florida who has autoimmune arthritis. He told us that over the years he’d taken 10 drugs, and each out eventually stopped working. He then tried to enroll in a clinical trial for a new drug for his condition, but he was rejected specifically because he was on his 10th drug.
Today we’re digging into clinical trials and how they work. Are there incent
Use of herbicide linked to Parkinson's is on the rise in the US
The herbicide paraquat is so toxic it’s banned in over 70 countries. But its use in the U.S. is growing, despite known links to Parkinson’s disease. In southeastern Mississippi, an industrial plant is leaking tens of thousands of pounds of the chemical into the air.
Environmental reporter Delaney Nolan and epidemiologist Beate Ritz join Host Flora Lichtman to discuss the implications of this leak,
Why does fashion repeat in 20-year cycles? Math has the answer
Bucket hats. Low-rise jeans. Track suits. As you might’ve noticed, Y2K fashion is in right now. People say that fashion moves in 20-year cycles, and it turns out…it does! At least according to math.
Host Flora Lichtman sits down with mathematician Emma Zajdela to figure out how she analyzed over 35,000 images of women's clothing dating all the way back to the 1860s to confirm this theory.
Guest:
Earth's ancient hydrogen, and fossilized vomit
A recent study simulated the extreme temperatures and pressure of the Earth’s interior by squeezing a sample between diamonds and heating it with a laser. In those simulations, researchers found that the Earth’s core may contain vast amounts of hydrogen, locked away in alloys with iron and silicon. Planetary scientist Anat Shahar joins Host Ira Flatow to discuss what this tells us about how the pl
How yawning might help clear dirty fluid from the brain
Just about every animal with a backbone yawns (maybe even dinosaurs), but why we do it is still something of a mystery. A SciFri listener from Texas recently spotted some research that suggests yawning could play a role in clearing waste products from the brain, and asked us to get to the bottom of it. Biomechanical engineer Lynne Bilston, an author on that study, joins Flora to discuss the findin
The new frontier of cancer research is in space
An upcoming resupply mission will carry tumor samples to the International Space Station for research. Experiments in microgravity have yielded shocking results: Some tumors triple in size in just 10 days—the kind of growth that could take 10 years on Earth. What does that mean for science, and for astronauts?
Joining Ira to discuss this new frontier in cancer research are hematologist Catriona J
Who's composing music for my washing machine?
Have you noticed that your newer appliances are serenading you? Many new washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, and vacuums have sonic signatures. But why? And who are the composers making music for the machines in your home?
Flora talks to sonic branding experts Audrey Arbeeny, who has developed sounds for washing machines; and Joel Beckerman, who has composed for Roomba.
Guests:
Audrey Arbeeny
How El Niño shapes the world’s weather trends
Scientists studying climate models say there’s a high chance this will be an El Niño year—and that we could be in for a “super” El Niño. The difference is indicated by sea surface temperatures in part of the Pacific Ocean rising a little—or a lot—above their long-term average.
El Niño is one half of what climatologists call the ENSO, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. The oscillation operates on a
Planning your photo ops for a trip around the moon
In April, the crew of Artemis II got an unprecedented tour of the far side of the moon, and they brought back a proverbial shoebox full of pictures. Lunar scientist Kelsey Young stayed on Earth, and helped guide the astronauts through their photo shoots from Mission Control.
Young talks with Host Flora Lichtman about how the science team chose their shot list, how to lead distant astronauts in the
Understanding the gynecological health crisis facing Black women
When Kemi Doll was in medical school, she learned that Black women are twice as likely to die from uterine cancer as white women, and also suffer disproportionately from other uterine-related conditions. What wasn’t explained was why. Now a gynecologic oncologist, Doll has made it her mission to change these trends and improve care for Black women.
She joins Flora to discuss her new book, “A Terr
Data about your body is up for sale. Who's buying it?
Cameras and sensors are just about everywhere, recording your face, how you walk, where you go, your heart rate. And AI is making it easy to amass and analyze that data about all of us.
Privacy attorney Anne Toomey McKenna joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about the ubiquity of biometric surveillance and how data brokers are gathering and selling our information, including to law enforcement.
Gu
Sci-fi thriller combines aliens, robots, and Cherokee culture
Breaking news out of eastern Oklahoma! A hole in the sky has opened. Through it, an unidentified turtle-shaped craft has descended. Alerts say that this is first contact.
