Shows / Science Friday
Science Friday
Science Friday, as heard on PRI, is a weekly discussion of the latest news in science, technology, health, and the environment hosted by Ira Flatow. Ira interviews scientists, authors, and policymakers, and listeners can call in and ask questions as well.
Episodes
Science Friday1311: 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…
Science Friday1310: 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…
Science Friday1309: 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…
Science Friday1308: 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…
Science Friday1307: 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…
Science Friday1306: 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…
Science FridayHow 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…
- Science Friday
1304: 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…
Science Friday1303: 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…
Science Friday1302: 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…
Science Friday1301: 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…
Science Friday1300: 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…
Science Friday1299: Who are the musicians composing 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…
Science Friday1298: 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…
Science Friday1297: 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…
Science Friday1296: 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…
Science Friday1295: 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…
Science Friday1294: 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…
Science Friday1293: 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…
Science Friday1292: 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…
Science Friday1291: 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…
Science Friday1290: 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…
Science Friday1289: 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…
Science Friday1288: 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…
Science FridayThe 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…
Science Friday1286: 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…
Science Friday1286: 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…
Science Friday1285: 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…
Science Friday1284: 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…
Science Friday1284: 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…
Science Friday1283: 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…
Science Friday1282: 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…
Science FridayHow 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…
Science Friday1281: 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…
Science Friday1280: 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…
Science Friday1279: 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…
Science Friday1278: 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…
Science Friday1275: 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…
Science Friday1274: 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…
Science Friday1277: 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…
Science Friday1276: 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…
Science Friday1273: 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…
Science Friday1272: 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…
Science Friday1271: 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…
Science Friday1270: 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…
Science Friday1269: 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…
Science Friday1268: 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…
Science Friday1267: 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…
Science Friday1266: 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…
Science Friday1265: 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…
Science Friday1264: 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…
Science Friday1263: 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…
Science Friday1262: 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…
Science Friday1261: ‘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…
Science Friday1260: 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…
Science Friday1259: 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…
Science Friday1258: 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…
Science Friday1257: 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…
Science Friday1255: 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…
Science Friday1256: 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…