Science Magazine Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Mysteriously male crocodiles, the future of negotiating AIs, and atomic bonding between the United States and China Aug 31, 2017

Show notes

This week we hear stories on involving more AIs in negotiations, tiny algae that might be responsible for killing some (not all) dinosaurs, and a chemical intended to make farm fish grow faster that may be also be causing one area’s crocodile population to skew male—with Online News Editor David Grimm.
Sarah Crespi talks to Rich Stone about being on the scene for a joint U.S.-China mission to remove bomb-grade fuel from a nuclear reactor in Ghana.
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[Image:Chad Sparkes; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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What hunter-gatherer gut microbiomes have that we don’t, and breaking the emoji code Aug 24, 2017

Show notes

Sarah Crespi talks to Sam Smits about how our microbial passengers differ from one culture to the next—are we losing diversity and the ability to fight chronic disease?
For our books segment, Jen Golbeck talks with Vyvyan Evans about his book The Emoji Code: The Linguistics Behind Smiley Faces and Scaredy Cats.
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[Image: Woodlouse/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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A jump in rates of knee arthritis, a brief history of eclipse science, and bands and beats in the atmosphere of brown dwarfs Aug 17, 2017

Show notes

This week we hear stories on a big jump in U.S. rates of knee arthritis, some science hits and misses from past eclipses, and the link between a recently discovered thousand-year-old Viking fortress and your Bluetooth earbuds with Online News Editor David Grimm.
Sarah Crespi talks to Daniel Apai about a long-term study of brown dwarfs and what patterns in the atmospheres of these not-quite-stars, not-quite-planets can tell us.
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[Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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Coddled puppies don’t do as well in school, some trees make their own rain, and the Americas were probably first populated by ancient mariners Aug 10, 2017

Show notes

This week we hear stories on new satellite measurements that suggest the Amazon makes its own rain for part of the year, puppies raised with less smothering moms do better in guide dog school, and what DNA can tell us about ancient Greeks’ near mythical origins with Online News Editor David Grimm.
Sarah Crespi talks to Lizzie Wade about coastal and underwater evidence of a watery route for the Americas’ first people.
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[Image: Lizzie Wade; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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The biology of color, a database of industrial espionage, and a link between prions and diabetes Aug 03, 2017

Show notes

This week we hear stories on diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease in chimps, a potential new pathway to diabetes—through prions—and what a database of industrial espionage says about the economics of spying with Online News Editors David Grimm and Catherine Matacic.
Sarah Crespi talks to Innes Cuthill about how the biology of color intersects with behavior, development, and vision. And Mary Soon Lee joins to share some of her chemistry haiku—one poem for each element in the periodic table.
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[Image: Zoltan Tasi/Unsplash; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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DNA and proteins from ancient books, music made from data, and the keys to poverty traps Jul 27, 2017

Show notes

This week we hear stories on turning data sets into symphonies for business and pleasure, why so much of the world is stuck in the poverty trap, and calls for stiffening statistical significance with Online News Editor David Grimm.
Sarah Crespi talks to news writer Ann Gibbons about the biology of ancient books—what can we learn from DNA, proteins, and book worm trails about a book, its scribes, and its readers?
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[Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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Paying cash for carbon, making dogs friendly, and destroying all life on Earth Jul 20, 2017

Show notes

This week we have stories on the genes that may make dogs friendly, why midsized animals are the fastest, and what it would take to destroy all the life on our planet with Online News Editor David Grimm.
Sarah Crespi talks to Seema Jayachandran about paying cash to Ugandan farmers to not cut down trees—does it reduce deforestation in the long term?
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[Image: Kerrick/iStockphoto; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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Still-living dinosaurs, the world’s first enzymes, and thwarting early adopters in tech Jul 13, 2017

Show notes

This week, we have stories on how ultraviolet rays may have jump-started the first enzymes on Earth, a new fossil find that helps date how quickly birds diversified after the extinction of all the other dinosaurs, and a drug that may help reverse the effects of traumatic brain injury on memory with Online News Editor Catherine Matacic and special guest Carolyn Gramling.
Sarah Crespi talks to Christian Catalini about an experiment in which some early adopters were denied access to new technology and what it means for the dissemination of that tech.
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[Image: Michael Wuensch/Creative Commons Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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Odorless calories for weight loss, building artificial intelligence researchers can trust, and can oily birds fly? Jul 06, 2017

Show notes

This week we have stories on the twisty tree of human ancestry, why mice shed weight when they can’t smell, and the damaging effects of even a small amount of oil on a bird’s feathers—with Online News Editor David Grimm.
Sarah Crespi talks to News Editor Tim Appenzeller about a special section on how artificial intelligence is changing the way we do science.
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[Image: © 2012 CERN, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ALICE COLLABORATION; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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A Stone Age skull cult, rogue Parkinson’s proteins in the gut, and controversial pesticides linked to bee deaths Jun 29, 2017

Show notes

This week we have stories on what the rogue Parkinson’s protein is doing in the gut, how chimps outmuscle humans, and evidence for an ancient skull cult with Online News Editor David Grimm.
Jen Golbeck is back with this month’s book segment. She interviews Alan Alda about his new book on science communication: If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?
Sarah Crespi talks to Jeremy Kerr about two huge studies that take a nuanced looked at the relationship between pesticides and bees. Read the research in Science:
Country-specific effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees and wild bees, B.A. Woodcock et al.
Chronic exposure to neonicotinoids reduces honey bee health near corn crops, Tsvetkov et al.
Listen to previous podcasts.
[Image: webted/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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