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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.

society & culture

All Episodes

28:12

981: Protesters ‘Stand Up For Science’ At Rallies...

Science Friday ·

2025/03/07

Scientists aren’t always encouraged to be politically active. But recent political interference by the Trump administration has many fired up. And, the Blue Ghost lunar lander, part of NASA’s CLPS initiative, completed the first fully successful commercial moon landing.Protesters ‘Stand Up For Science’ At Rallies Across The Country Scientists and defenders of science are gathering in cities across the U.S. today as part of Stand Up for Science rallies, events to protest recent political

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17:59

978: An Animal’s Size And Its Cancer Risk |...

Science Friday ·

2025/03/04

A study finds that Peto’s Paradox, which states that larger animals are no more likely to get cancer than smaller ones, may not hold up. Also, a nearly complete predator skull was found in the Egyptian desert. Its lineage indicates that it was a top carnivore of the age.What Does An Animal’s Size Have To Do With Its Cancer Risk? If you throw a huge party, there’s more of a chance of problems than if you host a quiet get-together for a couple of friends. The logic is simple: Having more people

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18:54

977: How Trump’s DEI Ban Will Affect Medical Research

Science Friday ·

2025/03/03

Changes limiting programs, grants, and even the nature of studies are already underway at the NIH, NSF, FDA, CDC, and more. On President Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to end what he calls “illegal and immoral discrimination programs,” referencing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government. The repercussions of this are already being felt across science agencies. Things are changing fast: Last week, a federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked

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25:42

976: Conflicting Directives Sow Confusion For NIH...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/28

The acting head of the NIH reportedly pushed back against legal guidance to resume grant funding, leaving federal workers in the lurch. Also, though fungi make up a tiny part of the human microbiome, they play an important role in both the prevention and development of many diseases.Cuts And Conflicting Directives Sow Confusion For NIH Workers Just over a month after President Trump’s inauguration, federal science in the US is in a state of disarray. Executive orders to halt grant funding at the

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18:48

973: Why Are Flu And Other Viral Infection Rates So...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/25

It’s been an unusually tough winter virus season. Rates of flu-like infections are higher than they’ve been in nearly 30 years. And for the first winter since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, flu deaths have surpassed COVID deaths. Add to that a higher-than-average year for norovirus, a nasty type of stomach bug.Then there’s the emerging threat of avian flu. While there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus, about 70 people in the US have contracted the virus from livestock

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18:28

972: Making Sense Of Federal Cuts To Science—And What...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/24

Last week, some 3,500 people from across scientific fields gathered in Boston for the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The organization’s CEO, Dr. Sudip Parikh, gave a rousing speech to attendees. “Destruction for the ill-conceived notion of cutting costs didn’t put an American on the moon, and it didn’t wipe smallpox from the face of the Earth,” Parikh said in opening remarks. He was referring, of course, to the huge funding cuts and mass firings

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21:04

971: Tomb Of Egyptian King Unearthed | Why The...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/21

Finding the original tomb of the royal is one of the most significant developments in Egyptian archeology in recent history. Also, a video of a gloriously creepy anglerfish inspired tears and poetry online. But why was this deep-sea dweller near the surface at all? Royal Tomb Of Egyptian King Thutmose II Unearthed A British-Egyptian team has made one of the most significant Egyptian archeological finds in recent history: the tomb of pharaoh King Thutmose II, who ruled sometime between 2000 and 1001

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18:32

968: Adventures In Science At The Icy ‘Ends Of The...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/18

The North and South Poles, also known as Earth’s iceboxes, help cool the planet, store fresh water, influence weather patterns, and more. They’re also the fastest warming places on Earth.A new book called Ends of The Earth: Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and Our Future illustrates the wonders of Antarctica and the Arctic—and the lengths scientists go to to study them before it’s too late. Host Ira Flatow talks with author Dr. Neil Shubin, an evolutionary biologist at

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24:36

967: FDA Approves A New, Non-Opioid Painkiller |...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/17

It’s the first FDA approval for a pain medication in 25 years. How does the drug work, and who is it for? Also, non-mixing layers of water and hydrocarbons thousands of miles deep could explain the icy planets’ strange magnetic fields. The FDA Approves A New, Non-Opioid Painkiller In January, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new pain medicine called Journavx (suzetrigine), made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. It’s the first time in 25 years the agency has given the green light to a new

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18:48

964: Investigating Fraud At The Heart Of Alzheimer’s...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/12

Every year, billions of dollars are funneled into Alzheimer’s research. And yet, so far, there’s no treatment that’s been able to reverse the disease, or even meaningfully slow the cognitive decline of patients.Part of the reason is that the disease is complex, and brain disorders are notoriously difficult to understand. But in a new book, an investigative science reporter makes the case that there’s another reason progress toward Alzheimer’s treatments has stalled: scientific fraud. Host Flora

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17:52

963: Managing Wildfires Using A Centuries-Old...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/11

In late September, firefighters in flame-resistant Nomex were strung out along a fireline. It ran midslope through a pine and hardwood forest above the Klamath River and the small northern California town of Orleans. Several members of the Karuk tribe were laying down strands of fire with drip torches. Aja Conrad, who runs the tribal natural resource department’s environmental education field institute, was the firing boss trainee. She kept a close eye as the strips burned together and smoke filled

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18:50

962: Can Vaping Help You Quit Cigarettes? What Are...

