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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

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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22:40

789: A Week Of Milestones For Spaceflight | Mexico...

Science Friday ·

2024/06/07

A Week Of Milestones For SpaceflightThis has been a week of milestones for human spaceflight. After years of delays, Boeing’s Starliner capsule, carrying astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, successfully launched Wednesday on the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. On Thursday, it docked with the International Space Station. Also on Thursday, SpaceX’s Starship rocket made its first successful launch and reentry after three previous attempts (the massive rocket burned up in the

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19:28

785: The Organ That Gives Birds Their Voices | Common...

Science Friday ·

2024/06/06

Scientists are studying birds’ unique vocal organ, the syrinx, to better understand its evolutionary history. Also, the eerie calls of the common loon have been heard in songs by Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, and more.The Organ That Gives Birds Their Voices Have you ever wondered how a bird sings? Or made some of their less melodic vocalizations, like squawks, trills, or chirps? It all happens in the syrinx, a vocal organ unique to birds. Reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, including

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20:01

784: Indigenous Nations Are Fighting To Take Back...

Science Friday ·

2024/06/05

You might’ve heard this phrase before: data equals power. Because when you have data, you can decide how they’re used and who gets to use them.The history of research on Indigenous communities in the United States is full of stories of exploitation, power imbalances, and stolen knowledge. Be it through the iodine experiments of the 1950s in Alaska, the racist and pseudoscientific conclusions drawn by American anthropologists in the 20th century, or through more recent examples in which genetic data

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23:00

786: Starliner Crewed Test Flight Rescheduled | Slugs...

Science Friday ·

2024/05/31

The much-delayed crewed test flight is back on the calendar, despite a helium leak. Also, researchers used data from the crowd-sourcing nature observation app iNaturalist to rank animals’ tolerance of urban environments.Starliner Crewed Test Flight Rescheduled For This Weekend A long-delayed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is back on the calendar for Saturday, June 1, carrying astronauts to the International Space Station. It’s a demonstration flight as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew

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18:26

783: Your ‘Biological Age’ Could Be Different Than...

Science Friday ·

2024/05/30

Aging often looks very different on different people. There are some 70-year-olds that exercise regularly, have no trouble going for a walk around the block, and remain mentally sharp. Others really struggle at 70, and aren’t able to maintain a quality of life they’ve had in the past.There’s a growing field of medicine dedicated to better understanding how we age. And this field is looking less at the number on one’s birth certificate than you might expect. Dr. Aditi Gurkar, assistant professor of

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17:24

782: High-Speed Rail Gets A Boost In The U.S.

Science Friday ·

2024/05/29

While the US was known for its railroads in the 1800s, we’ve fallen behind places like Japan, China, and Europe, which have invested in trains that go upwards of 200 miles per hour. There are economic, environmental, and practical benefits of electrified high-speed rail. But for generations, the US decreased passenger rail service and invested instead in highways and car-centric infrastructure.But it appears we’re hitting a turning point. After decades in development, major sections of California’s

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