It’s been five years since the first laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S., a bleak milestone in the early days of a pandemic that touched the lives of everyone. For the lucky ones, the virus mainly meant more precautions: mask-wearing, the occasional COVID test. But for others, a COVID-19 infection turned into long COVID . This is a chronic condition that lingers long after a COVID infection, and can reduce one’s ability to live their day-to-day life. It’s been estimated that about ...
Jan 28, 2025•18 min•Ep 953•Transcript available on Metacast A recent study in the journal Nature unveiled new proteins that can neutralize the deadliest of snake venoms. They’re “new” in that they aren’t found in nature—they were created in a lab, dreamed up by AI. Using AI to discover, or design, the building blocks of drugs is a fast-growing area of research. Another team of scientists out of Philadelphia is using AI to discover new antibiotics by resurrecting long-lost molecules from extinct species like neanderthals and woolly mammoths. We know what ...
Jan 27, 2025•19 min•Ep 952•Transcript available on Metacast Researchers at the National Institutes of Health say the move has sent fear and confusion throughout the agency. Plus, what's the technology behind meme coins? Trump Administration Cancels Meetings, Freezes Hiring At NIH This was President Trump’s first week back in the Oval Office. Along with issuing a flurry of executive orders, his administration has imposed a range of restrictions on the National Institutes of Health, affecting meetings, travel, hiring, funding, and communications. Scientist...
Jan 24, 2025•24 min•Ep 952•Transcript available on Metacast Editors at scientific journals are quitting in droves. According to Retraction Watch , a watchdog publication, there have been at least 20 mass resignations since 2023. So, what’s going on? If you look closely, you’ll notice a common pattern—publishers are cutting back on the number of editors, increasing the number of papers, and charging hefty fees for authors to publish their work. The most recent mass resignation happened at the Journal of Human Evolution at the end of 2024. Both co-editors ...
Jan 23, 2025•18 min•Ep 951•Transcript available on Metacast Rejoice, amateur and professional astronomers: This January is a fantastic time for looking up at the sky. The flashiest event of the season is also one of the easiest to see without binoculars or a telescope. A “parade of planets” —Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars—will be visible, and recognizable by their incredible brightness against the night sky. Uranus and Neptune will also be visible, but with a telescope. This string of planets will be visible for all of January. Additionally, the ATLAS ...
Jan 22, 2025•18 min•Ep 950•Transcript available on Metacast From down here on Earth, life on the International Space Station seems magnificent: floating through the day, enjoying stunning views out your window, having an experience only a handful of other people will ever get. But what’s it really like to live up there? How does experiencing 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every day change your perception of time? How do you cope with being so far from the people you love? Those are some of the questions explored in the novel Orbital , which won the Booker Pr...
Jan 21, 2025•22 min•Ep 949•Transcript available on Metacast Since January 7, wildfires have been devastating the Los Angeles area. In the span of 10 days, several different fires, including the Palisades and Eaton fires, have burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 12,000 structures. At least 25 people have died. The threat of fire is growing, especially in zones known as the wildland-urban interface , or WUI. That’s where unoccupied wildland and human developments meet and mingle. Think of a city sprawling around a forest, for example. In ...
Jan 20, 2025•18 min•Ep 948•Transcript available on Metacast The SpaceX rocket carries lunar landers from companies based in Texas and Japan. They could arrive at the moon in the coming months. HPV can cause a variety of cancers, including cervical. New mortality data for women under 25 point to the success of the HPV vaccine. Rocket Launches With Lunar Landers From 2 Private Companies On Wednesday, a SpaceX rocket launched carrying payloads from two separate private companies hoping to achieve lunar landings. The pair of landers —one from Japanese compan...
