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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.

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All Episodes

19:03

831: PLATO’s Mission To Discover Exoplanets Like Earth

Science Friday ·

2024/08/06

One of the hottest fields in astronomy right now is the search for exoplanets. NASA’s Exoplanet Archive currently lists over 5,700 confirmed planets orbiting distant stars.And more discoveries will be on the way. PLATO, which stands for PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, is a satellite made by the European Space Agency that will help put more exoplanets on the map. Scheduled for launch in late 2026, it will look at around 200,000 sun-like stars to categorize them and the planets that

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18:51

830: Why Cancer Death Rates Have Decreased Over The...

Science Friday ·

2024/08/05

“Cancer” is a dreaded word in the doctor’s office. But about 40% of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during our lives, the most common being breast, prostate, and lung cancer, according to the National Institutes of Health. But in the last few decades, major progress has been made in the world of cancer treatment and prevention. Cancer death rates have decreased by about 30% over the last quarter century, with some of the largest decreases seen in lung, melanoma, and myeloma cancers

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19:40

828: The Science And History Of Refrigeration

Science Friday ·

2024/08/01

You know that disappointing feeling when you’re ready to make a delicious meal, but you crack open the refrigerator only to find mushy tomatoes, dried-out bread, or oozing strawberries?Refrigeration fundamentally changes the chemistry of our food, but at this point, most of the United States’ food system relies on the use of refrigerators. Almost three-quarters of the food on an average American’s plate has been refrigerated during production, shipping, and storage. So how did we end up relying so

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26:07

824: Curiosity Rover Discovers Pure Sulfur On Mars |...

Science Friday ·

2024/07/26

In a first, NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered pure sulfur on Mars. And, we revisit a conversation from 2015 about Alexander von Humboldt and Andrea Wulf's “The Invention of Nature,” which is our August book club pick.Curiosity Rover Discovers Pure Sulfur On Mars NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover ran over a rock, which cracked open to reveal pure sulfur crystals. This was the first time pure sulfur has been discovered on the planet. The rover found many other similar rocks nearby, raising questions

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34:50

818: Why Are There So Many Drug Shortages In The U.S.?

Science Friday ·

2024/07/18

If you’ve tried to get prescriptions filled in the last year or so, a pharmacist may have told you, “Sorry, we don’t have that drug right now.” That’s because there are some 323 active and ongoing drug shortages in the United States. That’s the highest number of such shortages since the American Society of Health System Pharmacists started tracking this data back in 2001.These drug shortages touch every part of the healthcare system. Doctors are having to reconfigure their treatment plans due to

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13:15

817: What The Small Intestine Can Tell Us About Gut...

Science Friday ·

2024/07/17

The gut microbiome is an important ecosystem of microbes that lives in each one of us, and its strength affects our overall health.However, the small intestine is an underappreciated part of the gut microbiome. Most of the research into our microbiomes has focused on the other end of the gastrointestinal tract, namely, the colon. And poop samples are an easy way to analyze the microbiome in that lower part of the gut. Better understanding microbiome disruptions in the small intestines may allow

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20:35

814: Galaxies ‘Dance’ In Stunning New JWST Image |...

Science Friday ·

2024/07/12

As the James Webb Space Telescope marks two years of operations, NASA unveils a new image of two galaxies interacting. And, new research shows that cats’ tendency to scratch is affected by stress, certain kinds of play, and how active they are at night.Galaxies ‘Dance’ In Stunning New JWST Image The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful telescope created by humans, has been successfully operating in space for two years now. Since its launch, the telescope has dazzled astronomers and the

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14:12

813: Your Pain Tolerance May Have Been Passed Down...

Science Friday ·

2024/07/11

There’s a little bit of Neanderthal in most of us. Neanderthals and Homo sapiens had a long history of intermingling, before the former went extinct about 40,000 years ago. That mixing means most modern humans have some amount of Neanderthal DNA—and it accounts for up to 3% of the genome in some people.While these genetic remnants don’t have much impact on our day-to-day lives, they may be responsible for one surprising effect: pain tolerance. Recent research shows that people with Neanderthal

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18:23

811: How Do They Actually Store The Declaration Of...

Science Friday ·

2024/07/09

These days, the 4th of July is known for its fireworks and cookouts. But the holiday commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, one of the most important founding documents of the United States.The Declaration of Independence, alongside the Emancipation Proclamation, the Constitution, and countless other documents, is housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Like any other museum, the National Archives doesn’t just house these items, it preserves them, protecting

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31:47

810: How Politics And Diplomacy Shape Panda Conservation

Science Friday ·

2024/07/08

Earlier this year, the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington announced that pandas would be returning to the capitol. This news was met with great fanfare because the zoo’s resident pandas had returned to China last fall, leaving the District panda-less for the first time in more than 50 years. After the pandas left D.C. in the fall, SciFri producer Rasha Aridi and journalist Aja Drain dug into the juicy political history of panda conservation and how it shaped panda research. In this segment from

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32:26

809: The Best Science Books For Summer 2024

Science Friday ·

2024/07/05

It’s officially summertime, and a new season of reading is here! Two science writers and voracious readers have compiled their summer reading recommendations, just for Science Friday fans. Before you head out for a week at the beach, start packing for that road trip, or stock up for a long staycation, we’ve got the list of science-y summer reads, straight from those familiar with the best on the shelf.Joining guest host Diana Plasker to offer listeners their recommendations are Riley Black, a Salt

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16:52

806: Study Shows Which Kids Are Getting Periods...

