Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.
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If you look up where medicine originated, or the earliest medical interventions, you’ll probably find yourself reading about ancient Greece or Egypt or Mesopotamia. But what about before that? How did early humans treat illnesses or cope with injuries? What did a Neanderthal do if she broke a rib or had a toothache? Flora digs into these questions with archaeologist Penny Spikins and microbiologist Laura Weyrich. They chat about ancient treatments like antibiotics and root canals, why Neandertha...
A group of researchers and private investors are planning a series of privately funded missions to Venus, hoping to find signs of life . That may seem like a startling possibility. Although Venus is a close neighbor to Earth, it has a smothering atmosphere of carbon dioxide that has allowed the planet’s surface to heat to temperatures that would melt lead. There’s crushing pressure. And to top it off, there are clouds of sulfuric acid. Astrophysicist and planetary scientist Sara Seager joins Hos...
Many of the forces driving species to extinction—habitat destruction, pollution, climate change—also fuel the spread of disease. And plants and animals around the globe are facing their own little pandemics, from cancer to fungal diseases. But what if we could treat them with cutting-edge medicines? Is there something drug developers could do to help? Chemist Tim Cernak thinks so. He has been developing drugs for people for 20 years, but his patient roster has started to include sea turtles, fro...
The benefits of getting a shingles vaccine seem relatively straightforward: It will prevent you from getting shingles, a painful rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. But researchers have found a surprising link between getting the shingles vaccine and a lower risk of developing dementia. And that’s not the only vaccine that seems to have additional benefits. So what’s going on here? To help explain this research are epidemiologist Pascal Geldsetzer, who studies the association b...
Two disease outbreaks are dominating the news: Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and hantavirus, which started spreading on a cruise ship. The U.S. has a one-of-a-kind medical facility that exists just for emergencies like this. It’s called the National Quarantine Unit , and it’s in Omaha, Nebraska. Right now, 18 Americans from the cruise ship where hantavirus broke out are in quarantine there. Host Flora Lichtman chats with Angie Vasa, a nurse and administrator who has worked at th...
When Lewis and Clark crossed the United States in the early 1800s, they recorded their wildlife observations along the way. Now, more than 200 years later, an expedition is following the same route and partnering with scientists across the U.S. to catalog animals and track the changes. Expedition leader Roland Kays joins Host Flora Lichtman to share some highlights. Plus, using cell phone data and GPS collars, ecologists were able to see how animals moved (or not) when people were around. Ecolog...
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV presented his encyclical , an open letter from the church, on AI. The 42,000-word document covers a lot of terrain—from screen time to resource extraction to job loss—but the core message is summed up in the title: “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding The Human Person In The Time Of Artificial Intelligence.” How did the pope arrive at these views? Among those advising him on issues like AI are scientists and other experts. Host Flora Lichtman talks with a member of the V...
Astronomers discuss how the James Webb Space Telescope detected clouds made of vaporized sand on a distant "hot Jupiter" exoplanet, offering new clues about planet formation and improving atmospheric models, including Earth's. Later, ecologists reveal how they used weather radar to count an estimated 100 trillion airborne insects over the US, examining population trends, geographic distribution, and the historical use of radar to observe biological phenomena. The discussion highlights the surprising stability of insect populations at a continental scale, while also acknowledging the ongoing need for detailed local studies.
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 Project tied so many health issues to differences in genetics, researchers identified a gene called BRCA1. It was the first gene linked to a hereditary form of any common cancer. People with certain variants of BRCA1 stood a higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer than those without those mutations. Geneticist Mary-Claire King ...
Old creepy houses are a horror cliche, but why? Why do they freak us out? According to new research, it might have something to do with infrasound : a sound that’s below the range of human hearing, potentially emitted by low-rumbling pipes or old boilers more common in older houses. Psychologist and pseudoscience researcher Rodney Schmaltz explains his new study, and what role infrasound could play in leading people to feel unsettled in “haunted” places. Then, infrasound researcher Milton Garcés...