So it goes in the sci-fi thriller “Hole in the Sky.” In the book, author Daniel H. Wilson imagines this moment where we meet alien life for the first time. It’s set in the heart of Cherokee Nation and follows characters includin
Beavers could be humans' biggest ally, if we let them
Beavers are having a moment, thanks to the new Pixar movie “Hoppers.” Amid some body-swapping shenanigans, the film is about humans coexisting with wildlife—particularly oversized rodents capable of reworking landscapes in profound ways.
The beaver science consultant on “Hoppers,” Emily Fairfax, joins Flora to talk about beavers’ brilliant, chaotic landscape engineering, and how the creatures sho
Searching for dark matter, deep in the Earth
Deep in an active nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario, researchers are installing and calibrating a set of sensitive detectors. They hope that the location roughly 6,800 feet underground will screen out much of the ordinary radiation and cosmic rays felt on the surface, and allow their detectors to sense tiny disturbances caused by a dark matter particle passing close to the nucleus of one of the ge
The decades-long movement to kill FEMA
Hurricane season officially begins in June. And in the event of a big storm, local and state governments often rely on help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA. But, President Trump has questioned the value of the agency.
“I've never been a big fan of FEMA. I like to keep it local. I like to see governors and neighboring states help each other as opposed to FEMA,” Trump said in
What cats and dogs hear + A 'smell map' of the nose
Animal neuroaudiologist Pete Scheifele joins us to answer some burning questions from SciFri listener Paul: Why can dogs and cats hear a wider range of frequencies than we do? Is it in their ears, their brains? And what would life be like if you had dog ears or cat ears?
And, scientists have created the first “smell map” of the nose using a mouse model. Host Flora Lichtman talks with neurobiologis
How do you study microplastics in a plastic-filled lab?
The news we hear about plastic is often alarming: We have a spoon’s worth of plastics in our brains, and there are microplastics in our hearts, lymph nodes, and bloodstreams. Plastics are ubiquitous, but the reality might be more complicated than it seems.
It turns out that measuring microplastics is really, really difficult. One reason? Because we’re surrounded by plastics! Think of the pipettes
What is ibogaine, and why is it in the news?
In mid-April, President Trump issued an executive order to set aside funding and loosen the bureaucratic process at the FDA to fast-track psychedelic therapy research. One obscure psychedelic got a particularly bright spotlight: ibogaine.
Originating from the root bark of the iboga plant of central Africa, the psychedelic has shown promise for curbing opioid addiction and treating PTSD. But it als
The long history of birds, from velociraptors to pigeons
Comparing a backyard sparrow to a fearsome velociraptor seems odd, but modern birds are indeed living dinosaurs. Scientists are finding more and more connections between the past physiology of dinos and the present physiology of birds.
Joining Ira Flatow to talk about some forgotten species from the past tens of millions of years—think gorilla-sized penguins—is Steve Brusatte, paleontologist and
Your DNA is constantly mutating, and that’s a good thing
Our bodily systems are rife with mutations. In fact, your DNA is mutating right now. These errors, and attempts to repair them, are a key to understanding immune function, aging, and even how heart disease develops. Gene mutations can even mitigate the harm caused by some inherited diseases.
Host Ira Flatow goes on a journey through the illuminating science of genetic mutations with Roxanne Khams
Maine nearly became the first state to ban data centers
Data centers make controversial neighbors: They’re loud, they use a lot of water, and can drive electricity prices up. Following public concern and organizing efforts, Maine nearly implemented an 18-month ban on data center construction, before a governor veto.
Joining Flora to talk about real changes communities can advocate for in regards to data centers are Pete McGuire, climate reporter at Mai
What urban design tells us about democracy
The way ancient societies like the Greeks, Maya, and Khmer Empire built their cities can tell us a lot about how a place was governed. Did rulers live in ornate palaces or alongside other residents? Are there large, open spaces for community gatherings?
In a new study, archaeologists document how they use the design of ancient temples, plazas, and cities to understand how a society was governed.
Listening for the cosmic ‘dark ages,’ from the lunar far side
What did the universe look like before any stars turned on? Astronomers call that time the “dark ages,” and while they think it may be possible to see remnants of it in very low frequency radio signals, hearing those signals from Earth can be challenging.
One possibility is to put a radio telescope on the far side of the moon, where it would have periods of observation shielded from interference
How do you describe nature? Two poets help us
To mark Earth Day, we asked you to tell us about your favorite places on the planet. You took us to the woods near Traverse City, Michigan, to a lake in Oklahoma, to Long Island Harbor where you spent your summers as a kid.