Science Friday ·

2024/07/02

If you have teenagers in your life, you may have noticed that kids these days seem to be getting their periods earlier than previous generations did. It’s not just in your head: A recent study from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health confirms what many people have assumed, as well as additional findings about period regularity in younger generations.The study, which analyzed self-reported data from more than 71,000 participants in the US, found that menstrual periods are arriving earlier

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18:39

805: What To Do When Your Hypothesis Is Wrong? Publish!

Science Friday ·

2024/07/01

Most scientific studies that get published have “positive results,” meaning that the study proved its hypothesis. Say you hypothesize that a honeybee will favor one flower over another, and your research backs that up? That’s a positive result. But what about the papers with negative results? If you’re a researcher, you know that you’re much more likely to disprove your hypothesis than validate it. The problem is that there aren’t a lot of incentives to publish a negative result. But, some argue

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17:55

801: Crowdsourced Data Identifies 126 ‘Lost’ Bird...

Science Friday ·

2024/06/25

Some birds are famous for being extinct, like the Dodo and the passenger pigeon.But how do we prevent species from reaching that point? One of the starting points is to try and track down the birds that are “lost to science.” These are birds that have not been documented in over a decade, but just might still be out there, if we look for them. A new study analyzed data, images, and recordings from platforms that crowdsource observations from all over the world to identify birds “lost to science.”

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18:53

800: 20 Years Later, How Are City Climate Plans...

Science Friday ·

2024/06/24

In 2005, countries around the world ratified the Kyoto Protocol. It was the first big, legally-binding international climate policy, but there was a big drawback: The United States, the world’s richest country and second-highest emitter, didn’t ratify it. In response, American mayors took action. Even if the US wouldn’t commit to cutting climate emissions, their cities would. It was the classic “think global, act local” move. It started with mayoral resolutions—a bunch of “whereases” laying out the

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26:39

799: It’s Hot. But How Hot? | Canine Cancer Vaccine...

Science Friday ·

2024/06/21

Researchers say the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature is a better indicator of heat stress. Also, cancer is the leading cause of death in dogs. A new vaccine has increased survival rates in clinical trials, offering hope for dogs and humans. Yes, It’s Hot. But How Hot? Much of the country has been enduring a heat wave this week, with millions sweating from Maine to the Midwest. But describing exactly how hot it is—and when temperatures become hazardous—can be challenging. Beyond the basic temperature,

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19:11

798: Mannequins Help Teach People How To Spot Ticks |...

Science Friday ·

2024/06/20

Two mannequins walk into a science lab, and one’s got a big tick problem. She can teach humans how to check for ticks. Also, researchers used citizen science observations and machine learning to understand where fireflies are and what they need to thrive.In Wisconsin, Mannequins Help Teach People How To Spot Ticks Nationwide, Wisconsin is a hot spot for Lyme disease. And cases are rising, as climate change and development alter how humans interact with the ticks that transmit this disease. In

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18:39

793: How Sound Rules Life Underwater

Science Friday ·

2024/06/13

Many people think of the ocean as a quiet and serene place: Take a dip underwater and the cacophony of the world melts away.But the ocean is quite noisy, full of whale songs and echolocation, which whales and dolphins use to communicate. Cephalopods can make and hear sounds too, even without ears. Then, there’s human-made noise, including the giant ships that crisscross the globe. The effects of this continuous low-volume noise are harder to track because they do not result in immediate injury or

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23:05

792: Metal-Absorbing Plants Could Make Mining Greener...

Science Friday ·

2024/06/12

Plants called “hyperaccumulators” have evolved to absorb high levels of metals. Scientists want to harness them for greener metal mining. And, a little fern from New Caledonia is just a few inches tall, but its genome has 160.45 billion base pairs—50 times more DNA than a human.How Metal-Absorbing Plants Could Make Mining Greener Scientists are exploring a somewhat unusual green energy solution: mining metals from the earth using plants. Typically, if soil has high levels of metal, plants will

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18:16

790: Step Aside, DNA. It’s RNA’s Time To Shine.

Science Friday ·

2024/06/10

DNA has long been studied and understood as the genetic blueprint for life on Earth. And related scientific endeavors, like the Human Genome Project, have received enormous attention. But DNA’s lesser-known counterpart, RNA, which translates the instructions from those blueprints into proteins in our cells, has received far less focus.But a lot’s changed in the last few years. The success of the mRNA COVID vaccines has led to a renewed interest in the potential medical therapies for this tiny

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