We recently got a call from a SciFri listener in Florida who has autoimmune arthritis. He told us that over the years he’d taken 10 drugs, and each out eventually stopped working. He then tried to enroll in a clinical trial for a new drug for his condition, but he was rejected specifically because he was on his 10th drug. Today we’re digging into clinical trials and how they work . Are there incentives for drug developers to leave out “problem children”? Or is it more complicated than that? Flor...
The herbicide paraquat is so toxic it’s banned in over 70 countries. But its use in the U.S. is growing, despite known links to Parkinson’s disease. In southeastern Mississippi, an industrial plant is leaking tens of thousands of pounds of the chemical into the air. Environmental reporter Delaney Nolan and epidemiologist Beate Ritz join Host Flora Lichtman to discuss the implications of this leak, and what we know about how paraquat affects the body. Guests: Delaney Nolan is an environmental rep...
Bucket hats. Low-rise jeans. Track suits. As you might’ve noticed, Y2K fashion is in right now. People say that fashion moves in 20-year cycles, and it turns out…it does! At least according to math . Host Flora Lichtman sits down with mathematician Emma Zajdela to figure out how she analyzed over 35,000 images of women's clothing dating all the way back to the 1860s to confirm this theory. Guest: Dr. Emma Zajdela is a Franco-American mathematician and science diplomacy activist. Other episodes y...
A recent study simulated the extreme temperatures and pressure of the Earth’s interior by squeezing a sample between diamonds and heating it with a laser. In those simulations, researchers found that the Earth’s core may contain vast amounts of hydrogen, locked away in alloys with iron and silicon. Planetary scientist Anat Shahar joins Host Ira Flatow to discuss what this tells us about how the planet formed , and where water on Earth may have come from. Then, another kind of deep history: Paleo...
Just about every animal with a backbone yawns (maybe even dinosaurs), but why we do it is still something of a mystery. A SciFri listener from Texas recently spotted some research that suggests yawning could play a role in clearing waste products from the brain, and asked us to get to the bottom of it. Biomechanical engineer Lynne Bilston, an author on that study, joins Flora to discuss the findings and what they could mean for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. Plus, about a third of ...
An upcoming resupply mission will carry tumor samples to the International Space Station for research. Experiments in microgravity have yielded shocking results: Some tumors triple in size in just 10 days—the kind of growth that could take 10 years on Earth. What does that mean for science, and for astronauts? Joining Ira to discuss this new frontier in cancer research are hematologist Catriona Jamieson and aerospace engineer Meenal Datta. Guests: Dr. Catriona Jamieson is a hematologist at the U...
Have you noticed that your newer appliances are serenading you? Many new washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, and vacuums have sonic signatures. But why? And who are the composers making music for the machines in your home? Flora talks to sonic branding experts Audrey Arbeeny, who has developed sounds for washing machines; and Joel Beckerman, who has composed for Roomba. Guests: Audrey Arbeeny is the owner and executive producer of Audiobrain. She’s composed for Whirlpool, KitchenAid, the Lond...
Scientists studying climate models say there’s a high chance this will be an El Niño year —and that we could be in for a “super” El Niño. The difference is indicated by sea surface temperatures in part of the Pacific Ocean rising a little—or a lot—above their long-term average. El Niño is one half of what climatologists call the ENSO, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. The oscillation operates on a roughly 3-7 year cycle, changing the path of the jet stream and shifting weather conditions around ...
In April, the crew of Artemis II got an unprecedented tour of the far side of the moon, and they brought back a proverbial shoebox full of pictures. Lunar scientist Kelsey Young stayed on Earth, and helped guide the astronauts through their photo shoots from Mission Control. Young talks with Host Flora Lichtman about how the science team chose their shot list, how to lead distant astronauts in their scientific observations, and what researchers are learning from the images and in-the-moment desc...
When Kemi Doll was in medical school, she learned that Black women are twice as likely to die from uterine cancer as white women, and also suffer disproportionately from other uterine-related conditions. What wasn’t explained was why. Now a gynecologic oncologist, Doll has made it her mission to change these trends and improve care for Black women . She joins Flora to discuss her new book, “ A Terrible Strength: The Hidden Crisis of the Black Womb and Your Survival Guide to Healing.” They explor...