Science Friday ·

2025/02/10

The harms of smoking cigarettes are pretty clear. Smoking causes cancer as well as heart and lung diseases, and it’s the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. When it comes to vaping, or electronic cigarettes, the risks are a bit more tricky to parse, especially if you read media reports about them. The outbreak of Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury, also known as EVALI, in 2019 and 2020 made things even more confusing. The founders of Juul, the company that mainstreamed vaping in

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18:41

958: Building Blocks Of Life Found On Asteroid Bennu

Science Friday ·

2025/02/04

About four and a half years ago, a spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx touched down on the surface of an asteroid called Bennu. It drilled down and scooped up samples of rock and dust and, after several years of travel, delivered those samples back to Earth.Since then, researchers around the world have been analyzing tiny bits of that asteroid dust, trying to tease out as much information as they can about what Bennu is like and where it might have come from. Two scientific papers published this week give

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18:40

957: The Toxic Aftermath Of An Urban Fire

Science Friday ·

2025/02/03

After nearly four weeks of burning, the fires in Los Angeles are almost fully contained, and cleanup is underway. But as the dust literally settles, people in LA are left with major questions, like: What is actually in the ash? What’s in the air? And how do I stay safe? Flora Lichtman talks with two experts in public health and toxic substance exposure about the chemicals left behind after an urban fire as well as what science needs to be done to fully understand the issue. She speaks with Dr. Rima

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18:49

944: Surgeon General Highlights Link Between Alcohol...

Science Friday ·

2025/01/14

Alcohol poses many risks to our health, including liver damage and driving under the influence.Now, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has highlighted another risk of drinking alcohol: cancer. In his latest advisory, Murthy detailed the growing body of research showing that drinking alcohol can increase the risk of at least seven types of cancers, those of the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, breast, liver, and colon. He’s also recommended adding a warning to alcohol outlining the connection

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19:58

945: First U.S. Bird Flu Death Raises Concerns About...

Science Friday ·

2025/01/13

On January 6, the U.S. reported its first human death from the bird flu. According to the CDC, more than 60 people were diagnosed with bird flu in the US last year, up from just one case in 2022. If you look at global cases over the last two decades, of the nearly 900 reported cases in people, roughly half the patients died. H5N1 avian influenza has been circulating in birds—and even some mammals—for years. But in the spring of 2024, the virus turned up in dairy cattle. Since then, over 900 herds

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31:11

941: What Lichen Tell Us About Ecology, Air Quality,...

Science Friday ·

2025/01/09

Last October, Ira Flatow took a trip to the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon, for a daylong exploration of lichen—the fuzzy growths often found on trees, roofs, and gravestones. Ira sat down in front of a sold-out room with Dr. Hannah Prather, postdoctoral researcher and visiting assistant professor of biology at Reed College, and Dr. Jesse Miller, lead botanist for the Washington Natural Heritage Program. From their crucial role in ecosystems as indicators of air quality to their striking

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18:44

940: Biologists Call For A Halt To ‘Mirror Life’...

Science Friday ·

2025/01/08

You’re probably familiar with the concept of handedness—a glove made for your left hand looks basically like the one for your right hand, but won’t fit—it’s a mirror image. Many of life’s important molecules, including proteins and DNA, are chiral, meaning they can exist in either a left-handed or a right-handed form. But on Earth, nature only uses one version or the other in living organisms. Your proteins, for example, are all the left-handed version, while your DNA is all right-handed.With

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19:37

932: The Top Dino Discoveries Of 2024 | Can Spiking...

Science Friday ·

2024/12/25

To wrap up 2024, science writer Riley Black shares her favorite paleontology discoveries of the year. And, if treated properly, even old-fashioned eggnog made with cream and raw eggs can be a safe holiday beverage.The Most Exciting Dino Discoveries Of 2024 December is, traditionally, a time to reflect on the events of the past year—including dinosaur discoveries. In 2024, researchers learned more about T. rex and the spiky tails of stegosaurs as well as how dinosaurs evolved, lived, and more. For

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18:44

928: How Blind Women In India Detect Early Breast...

Science Friday ·

2024/12/19

A program trains women as tactile medical examiners to identify tumors before they show up on imaging scans. And, in a materials science discovery, scientists made a liquid silk solution that hardens and picks up objects—not unlike Spider-Man’s web.How Blind Women In India Are Detecting Early Breast Cancer Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide, just behind lung cancer. And the earlier a breast tumor is found, the more likely it is that the person survives their diagnosis. An

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