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 Friday1134: What Do We Know About SSRI Antidepressant Withdrawal?
Roughly 1 in 10 Americans take antidepressants. The most common type is SSRIs, or selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, like Prozac, Lexapro, and Zoloft…
Science Friday1133: Asha de Vos’ Journey From Deck Hand To Marine Science Leader
The tropical waters of Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India, are home to a population of blue whales unlike any other. These whales stay put, while…
Science Friday1132: Why Painters Are Obsessed With The Duck Stamp Art Contest
In mid-September, artists from around the country convened in Laurel, Maryland, for one of the splashiest events in the wildlife art world: the Federal Duck…
Science Friday1131: Can Better Equipment Eliminate Concussions In Sports?
Football season is well underway, and fans know those athletes get hit hard. Could better helmets and guidelines around concussion prevention someday eliminate…
Science Friday1130: Is Tylenol Use During Pregnancy Connected To Autism?
At a news conference on September 22, President Trump claimed that taking acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, during pregnancy “can be associated…
Science Friday1129: How AI Advances Are Improving Humanoid Robots
Robots are just about everywhere these days: circling the grocery store, cleaning the floor at the airport, making deliveries. Not to mention the robots on the…
Science Friday1128: The High-Tech Lab Unlocking Secrets Of Coral Reproduction
In the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, scientists are on the cutting edge of growing coral. Rising ocean temperatures have caused mass coral…
Science Friday1127: The Humble Microbe Could Help Us Understand Life Itself
Sift through your memories and excavate an image of a fossil. Maybe you’re picturing dinosaur bones, the imprint of an ammonite, or the fronds of a fern etched…
Science Friday1126: Raising A New Generation Of Bat Conservationists In West Africa
Nigeria is home to 100 known species of bats—about a third of Africa’s bat species—but scientists don’t know much about them. Ecologists Iroro Tanshi and…
Science Friday1125: How Conservation Efforts Brought Rare Birds Back From The Brink
The overall state of birds can seem rather grim. Almost a third of North American bird species are in decline, and in the last five decades, more than 100…
Science Friday1124: Teamwork Between Species Is The Key To Life Itself
Codependency between humans gets a bad rap. But in nature, species often rely on each other for survival. While humans think they’re in control of…
Science Friday1123: If An Asteroid Were Headed For Earth, Would We Be Ready?
You might remember news reporting from earlier this year that a 180-foot asteroid had about a 3% chance of hitting Earth in 2032. And if it did, it would…
Science Friday1122: 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 Friday1121: What The Label Of ‘Genius’ Tells Us About Our Society
What makes someone a genius? Are they the smartest, most creative, most innovative people? Those with the highest IQ? Who we consider a genius may actually…
Science Friday1120: The Human Obsession With Aliens Goes Way, Way Back
A video shown on Capitol Hill on September 9 reportedly shows an American hellfire missile attacking and simply bouncing off a UAP (the military term for a…
Science Friday1119: A Delicious But Invasive Mushroom Could Affect Fungal Diversity
It all started harmlessly enough: People bought kits to grow mushrooms at home. But then, scientists in the upper Midwest noticed something strange. The golden…
Science Friday1118: A Photographer Captures Nature In Mind-Boggling Detail
If you’ve flipped through an issue of National Geographic or scrolled through their social media, and caught a stunningly detailed photo of a tiny…
Science Friday1115: How Shoddy Science Is Driving A Supplement Boom
Dietary supplements are big business, with one recent estimate showing the industry is worth almost $64 billion in the United States alone. Take a casual…
Science Friday1117: Octopuses Use Suckers To ‘Taste’ Harmful Microbes
Put on your party hat and wet suit because it is Cephalopod Week, Science Friday’s annual celebration of all things, octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish. To kick…
Science Friday1116: After CDC Director Is Ousted, More Senior Officials Resign
On August 27, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the White House fired CDC director Susan Monarez after only a month on the job. Right after she was…
Science Friday1114: Meet 3I/Atlas, An Object From Another Solar System
Earlier this summer, astronomers discovered something strange whizzing past Jupiter: an interstellar object. Scientists named it 3I/ATLAS. It’s only the third…
Science Friday1113: How Common Household Products Pollute Our Indoor Air
You have probably given some thought to outdoor air pollution, whether it’s wildfire smoke or smog from traffic. You may even check AQI measurements on your…
Science Friday1112: The Shape-Shifting Science Of Sand Dunes
In some places, sand dunes protect shorelines from the onslaught of ocean waves. In other places, the dunes themselves are on the move, and threaten human…
Science Friday1111: Food Science Experts On Perfecting At-Home Ice Cream
Summer may be winding down, but we’re not quite ready to let go of beach days, backyard cookouts, or ice cream cones. We love ice cream here at SciFri, so…
Science Friday1110: An ER Doctor Reflects On Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later
Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, and the levees designed to protect New Orleans failed. Huge swaths of the city flooded, and…
Science Friday1109: An Archaeologist And A Tattoo Artist Decipher Ancient Ink
Researchers recently used near-infrared photography to get a detailed look at ancient artwork showing scenes of wild animals tangled in a fight. But these…
Science Friday1108: What Lies Beneath The Outer Layers Of A Star?