Jan 17, 2025•25 min•Ep 947•Transcript available on Metacast For years, artificial intelligence companies have heralded the coming of artificial general intelligence , or AGI. OpenAI, which makes the chatbot ChatGPT, has said that their founding goal was to build AGI that “benefits all of humanity” and “gives everyone incredible new capabilities.” Google DeepMind cofounder Dr. Demis Hassabis has described AGI as a system that “should be able to do pretty much any cognitive task that humans can do .” Last year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said AGI will arrive so...
Jan 16, 2025•18 min•Ep 946•Transcript available on Metacast Scientists investigated how the shape of the human body makes hula hooping possible—and what hips and a waist have to do with it. And, the decision for how to proceed with NASA's Mars Sample Return Mission will fall to the incoming administration. What Makes A Hula Hoop Stay Up? Hula hooping might appear to be a simple physical activity. But there’s some complex math and physics at play as the hoop goes around your body, and scientists haven’t had a clear understanding of those hidden forces—unt...
Jan 15, 2025•17 min•Ep 943•Transcript available on Metacast 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 conne...
Jan 14, 2025•19 min•Ep 944•Transcript available on Metacast 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 her...
Jan 13, 2025•20 min•Ep 945•Transcript available on Metacast After her SciFri internship 20 years ago, Flora went on to become a beloved science journalist, video producer, and podcaster. Now she’s back! Also, several different fires are causing extreme damage in the Los Angeles area. Strong Santa Ana winds are one factor behind their rapid spread. Science Friday Now Has Two Hosts: Meet Flora Lichtman! Big news! Science Friday now has two hosts—Ira Flatow, the program’s founder, and veteran science journalist Flora Lichtman . Going forward, you’ll hear bo...
Jan 10, 2025•24 min•Ep 942•Transcript available on Metacast 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 stri...
Jan 09, 2025•31 min•Ep 941•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Jan 08, 2025•18 min•Ep 940•Transcript available on Metacast Each year, the journalists at the MIT Technology Review publish a list of 10 breakthrough technologies : these are things poised to hit a tipping point, and potentially change the way the world works. Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence remains a big breakthrough. While 2024 was the year of large learning models, small learning models top Technology Review ’s list this year. These smaller models are more accessible, efficient, and could be better for the climate than their larger counterpart...
Jan 07, 2025•18 min•Ep 939•Transcript available on Metacast This winter marks the 125th year of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, in which bird nerds across the Western Hemisphere venture outside to record all the birds they see and hear. Scientists use that data to understand how birds are faring, where they’re moving, and what they’re up to when it’s not breeding season. With 125 years under its belt, the Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running community science program in the world. How do scientists use this data? And what have they learned in thos...
Jan 06, 2025•18 min•Ep 938•Transcript available on Metacast Researchers have projected that by the end of the century, days where snow covers the ground will virtually disappear in the United States, except for in very high mountains like the Rockies. This would affect entire ecosystems, disrupting animals and plants that live beneath the snow and increasing flooding and runoff . Ira talks with Sophie Bushwick, senior news editor at New Scientist , about the latest snow projections and other top science news of the week, including the discovery of an anc...
Jan 03, 2025•13 min•Ep 937•Transcript available on Metacast Few living scientists are as iconic as Dr. Jane Goodall. The legendary primatologist spent decades working with chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park. More recently, Goodall has devoted her time to advocating for conservation , not just in Africa, but worldwide. Ira spoke with Goodall in 2002, after she had published her book The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for the Animals , and an IMAX film about her work with chimpanzees had just been released. Transcripts for each segment will...
Dec 31, 2024•30 min•Ep 936•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we’re taking time to reflect on all that 2024 brought us in the world of science, from the total solar eclipse in April to the demise of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars and the rise of the blockbuster GLP-1 weight-loss medications. SciFri producers Kathleen Davis and Charles Bergquist join Ira to wrap up the year in science, in a conversation recorded in a live event at WNYC’s Greene Space. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe...
