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 The effect, known as the Hubble Tension, has been confirmed by James Webb Space Telescope observations. Also, despite near daily warnings of food recalls, 2024 hasn’t been that different from previous years. The Universe Is Expanding Faster Than Expected There’s still a lot to be learned about the physics of our universe—and one of the most perplexing ideas is something called the Hubble Tension . That’s an observation, made around a decade ago, that the universe seems to be expanding faster tha...
Dec 13, 2024•26 min•Ep 924•Transcript available on Metacast The microbiome, the network of tens of trillions of microbes that live in and on our bodies, helps us digest food and protects us from diseases. And depending on what species of bacteria you have, your microbiome could impact your stress response, decision-making, and how likely you are to develop arthritis and depression. Scientists have known that your microbiome is partially shaped by your environment , and the people you spend your time with. But they haven’t had a lot of clarity on how exac...
Dec 12, 2024•17 min•Ep 923•Transcript available on Metacast When you consider someone’s legacy in science, you might think about their biggest discovery, their list of publications, or their titles, awards, and prizes. But another kind of scientific legacy involves the students and colleagues that passed through a scientist’s orbit over the course of a career. A new book, The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science , takes a look at the legacy of Madame Marie Curie, one of the most recognizable names in science his...
Dec 11, 2024•19 min•Ep 922•Transcript available on Metacast There are a lot of holiday gatherings at this time of year, and families getting together can mean that kids are in places that don’t normally have a lot of kid visitors. And, as we know, curious kids can get into trouble. Dr. Sing-Yi Feng, a pediatric emergency physician and medical toxicologist with the North Texas Poison Center, joins Ira to talk about some of the most common toxic exposures seen in hospital emergency rooms over the holidays. She stresses that even more than protecting agains...
Dec 10, 2024•18 min•Ep 921•Transcript available on Metacast It’s that time of the year when you’re making your list, checking it twice, for gifts that spark a love of science for the kids in your life. Ira talks with Mahnaz Dar, young readers’ editor at Kirkus Reviews and Carrie Wolfson, collection development librarian at the Boulder Public Library to round up some of the top kids’ science books of 2024 and make recommendations based on listener questions. See their full list of recommendations on sciencefriday.com. Transcripts for each segment will be ...
Dec 09, 2024•19 min•Ep 920•Transcript available on Metacast The Supreme Court hears a case centering on the FDA’s denial of applications for nicotine-based vapes containing flavored liquid seen as addictive for young people. And, damaged lithium-ion batteries can cause deadly explosions. An algorithm could help detect when they’re about to happen. Supreme Court Hears Case On FDA Regulation Of Flavored Vapes On Monday, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could change the Food and Drug Administration’s power to regulate nicotine-based vapes...
Dec 06, 2024•26 min•Ep 919•Transcript available on Metacast The Ig Nobel awards are a salute to achievements that, in the words of the organizers, “make people laugh, then think.” Each year, the editors of the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research choose 10 lucky(?) winners who have unusual achievements in science, medicine, and other fields. This year’s awards were presented in a theatrical extravaganza in an MIT lecture hall in September. They included awards for studying coin flipping (including hundreds of thousands of real coin flips)...
Dec 05, 2024•49 min•Ep 918•Transcript available on Metacast As part of Science Friday’s 33rd anniversary show, we’re revisiting our listeners’ favorite stories, including this one from 2009. In the album “ Here Comes Science,” the band They Might Be Giants tackled the scientific process, plasma physics, the role of blood in the body, and the importance of DNA, all in song. Band members John Linnell and John Flansburgh discuss the album and play some science tunes. The transcript for this segment is available at sciencefriday.com . Subscribe to this podca...
Dec 04, 2024•27 min•Ep 917•Transcript available on Metacast As part of Science Friday’s 33rd anniversary show, we’re revisiting our listeners’ favorite stories, including this one from 2022. 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid hit what we know today as the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. Many people have a general idea of what happened next: The age of the dinosaurs was brought to a close , making room for mammals like us to thrive. But fewer people know what happened in the days, weeks, and years after impact. Increased research on fossils and geologi...
Dec 03, 2024•19 min•Ep 916•Transcript available on Metacast In 2022, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi of Stanford University, Dr. Morten Meldal of the University of Copenhagen, and Dr. K. Barry Sharpless of the Scripps Research Institute “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry .” In “click chemistry,” molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently to let chemists build more complicated molecules. But bioorthogonal chemistry takes that work one step further, allowing the technique to be...
Dec 02, 2024•19 min•Ep 915•Transcript available on Metacast In 2018, actor, author and science communicator Alan Alda spoke publicly about his diagnosis for Parkinson’s Disease. Alda, who is best known for his role in “M*A*S*H,” “The Aviator,” and “The West Wing,” shifted his interests to science communication in his later years. He’s written several books on the topic, and has an ongoing podcast, “Clear + Vivid.” As part of Science Friday’s 33rd anniversary show, we’re revisiting our listeners’ favorite stories, including this one. Alda came on Science ...
Nov 29, 2024•12 min•Ep 914•Transcript available on Metacast Just in time for Thanksgiving, a potato researcher explains potato varieties, potato nutrition, and some tubular tuber facts. And, irregular, fatty marbling gives meat a unique texture. Recreating that in plant-based products isn’t easy. A Horn Of Potato Plenty The potato is a versatile vegetable—baked, roasted, fried, mashed—it can bring something to just about any menu. But, how exactly do these tasty tubers end up on our tables? We’ll give you a crash course in potato science , including how ...
Nov 28, 2024•19 min•Ep 913•Transcript available on Metacast We recently asked our listeners which dubious health claims they’ve been seeing in their social media feeds or being circulated by friends and family. Unsurprisingly, we received a ton of questions about nutrition , including: Is seed oil bad for you? Does apple cider vinegar really lower blood sugar? What is the difference between processed and ultraprocessed foods? To answer those questions and more, SciFri producer Kathleen Davis talks with RDN Jessica Clifford, a nutrition specialist at Depa...
Nov 27, 2024•18 min•Ep 912•Transcript available on Metacast Fifty-three days after Hurricane Helene, residents of Asheville can safely drink their tap water without boiling it. Why did it take so long? And, tribes’ historic lands on the Gulf Coast are being lost to the sea. To slow it down, one tribe has turned to oyster shells. The Struggle To Restore Drinking Water After Hurricane Helene When Hurricane Helene barrelled through the southeastern US in September, it dumped an estimated 40 trillion gallons of water on the region. That resulted in immense f...
Nov 26, 2024•20 min•Ep 911•Transcript available on Metacast On November 24, 1974—50 years ago this November—a pair of paleoanthropologists made the discovery of a lifetime: a set of 47 bones, hidden in the dusty, rocky hills of a fossil site in Hadar, Ethiopia. The skeleton belonged to a 3.2 million year old hominin, which came to be nicknamed Lucy. She marked the very first specimen of Australopithecus afarensis —a species of early hominins that were very likely our own ancestors. Lucy might be the most famous fossil in the world, and she’s transformed ...
Nov 25, 2024•19 min•Ep 910•Transcript available on Metacast This was the sixth test launch of the Starship vehicle, which could eventually carry humans and cargo to the moon. It was extremely loud. Also, divers have recovered seeds of a long-lost rye variety from a 146-year-old shipwreck in Lake Huron. Scientists hope to bring it back to life. SpaceX’s Starship Completes In-Orbit Engine Test On Tuesday, the rocket company SpaceX conducted another test flight of its Starship spacecraft. In the uncrewed mission, the sixth test of the system, the company wa...
Nov 22, 2024•25 min•Ep 909•Transcript available on Metacast 
