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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

18:25

861: To Confront Climate Change, Imagine Getting It...

Science Friday ·

2024/09/17

Part of the reason it’s difficult to talk about climate change is that it can be hard to see a long-term positive outcome for people and the planet. But Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist and co-founder of the Urban Ocean Lab, argues that to prevent the worst effects of climate change, we have to start by asking ourselves, what if we get it right?She’s the author of a new book with that same title, What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures. In the book, she poses that

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17:59

860: What Research Shows About Smartphone Bans In...

Science Friday ·

2024/09/16

Kids and teens are back in school, and the battle over the smartphones in their pockets is becoming more prominent. For years, teachers and parents have lamented about the distractions these devices cause in and out of the classroom. Last year, the US surgeon general declared a youth mental health crisis, citing social media as a significant factor, and more than 40 US states are suing Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, arguing that the company intentionally manipulated their apps to addict

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24:37

859: First Citizen Spacewalk | First Successful...

Science Friday ·

2024/09/13

SpaceX Crew Completes First Citizen Spacewalk Big news in the world of commercial space flight: On Thursday morning, Jared Iasaacman and Sarah Gillis, members of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, became the first civilians to complete a spacewalk. The mission is a collaboration between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Isaacman, a billionaire tech entrepreneur. While outside the spacecraft, the two crew members conducted mobility tests on their spacesuits. SciFri Producer Kathleen Davis talks with Jason Dinh,

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18:02

858: ‘Time Capsule’ Rocks And Earth’s Mantle |...

Science Friday ·

2024/09/12

Samples of 2.5 billion-year-old mantle rocks found at spreading ocean ridges could put bounds on models of how the planet formed. And, researchers decreased the amount of lignin in poplar tree wood, making it stronger and slower to deteriorate.‘Time Capsule’ Rocks Provide Clues About Earth’s Mantle If you’re looking to really learn about the history of our planet, look to geology. Ancient rocks can provide a time capsule of the conditions in which they formed. But even the geologic record has its

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25:22

854: An Asteroid Impact, Spotted In Advance | Extreme...

Science Friday ·

2024/09/06

ESA officials said it was only the ninth time an asteroid was spotted before reaching Earth’s atmosphere. And, as the climate changes and summer temperatures linger, educators are increasingly worried about keeping kids safe from heat exhaustion.An Asteroid Impact, Spotted In Advance On Wednesday, an asteroid named 2024 RW1 burned up in the atmosphere above the Philippines. As asteroids go, it was not especially notable. Astronomers say objects the size of 2024 RW1, which was about a meter in

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17:59

852: Why Eels Are So Mysterious—And In Demand

Science Friday ·

2024/09/04

Eels have fascinated humans for thousands of years, even captivating big thinkers like Aristotle and Freud. Despite having been around for some 200 million years, eels are still rather mysterious creatures. For example, scientists still aren’t sure exactly how they spawn.But those unanswered questions haven’t stopped humans from wanting to eat them. So much so that they’re now endangered in some areas—and a lucrative criminal enterprise has risen up to poach baby eels from the wild. Guest host

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18:11

851: Webb Telescope Data Point To Six ‘Rogue Worlds’

Science Friday ·

2024/09/03

Did you know that almost every star you see in the night sky has at least one planet orbiting it?Here’s something even wilder: There are some celestial bodies that look a lot like planets, but just float around freely in the cosmos, unattached to any particular star. They’re called rogue worlds. With data from the James Webb Space Telescope, astrophysicists just identified six right here in our own Milky Way galaxy. So what can we learn from these rogue worlds? Can they teach us anything about how

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18:24

850: Could ‘Season Creep’ Affect Human Behavior?

Science Friday ·

2024/09/02

You might have noticed that the seasons don’t quite behave like they used to. In some places, fall and spring seem to fly by, while winter and summer are much longer and feel more intense. This shift is known as season creep, where the timing of the seasons starts to shift. This phenomenon is mostly due to climate change creating temperature imbalances and throwing weather patterns off kilter year-round. And it can cause problems for plants and animals as their natural cycles fall out of sync. But

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18:04

848: The History Of Teeth, From Ancient Fish To Humans

Science Friday ·

2024/08/29

Your teeth don’t just chew your food—they connect you to the deepest of deep history on Earth. Teeth have existed, in some form, for half a billion years, making them more than 250 million years older than dinosaurs. They came before the evolution of warm bloodedness, eggs, and even limbs. From that very first set of chompers emerged a bewildering and diverse group of teeth, including narwhal tusks, sharks’ pearly teeth, snake fangs, and, of course, ours.Now teeth are the subject of a new book

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20:32

847: Errors On Death Certificates May Be Skewing...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/28

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the maternal mortality rate in the United States is very high compared to other wealthy countries: About 22.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This is on par with China and Iran, based on UNICEF data.So why is the US maternal mortality rate so high? It may have to do with how we fill out death certificates. A study from earlier this year found that misfiling of information in death certificates may be inflating the numbers