Dec 30, 2024•19 min•Ep 935•Transcript available on Metacast It’s been an exciting and hectic year in science discovery and innovation. We’ve reported on stories from across many fields of science—from city climate plans and panda conservation to AI energy consumption and the spread of bird flu. Earlier this month, Ira sat down in front of a live audience at The Greene Space in New York City with Drs. Céline Gounder, Jackie Faherty, and Kevin Reed, three researchers from different areas of science. Together, they reflected on the most exciting discoveries...
Dec 27, 2024•49 min•Ep 934•Transcript available on Metacast What makes three very different conservation projects so successful? These experts say it’s getting the community involved. And, archaeologists make a case for tracking and preserving artifacts left on Mars to chronicle humans’ first attempts at interplanetary exploration. Meet 3 Leaders Addressing Local Conservation Problems While 2024 saw a lot of governments and institutions falling short on climate goals, there were also smaller, localized efforts making a big difference for the environment ...
Dec 26, 2024•18 min•Ep 933•Transcript available on Metacast 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. F...
Dec 25, 2024•19 min•Ep 932•Transcript available on Metacast On December 24, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make the closest-ever approach to the sun by a spacecraft. Parker has made more than 20 close approaches to the sun before, but this one will swoop in even closer than 3.8 million miles away from the sun’s surface. Since the probe was launched back in 2018, it’s helped scientists better understand our star and unravel mysteries about solar wind , high-energy solar particles, the sun’s corona and more. Scientists hope that this upcoming approach will...
Dec 24, 2024•18 min•Ep 931•Transcript available on Metacast For its 10th anniversary, the science advisor for “Interstellar” discusses the film’s impact and how new information about gravitational waves could have changed it. The science fiction film “ Interstellar ” turns 10 years old this month. For many of us, it was our first encounter with some pretty advanced astrophysics, taking sci-fi concepts like wormholes and time warping, and backing them up with actual science. Now, we’re revisiting the impact that movie’s science had on pop culture, and how...
Dec 23, 2024•19 min•Ep 930•Transcript available on Metacast Officials say the invasive Asian giant hornet, with its menacing nickname, has been eradicated from the United States. Also, with drone sightings in the news, we take a look at the current laws and regulations around hobby and commercial drone operation. Farewell, Murder Hornet, We Hardly Knew You Over the past few years many words have been written about an invasive insect known casually as the “ murder hornet ”—more formally, the Asian giant hornet, or northern giant hornet. But this week, the...
Dec 20, 2024•27 min•Ep 929•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Dec 19, 2024•18 min•Ep 928•Transcript available on Metacast Sitting is a big part of modern life. Many people work at a desk all day, have long commutes, or at least enjoy some time relaxing on the couch at the end of the day. But sitting has gained a reputation as being bad for us—with some going so far as to call it “the new smoking.” A recent study in the journal PLOS One sheds more light on just how much sitting is too much , using a cohort of more than 1,000 young adults, including 730 twins. The results showed that sitting for more than about eight...
Dec 18, 2024•19 min•Ep 927•Transcript available on Metacast The Accidental Discovery That Gave Us ‘Forever Chemicals’ When it comes to PFAS chemicals—known as “forever chemicals”—we often hear that they’re used in nonstick coatings, flame retardants, and stain repellants. But those examples can hide the truth of just how widespread their use has been in modern life. A new season of the “Hazard NJ” podcast looks at the origin story of PFAS chemicals , and the accidental discovery of PTFE—aka Teflon—in a DuPont laboratory in southern New Jersey. “Hazard NJ...
Dec 17, 2024•20 min•Ep 926•Transcript available on Metacast “The Burning Earth” examines over 800 years of history to demonstrate how violence against people and the planet are one and the same. Also, the host of the “Hazard NJ” podcast talks about the origins of PFAS “forever chemicals” and their impact on New Jersey residents. How Empire and Environmental Destruction Go Hand-In-Hand A new book called The Burning Earth: A History takes on a massive question: How did we get here? “Here” being this point in environmental history and decades deep into the ...
Dec 16, 2024•19 min•Ep 925•Transcript available on Metacast 