You might think of a star as a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace where hydrogen is turned into helium at a temperature of millions of…
Science Friday1107: How Have Gray Wolves Fared 30 Years After Reintroduction?
Gray wolves are native to the Rocky Mountains, but decades of hunting nearly eradicated them from the western United States by the 1940s. In 1995, wolves were…
Science Friday1106: Are Food Dyes Really Bad For You?
What do Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, lime Jell-O, and Kraft Creamy French Salad dressing have in common? They've all gotten a glow-up from artificial food dyes…
Science Friday1105: mRNA Vaccine For Pancreatic Cancer Continues To Show Promise
This month, the Department of Health and Human Services terminated almost $500 million in mRNA vaccine development grants and contracts. While HHS has said…
Science Friday1104: Can The Rise In Solar Power Balance Out Clean Energy Cuts?
Since President Trump returned to office, his administration has been aggressive in rolling back clean energy initiatives. But that isn’t the whole story…
Science Friday1103: Decoding Fireflies’ Smelly Signals And Blinking Butts
Fireflies’ magical blinking lights are tiny beacons in the warm dark night. Who can resist catching one? Not scientists.Because their light comes from bodily…
Science Friday1102: The Uncertain Science Behind What We Understand As ‘Truth’
Throughout history, humans have been on a search for truth. From the ancient Greeks and their belief in a universal truth, to our Founding Fathers writing, “We…
Science Friday1096: How Agatha Christie Used Chemistry To Kill (In Books)
Did you know that murder mystery writer Agatha Christie had a background in chemistry? In about half of her stories, the murder is committed using…
Science Friday1101: What Do mRNA Funding Cuts Mean For Future US Research?
On August 5, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the Department of Health and Human Services would terminate almost $500 million in mRNA…
Science Friday1098: Breast Milk Is Understudied. What Are Scientists Learning Now?
If you’ve found yourself scrolling through the breastfeeding world online, you know that people have a lot of strong opinions about breast milk. But what…
Science Friday1097: When Headaches Are Ruining Your Life, Where Can You Turn?
Science journalist Tom Zeller Jr. has suffered from debilitating cluster headaches for three decades. Like other cluster headache sufferers, his episodes would…
Science Friday1099: Remembering Apollo 13 Astronaut James Lovell
Last week, astronaut James Lovell died at the age of 97. In April of 1970, he was the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which launched with three astronauts…
Science Friday1095: ‘Underground Atlas’ Shows How Vulnerable Fungal Networks Are
Fungal networks in the soil are arguably the basis of much of life on Earth, but they’re understudied and underappreciated in the conservation world…
Science Friday1094: Lithium May Have A Role In Causing—And Treating—Alzheimer’s
The mechanisms behind Alzheimer’s disease have eluded scientists for decades. But a new breakthrough points to lithium as a possible explanation—not only does…
Science Friday1092: Are Cold Plunges Actually Good For You?