Basking in a sea breeze and admiring a sunset are basic human pleasures. But how do you take these moments and turn them into meaning? How do you pin those feelings down with
The lucky breaks that make our Earth home
What makes Earth special, and why are we here at all? In his book “Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of the Universe That Make You Possible,” astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi tackles the conditions needed to put life on Earth, from the formation of stars, to self-organizing molecules, to quantum weirdness and the nature of time. He joins Host Flora Lichtman to celebrate our place in the cosmos.
Read
How New Jersey tamped down PFAS in drinking water
Nearly all Americans have some type of PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” in their blood. The chemicals, which are linked to numerous health issues, were first regulated in drinking water at the federal level two years ago (though some limits have been rolled back).
But, back in 2018, New Jersey became the first state to adopt its own drinking water standards for PFAS. Now, researchers a
How a particle accelerator illuminated 56 human organs
A new imaging technique using a particle accelerator is giving researchers an unprecedented level of detail of our organs, producing scans 100 billion times brighter than a CT scanner. Those 3D models are now part of a public database called the Human Organ Atlas, available to researchers and the medically curious.
Joining Host Ira Flatow to explain why they needed so much power and what kind of r
Simone Giertz’s journey from robot comedy to high-end design
In the 2010s, inventor Simone Giertz (pronounced “Yetch”) began making videos that straddled the line between practical and absurd. What if you had a robot that could feed you soup? Or a drone that could cut your hair? As time went on, her projects became more polished and more ambitious, like converting a Tesla sedan into a pickup truck.
Today, with almost 3 million subscribers to her YouTube cha
When a dolphin whistles, what does it mean?
What are dolphins actually saying with their iconic, high-pitched whistles? Dolphin communication researcher Laela Sayigh is trying to find out. She’s been compiling a database of whistles from a pod of dolphins in Sarasota, Florida, the longest-studied group of cetaceans in the world.
She joins Flora to discuss fundamental questions about dolphin dialects, including how dolphins’ “signature” whi
Inside the lives of astronauts’ families
“This was not easy, being 200,000+ miles away from home. Like before you launch, it feels like it's the greatest dream on earth. And when you're out there, you just wanna get back to your families and your friends.” – Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman
Last week, the crew of Artemis II made it safely home. Throughout the journey, we heard the astronauts talk about moonjoy, awe, wonder, and—without
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. What can go into the pile? How do you balance carbon and nitrogen? And how do you do it in a city?
Compost expert Cassandra Marketos joins Host Ira Flatow to break down the basics of what she calls “purposeful decomposition,” and give practical tips for
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 researchers have warned that many scientific studies can't be replicated.
To find out how deep the problem goes, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funded one of the largest analyses of social science, called the SCORE project. They checked t
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 Erik Aadahl has brought some of Hollywood’s iconic creatures to life with sound, like the Transformers, 2014’s Godzilla, and Rocky the alien from “Project Hail Mary.” He joins Flora to talk about the science of sound design, and how he uses his backgr
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, patients are reporting a decrease in cravings for drugs and alcohol. Researchers are now investigating whether GLP-1s might be effective for treating alcohol and drug addiction.
How much do we know? What are the risks? And do these drugs tell us anythin
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 the delivery and helped keep the baby whale afloat—and not all of them were related to mom. How much do we actually understand whale culture? And how should we think about altruism in the animal kingdom?
Host Flora Lichtman chats with whale biologist S
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 weren’t just for the Chinese market. They went to Europe, Asia, and Mexico, and may soon be available in Canada. But thanks to tariffs and regulations, BYDs are not available to U.S. buyers.
China policy expert Kyle Chan joins Host Ira Flatow for a look
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 algae has had success in capturing and removing microplastics from water.
Environmental reporter Kate Grumke joins Producer Kathleen Davis to talk about the latest approaches to addressing microplastics, and researcher Susie Dai discusses her work us
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 Earth. The flight is another test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule that are intended to be used for an eventual crewed lunar landing.
Space reporter Brendan Byrne joins Producer Kathleen Davis to share his impressions of the launc
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 many planetary scientists disagreed with kicking Pluto out of the planet club.
Twenty years later, Pluto is back in the news: NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said he wants to make Pluto great again by declaring it… a planet again. And he’s urging
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 their poop or gut issues with their doctor. Gastroenterologists like Trisha Pasricha say that’s a problem, and that that stigma is getting in the way of our health and happiness.