Cameras and sensors are just about everywhere, recording your face, how you walk, where you go, your heart rate. And AI is making it easy to amass and analyze that data about all of us. Privacy attorney Anne Toomey McKenna joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about the ubiquity of biometric surveillance and how data brokers are gathering and selling our information, including to law enforcement. Guest: Anne Toomey McKenna is an attorney specializing in privacy and biometric surveillance. She’s on t...
In this episode, author Daniel H. Wilson delves into his novel 'Hole in the Sky,' which reimagines alien first contact through a Cherokee cultural lens set in Oklahoma. He discusses how indigenous perspectives, particularly on the unknown and technology, offer a powerful contrast to typical invasion narratives. Wilson also shares insights from his work as a sci-fi threat forecaster for the Air Force, highlighting science fiction's crucial role in exploring human responses to advanced technology and the importance of humanity in scientific endeavor.
Beavers are having a moment, thanks to the new Pixar movie “Hoppers.” Amid some body-swapping shenanigans, the film is about humans coexisting with wildlife—particularly oversized rodents capable of reworking landscapes in profound ways. The beaver science consultant on “Hoppers,” Emily Fairfax, joins Flora to talk about beavers’ brilliant, chaotic landscape engineering, and how the creatures show up in the movie. Then, reporter Zac Ziegler walks Flora through a successful beaver-centric enginee...
Deep in an active nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario, researchers are installing and calibrating a set of sensitive detectors. They hope that the location roughly 6,800 feet underground will screen out much of the ordinary radiation and cosmic rays felt on the surface, and allow their detectors to sense tiny disturbances caused by a dark matter particle passing close to the nucleus of one of the germanium atoms in a target material. If successful, the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment may shed some lig...
Hurricane season officially begins in June. And in the event of a big storm, local and state governments often rely on help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA . But, President Trump has questioned the value of the agency. “I've never been a big fan of FEMA. I like to keep it local. I like to see governors and neighboring states help each other as opposed to FEMA,” Trump said in March. We’ve heard this from the administration about other federal agencies, but FEMA is a special c...
Science Friday investigates why animals like dogs and cats have a wider hearing range than humans, discussing the anatomical and evolutionary adaptations that enable this, alongside factors like noise-induced and congenital hearing loss in pets. The episode then shifts to the sense of smell, revealing new research that challenges long-held beliefs by demonstrating a precise spatial organization of olfactory receptors in the nose. This 'smell map' could revolutionize understanding of how we perceive odors and lead to new treatments for smell loss.
The news we hear about plastic is often alarming: We have a spoon’s worth of plastics in our brains, and there are microplastics in our hearts, lymph nodes, and bloodstreams. Plastics are ubiquitous, but the reality might be more complicated than it seems. It turns out that measuring microplastics is really, really difficult. One reason? Because we’re surrounded by plastics! Think of the pipettes and petri dishes and gloves we use in labs. Host Flora Lichtman chats with microplastics researcher ...
In mid-April, President Trump issued an executive order to set aside funding and loosen the bureaucratic process at the FDA to fast-track psychedelic therapy research. One obscure psychedelic got a particularly bright spotlight: ibogaine . Originating from the root bark of the iboga plant of central Africa, the psychedelic has shown promise for curbing opioid addiction and treating PTSD. But it also can be risky to take, and hasn’t made it to the medical mainstream like psilocybin or ketamine. S...
Paleontologist Steve Brusatte reveals how modern birds are living dinosaurs, tracing their evolution from feathered raptors to flight-capable species. He explains how specific adaptations like small size and seed-eating enabled their survival after the asteroid impact. The discussion also highlights incredible extinct birds like giant penguins and terror birds, concluding with an optimistic look at birds' resilience against current threats.
Our bodily systems are rife with mutations. In fact, your DNA is mutating right now. These errors, and attempts to repair them, are a key to understanding immune function, aging, and even how heart disease develops. Gene mutations can even mitigate the harm caused by some inherited diseases. Host Ira Flatow goes on a journey through the illuminating science of genetic mutations with Roxanne Khamsi, science writer and author of “Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding ...
