Science, Spoken

Latest Episodes:

What Could Possibly Be Cooler Than RoboBee? RoboBee X-Wing Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

They used to call it RoboBee—a flying machine half the size of a paperclip that could flap its pair of wings 120 times a second. It was always tethered to a power source, limiting its freedom. Now, though, RoboBee becomes RoboBee X-Wing, as Harvard researchers have added solar cells and an extra pair of wings, freeing the robot to blast off to a galaxy far, far away. Or at least partway across the room, as it can only sustain flight for half a second at the moment, and only indoors.

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A New Kind of Space Camp Teaches the Art of Martian Medicine Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

Ben Easter was delighted with the way his students were performing. He was especially delighted that a husband had just voted to kill his wife. The couple were both enrolled in the Martian Medical Analogue and Research Simulation, a continuing-education course for medical professionals who wanted to learn about health care in space by pretending to practice medicine in pretend space.

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Fitted With Sensors, Antarctic Seals Track Water Temperatures Jun 26, 2019

Show notes

On a rocky island just off the coast of West Antarctica, ecologist Lars Boehme is standing face-to-face with a 1,500-pound elephant seal, eyeing the animal’s bulbous nose and jowls to see if he’s finished shedding his fur. When the seal opens his mouth wide to bellow, Boehme waves his hand in front of his face like he’s just smelled something foul.

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We Need a Data-Rich Picture of What's Killing the Planet Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

You’ve probably heard about the plague of plastic trash in the oceans. You’ve seen YouTube videos of sea turtles with drinking straws in their noses, or whales with stomachs full of marine litter. But how much plastic is out there? Where is it coming from? We don’t really know, because we haven’t measured it. “There’s a paucity of data,” says Marcus Eriksen, cofounder of the 5 Gyres Institute, a nonprofit focused on ending plastic pollution.

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Neptune Is a Windy, Chilly, and Baffling Planet. Let's Go! Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

It was just after midnight at mission control center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Carl Sagan was exuberant. The Voyager 2 spacecraft had just completed its decade-long mission by making its closest pass to Neptune, before continuing on into interstellar space. It was the first—and so far only—spacecraft to visit the mysterious blue ice giant lurking at the edge of the solar system.

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Lawyers in a Murder Trial Clash Over a DNA Forensics Method Jun 21, 2019

Show notes

On a large screen inside a packed Snohomish County courtroom, in Washington, a young Canadian couple smiled out at the dimmed room from the relaxed, faded scene of a party. It was the last known picture taken of Tanya Van Cuylenberg and Jay Cook together before they disappeared in November 1987. Their bodies were discovered days after they went missing, more than 60 miles apart. Thirty-one years later, William Talbott II is now standing trial as the first person to be accused of the double murder.

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This Robot Fish Powers Itself With Fake Blood Jun 20, 2019

Show notes

This story begins thousands of feet up in the air with migratory birds, and ends with a robotic fish swimming through the water below. To prepare for their journeys, birds fatten up big time, perhaps doubling their weight, essentially turning themselves into feathered batteries. Over many days and many miles, they burn that energy reserve to power their wings and keep themselves from starving and freezing. Eventually they reach their destinations emaciated.

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The Midwest's Farms Face an Intense, Crop-Killing Future Jun 19, 2019

Show notes

The flooding that devastated the Midwest this spring damaged infrastructure and prevented farmers from getting crops planted on time. Though scientists can’t say if one storm or one wet season is the result of climate change, so far this year’s heavy rains are a perfect illustration of what scientific models of climate change predict for the region. And it’s only going to get more intense.

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The Physics of Actually Flying Around in an Iron Man Suit Jun 19, 2019

Show notes

I was fairly impressed with the first episode of Savage Builds, which is now airing on the Discovery Channel. It's basically a show that lets Adam Savage (from MythBusters) do whatever he wants. In this case, he attempts to build an actual real-life Iron Man suit. SPOILER ALERT: He mostly succeeds. This is accomplished by printing out Iron Man armor pieces in titanium and then adding the jet suit from Gravity Industries on top of that. Yes, there is a real-life flying suit.

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These Sumptuous Images Give Deep Space Data an Old-World Look Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

Eleanor Lutz has a running list of scientific topics she wants to find data sets for. It’s not her job exactly. A biologist with wide-ranging curiosity, Lutz moonlights as a data-driven illustrator who transforms public data sets into arrestingly beautiful visual objects. She’s made digital trading cards of animated viruses (who knew HPV could be so mesmerizing), and infographics on plant species that have evolved to withstand forest fires.

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