She joins Host Flora Lichtman to share some crucial gut knowledge, and 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 shooters (sadly) don’t exist, we can say that the ways real spiders use silk put Peter Parker’s powers to shame. Spiders can use their sticky threads to sail through the air, capture prey larger than them, and even live underwater. And scientists trying
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 than a standard proton, this short-lived piece of matter called Ξcc⁺(Xi-cc-plus) is like an extra-heavy proton, researchers say. Physicist Hassan Jawahery joins Host Flora Lichtman to unpack how the particle was found, and what its discovery means fo
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 struggling with basic math, where 2+2 didn’t always equal 4. But more recently, things have changed: Google and OpenAI’s models bagged gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad last year, and now some experts say AI could pose an existent
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 snuggling the stuffie went viral, and, as his stardom rose, millions of us began wondering, “Is Punch OK? Does he have a girlfriend? Is he being bullied by the zoo's other macaques?” Primatologist Christine Webb joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk ab
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 concern, or have cuts to federal science funding disrupted monitoring for this disease? Airborne pathogens expert Seema Lakdawala gives a flyover view on where bird flu stands today, and whether the government’s current monitoring efforts are enough
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 Haskell argues that flowers aren’t just beautiful: They’re also critical to most ecosystems and the diversity of life as we know it. Flowering plants also make up a large part of human diets (rice, maize, and wheat are all flowers). And homing in on or
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 to a global technology and media powerhouse.
Tech journalist David Pogue talks with Ira Flatow about the backstory of the company, and the leadership of the mercurial Steve Jobs. He offers a peek into some lesser known chapters of the company’s histo
‘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 Weir and astrobiologist Mike Wong about the film’s aliens, and how they buck the trend of what extraterrestrials usually look like on screen.
Guest:
Andy Weir is the author of “Project Hail Mary” and “The Martian.”
Dr. Mike Wong is an astrobiologist
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 brought preserved ants from collections around the world to a particle accelerator in Germany. There, a powerful synchrotron X-ray source combined with a vial-swapping robot allowed the researchers to build a collection of 3D ant images, inside and out.
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—and how our planet is changing. She’s covered everything from the collapse of insect populations to the success of one town’s effort to go carbon neutral.
Host Flora Lichtman speaks with Kolbert about the undeniable heaviness of our current climate
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, tissue samples, MRI scans, and family history, and create a digital model of a patient that can be used to predict how a treatment might work for them. Think personalized medicine supercharged by AI.
For example, cancer researchers are working on models
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 wean your calves. But do farmers actually use them? Host Flora Lichtman discusses their place in modern life with astronomer and Farmers’ Almanac contributor Dean Regas, and Missouri farmer Liz Graznak.
Plus, zebra finches build their nests with a
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 thought extinct, but the discovery of close relatives on another island made a captive breeding effort possible.
SciFri turtle correspondent Charles Bergquist talks with conservationist Penny Becker about the science behind the reintroduction, and what i
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. Meanwhile, in the US war with Iran, AI is being deployed in ways we’ve never seen.
To make sense of it all, Host Flora Lichtman talks with journalist Karen Hao, who covers AI and is the author of the book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's
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 if you “stimulate” it correctly. Where did this idea come from, and what does the research say?
Host Flora Lichtman talks with neurosurgeon Kevin Tracey, a pioneer of a field called bioelectronic medicine, which uses techniques to stimulate the nervo
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 artists are on the Billboard top 100 charts, and more musicians are coming out saying they use AI in their songwriting process.
Is this just another tech upgrade to the music-making process or does it signal something bigger in the industry? To investi
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 loud squeaks of basketball shoes. At his first NBA game, physicist Adel Djellouli was surprised by the constant noise from the court and wondered, why do basketball shoes squeak? Turns out, the physics of a squeak involves lightning bolts and earthq
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 with the public. Can public health be done better?
Epidemiologist Erica Walker has a perspective on just that. She started off studying noise pollution, found her science wasn’t serving people as she hoped, and pivoted her approach in an effort to be
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 reduce your carbon footprint?
The message is basically the same: These products and activities have risks. But mitigating them, well, that’s on you. How did we get this idea that it's our personal responsibility to make a dent in big problems like cli
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."
There’s something about space that captures the imagination of scientists and artists alike. Just ask astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and astronomer Brian May (yes, THAT Brian May, guitarist of Queen). In their new book Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D, th
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 money to the budget. But despite the funds existing in the budget, they have not yet been released to some researchers.
Science journalist Alexandra Witze joins Host Ira Flatow to walk through the details of the government funding process, and her r
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 super slowly. They break down food, build other molecules, extract energy, and more. What if we could harness evolution to engineer designer enzymes that do other specific jobs that benefit us?
Putting that idea into practice changed the game for chem
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 activities can prevent or delay the onset of dementia symptoms. It’s currently running at the Atlantic Theater Company and co-produced by The Ensemble Studio Theater in New York.*
Host Ira Flatow talks with playwright Jake Brasch about his inspiration for th
