Science, Spoken

Latest Episodes:

Why Can't We Fix Puerto Rico's Power Grid? Apr 24, 2018

Show notes

And then the lights went out. Again. The loss of electrical power in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria churned across the islands in September 2017 was already the second-biggest blackout in the history of power on Earth—3.4 billion lost customer-hours. But in recent weeks, various agencies were touting their success in restoring Puerto Rico’s flattened grid.

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California’s Water Whiplash Is Only Going to Get Worse Apr 24, 2018

Show notes

In December 1861, as a California drought was wearing into its fifth year, farmers on the West Coast were all asking for one thing for Christmas: rain. And boy did they get it. For 43 days rain and snow fell across the state, causing rivers to surge their banks, turning the 300-mile long, 20-mile-wide Central Valley into an ice-cold inland sea. LA got 66 inches. So deep were Sacramento’s floodwaters that the capital had to be relocated to San Francisco.

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Just How Random Are Two Factor Authentication Codes? Apr 23, 2018

Show notes

You know two-factor authentication tokens, the ephemeral, six-digit numbers you use as a second layer of security when logging into, say, your email? Those constantly updating, randomly generated numbers are one of the easiest ways to protect your accounts from being hacked. But for some time now, I've harbored a pet conspiracy theory about those codes: Maybe they aren't as random as we're led to believe.

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My Son Pioneered an Epilepsy Drug Derived From Marijuana. An FDA Panel Just Approved It Apr 23, 2018

Show notes

Yesterday morning a tall, lanky 16-year-old boy in a red polo shirt stood at a podium in front of a roomful of doctors, scientists, and regulators and told them about how a drug they were considering for approval had changed his life. “I had seizures for 10 years,” he said. “My parents tell me there were times I had seizures 100 times a day.” Now, he said, he has been seizure free for nearly two and a half years. “I can understand what goes on at school,” he said.

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23andMe Wants You to Share Even More Health Data Apr 20, 2018

Show notes

Almost exactly a year ago, 23andMe earned the right to tell people what diseases might be lurking in their DNA. Since then, the consumer genetic testing company has turned tubes of spit into health reports for thousands of its customers. You can learn how your genes might predispose you to eight diseases with a well-known genetic component—things like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and most recently, breast and ovarian cancers.

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Physics Explains Why No One Can Beat the Freeze Apr 20, 2018

Show notes

The only thing I know about the Freeze is that no one can beat the Freeze (except with a generous head start). And he's awesome. In case you haven't seen, the Freeze is this guy in a turquoise spandex suit that challenges mere mortals to a race in the outfield of the Atlanta Braves SunTrust Park between innings. Overall, this seems like a great physics problem.

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Biotech Gets Some Silicon Valley Shine at Illumina’s New Campus Apr 19, 2018

Show notes

Employees arriving at the Peninsula’s newest, shiniest corporate campus will find it equipped with all the creature comforts now expected in Silicon Valley. There are gaming consoles with stadium-level seating; a tricked-out gym where trainers both real and virtual will kick your butt into shape; well-sod grounds where you can walk off your local, vegan, carb-free lunch or work wirelessly in the warming rays of the California sun.

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A Robot Does the Impossible: Assembling an Ikea Chair Without Having a Meltdown Apr 19, 2018

Show notes

And just like that, humanity draws one step closer to the singularity, the moment when the machines grow so advanced that humans become obsolete: A robot has learned to autonomously assemble an Ikea chair without throwing anything or cursing the family dog.

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The Plan to Save California's Legendary Weed From 'Big Cannabis' Apr 18, 2018

Show notes

In a bright warehouse in the heart of Northern California’s cannabis country, a metal gate slowly peels up. “Also Sprach Zarathustra”—the iconic music from 2001: A Space Odyssey—blares as the room behind is revealed. A mob of marijuana farmers and local politicians and activists and venture capitalists shuffle through into the Willy Wonka factory of weed.

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NASA’s New Exoplanet Satellite Has a Better Shot of Finding Life Close to Home Apr 18, 2018

Show notes

If humans ever leave this solar system, they probably won't do it aimlessly. More likely they'll set a course for some distant waypoint, perhaps another solar system, to visit, study, or maybe even settle. And when they do, there's a good chance the destination they choose will have been discovered by NASA's new planet-hunting spacecraft. Called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, the instrument will soon hitch a ride to space aboard one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets.

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