Science, Spoken

Latest Episodes:

Covid Kills More Men Than Women. Experts Still Can’t Explain Why Jul 14, 2020

Show notes

A new tracker from Harvard’s GenderSci Lab is the first to consolidate sex-separated data from across the US. It may help researchers solve the mystery.

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Will We Recognize Life on Mars When We See It? Jul 13, 2020

Show notes

If NASA's Perseverance rover finds life on the Red Planet, there's a good chance our first extraterrestrial encounter will be a little ambiguous.

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Astronomers Are Uncovering the Magnetic Soul of the Universe Jul 10, 2020

Show notes

Researchers are discovering that magnetic fields permeate much of the cosmos. If these fields date back to the Big Bang, they could solve a cosmological mystery.

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The Epic Siberian Journey to Solve a Mass Extinction Mystery Jul 08, 2020

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A quarter-billion years ago, huge volcanic eruptions burned coal, leading to the worst extinction in Earth’s history. Here’s how scientists hunted down the evidence.

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Hummingbirds Can See Colors We Can’t Even Imagine Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

When humans see purple, we’re really seeing a blend of red and blue light. Hummingbirds see purple plus ultraviolet—and lots of other nonspectral colors.

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Nuclear ‘Power Balls’ May Make Meltdowns a Thing of the Past Jul 06, 2020

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Triso particles are an alien-looking fuel with built-in safety features that will power a new generation of high-temperature reactors.

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'Carbon Farming' Could Make US Agriculture Truly Green Jul 03, 2020

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Today a Senate committee will hear about a bill that would help farmers adopt practices to release less carbon from the soil, reducing planetary warming.

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NASA’s New Moon-Bound Space Suits Will Get a Boost From AI Jul 02, 2020

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Engineers are turning to generative design algorithms to build components for NASA’s next-generation space suit—the first major update in decades.

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Stuck at Home, Scientists Discover 9 New Insect Species Jul 01, 2020

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Without a DNA sequencer, two Los Angeles entomologists relied on two of biology’s oldest tools: microscopes and lots of free time.

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Who's to Blame for Plastic Microfiber Pollution? Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Tiny bits of plastic are corrupting every corner of the planet. The major culprits: cheap synthetic clothing and washing machines.