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18:52

846: Astronaut Cady Coleman On ‘Sharing Space’

Science Friday ·

2024/08/27

There’s a phenomenon known as the “overview effect,” a changed perspective some people experience after seeing the Earth from space. Retired astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman says that for her, it was a sense of home and connection.“First of all, I just don’t feel that far away,” she said. “I feel like home is bigger than we thought and I just happened to be the one of the furthest out people. But the overwhelming sort of sentiment that I have is if only everyone knew how connected they could be, there’s

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21:45

845: Protecting Sequoias From Wildfire Gets Tricky |...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/26

Sequoia National Park is largely designated as wilderness. That complicates efforts to protect its iconic trees from worsening wildfires. Also, archaeologists keep finding older and older cave art. Here’s what it could tell us about how humans evolved over time. Protecting Sequoias From Wildfire Raises Tricky Questions Sequoia National Park in California is known for its towering, iconic sequoia trees, some of which are thought to be thousands of years old. Severe wildfires fueled by climate change

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23:03

844: Plastic In Human Brains | Local Anesthetics...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/23

A new study measuring microplastics in organs of the recently deceased found that about two dozen brain samples were 0.5% plastic by weight. Also, having an IUD inserted in the uterus is extremely painful for some people. The CDC now recommends that doctors use local anesthetics.Study Finds A Staggering Amount Of Plastic In Human Brains It only takes a quick look at our streets and waterways to be reminded that plastic pollution is a big problem. But that’s just the plastic that we can see. An

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17:51

843: Don’t Just Walk In The Woods—Touch, Smell, and...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/22

It’s been a hot and rainy summer in many parts of the US, and it’s been hard to spend as much time in nature as many of us would like. Heat waves and unpredictable weather have sometimes made it riskier to be outside. Maybe you’ve chosen an easier hike, or doubled up on water bottles, or stayed inside when you’d much rather be outdoors with friends and family.If you’ve been feeling apathetic about the outdoors, a new book called Forest Walking, Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America

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18:07

837: The Promise Of Perovskite Solar Panels

Science Friday ·

2024/08/14

Solar holds great promise as a clean energy solution, as the sun is an incredibly abundant resource, and panels can be placed unobtrusively on roofs and in fields. And solar panel technology has advanced quite a bit over the past few decades: panels have become less expensive, more efficient, and more widely used. Panels also generally fare well, considering that they’re outside in inclement weather year after year.Recent advancements with perovskite solar cells—a type of cell whose name refers to

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18:11

836: An Expert Vegetable Breeder On Innovating Crops...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/13

It’s become clear to farmers and home gardeners alike that climate change is affecting the gardening landscape, literally. The climate is warming, pests are moving into different regions, and there’s a growing need for vegetable varieties that are resilient to the stresses of this new age.In the world of organic farming, the job of creating those new varieties falls to a plant breeder: someone who, often painstakingly, crosses plants until they create a new variety. Dr. Jim Myers, one of the most

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18:09

835: What The Private Sale Of Fossils Means For...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/12

On July 17, Apex the stegosaurus was sold at Sothebys in New York City for a record $44.6 million. The buyer was billionaire Ken Griffin, CEO of the hedge fund Citadel, who says he plans to loan the fossil to American institutions for display. But despite Griffin’s statement, some paleontologists aren’t too happy about the trend of fossils going up for auction. The sale of dinosaur fossils has become more and more profitable in recent years. Eight out of the ten most expensive fossils have been sold

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27:18

834: Starliner Leaves Astronauts Stuck | Could We Get...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/09

The Boeing capsule is having issues with its thrusters and cannot bring astronauts back to Earth. Also, move over, Farmer’s Almanac. A more accurate long-term weather forecast could be on the horizon.Boeing’s Starliner Leaves Astronauts Stuck On The Space Station In another blow to Boeing’s Starliner program, which is meant to ferry astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station, NASA announced Wednesday that the troubled spacecraft would not be able to take astronauts Suni Williams and

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19:01

833: Why Does COVID-19 Spike In Summer?

Science Friday ·

2024/08/08

It may seem like everyone is either getting COVID-19 this summer, or knows someone who has. That’s because for the fourth year in a row, COVID cases are experiencing a summer surge.The CDC now tracks COVID-19 mostly through wastewater and found that viral activity has multiplied more than four times from the beginning of May to now. The CDC classifies the viral activity level as “high.” So what’s behind this surge? And why does it keep happening in the summer? SciFri’s John Dankosky talks with

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24:08

832: Deep-Sea ‘Nodules’ May Produce Oxygen | A Bird’s...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/07

New research suggests that polymetallic nodules found 13,000 feet deep produce “dark oxygen” by electrolyzing water. Also, at higher altitudes, the air is less dense, which makes it harder for birds in flight to generate lift. The turkey vulture has a solution. Deep-Sea ‘Nodules’ May Produce Oxygen, Study Finds An international team of researchers recently discovered that some 13,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, oxygen may be produced through natural electrolysis. The group found that small

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784 results

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