If social media and certain influential podcast hosts are to be believed, cold plunges can do everything from boosting your immune system to reducing…
Science Friday1093: A Nagasaki Survivor And Physician Recounts His Life's Work
Dr. Masao Tomonaga was only 2 years old when the United States bombed his home city of Nagasaki. He survived, and grew up to become a physician for other…
Science Friday1091: 65 Genomes Expand Our Picture Of Human Genetics
The first complete draft of the human genome was published back in 2003. Since then, researchers have worked both to improve the accuracy of human genetic…
Science Friday1090: How The Moon Transformed Life On Earth
For almost their entire 4.5 billion-year existence, Earth and its moon have been galactic neighbors. And the moon isn’t just Earth’s tiny sidekick—their…
Science Friday1089: EPA Seeks To Revoke Scientific Basis For Greenhouse Gas Rules
This week the Trump administration indicated that it would seek to roll back a key EPA finding that allows the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from…
Science Friday1079: You Can Whistle While You Work—But How Does A Whistle Work?
Whistling is a skill used to communicate over distances—a whistle can mean anything from “you’re cute” to “time to come home for dinner.” There’s a complex…
Science Friday1087: A Reptile’s Baffling Backfin And The Math Of Dashing Dinos
Paleontologists have identified an ancient reptile with a towering crest made not of skin, or scales, or feathers, or antler—but something else entirely. It’s…
Science Friday1088: NASA Employees Protest Cuts In Formal Dissent Letter
The Trump administration has proposed cutting NASA’s budget by almost 25% and shutting down 19 currently operating science missions. On July 21, several…
Science Friday1086: Where Are We On The Science Of Menopause?
Menopause is having a moment. Celebrities like Halle Berry, Naomi Watts, and Michelle Obama have recently shared their personal menopause experiences…
Science Friday1085: EPA To Shut Down Scientific Research Arm
The EPA recently announced that it’s going to shut down its scientific research arm, called the Office of Research and Development. Since the agency was…
Science Friday1084: Parker Solar Probe Captures Closest-Ever Images Of The Sun
In December, the Parker Solar Probe made history when it made the closest-ever approach to the sun by a spacecraft. As it whizzed by, a camera recorded…
Science Friday1083: Climate Change Is Upending The Home Insurance Market
You can’t get a mortgage without home insurance. But in some parts of the country, it’s becoming harder and harder to find a plan, as insurance companies drop…
Science Friday1082: What The Sigma Is Algospeak?
Gen Alpha slang can seem unintelligible to adults, but linguist and TikToker Adam Aleksic argues language development in the internet age is worth legitimate…
Science Friday1081: How Millions Of Flies Can Help Stop The New World Screwworm
The New World screwworm has cattle ranchers, entomologists, and the federal government on edge. The pest was successfully eradicated from the US decades ago…
Science Friday1077: Why Is The Scopes Trial Still Relevant 100 Years Later?
In July 1925, the Scopes “Monkey” Trial captivated the nation. On its face, the case was relatively straightforward: A Tennessee biology teacher named John…
Science Friday1076: Why Don’t We Have A Vaccine For Lyme Disease?
It’s shaping up to be one of the worst tick years yet, and concerns about Lyme disease—which is transmitted through the bites of some species—are high. Aside…
Science Friday1080: Is This PTSD Treatment Too Good To Be True?
About 7% of veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that number can be closer to 30% for those who have served in a war zone. But PTSD…
Science Friday1078: Is It Time For A New Model Of The Universe?
For decades, astronomers have been trying to nail down the value of the Hubble constant—a measure of how fast the universe is expanding. But some cosmologists…
Science Friday1073: How PFAS From A Military Base Has Sickened Nearby Residents
For decades, residents of the small city of Newburgh, New York, were unknowingly drinking water contaminated with toxic PFAS—also known as forever chemicals…
Science Friday1047: The Leap: And Then The Sub Went Silent
Oceanographer Victoria Orphan’s dream was coming true. She was sitting in the Alvin submersible, on one of its deepest science dives ever. But the trip was…