Science, Spoken

Latest Episodes:

Winning Trust for a Vaccine Means Confronting Medical Racism Nov 18, 2020

Show notes

The US has a long history of abusing minorities for pharmaceutical profit. Messaging for a Covid-19 inoculation will have to overcome that past.

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These Oceanographers Want to Turn Marine Slime Into Drugs Nov 17, 2020

Show notes

A California team will use a robotic vehicle to study tiny seafloor creatures, hoping they might yield new compounds to fight viruses and cancer.

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What Happens When You Fly a Science Plane Through Wildfire Smoke Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

Aboard a decked-out C-130, researchers measure how smoke transforms from “fresh” to “stale” and begin to parse what that means for humans downwind.

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How Humanity Spent Its First 20 Years in Orbit Aboard the ISS Nov 13, 2020

Show notes

Two decades ago, three explorers arrived at the International Space Station and marked the beginning of a permanent human presence beyond Earth.

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In Embryos, Crispr Can Cut Out Whole Chromosomes—That's Bad Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

The DNA-cutting tool has been hailed as a way to fix genetic glitches. But a new study suggests it can remove more than scientists bargained for.

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How Octopuses Use Their Suction Cups to Taste Through Touch Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

A new study reveals that the invertebrates use a novel kind of receptor embedded in their suckers to explore their ocean habitats.

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A New Way to Plug a Human Brain into a Computer: via Veins Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

Electrodes threaded through the blood vessels that feed the brain let people control gadgets with their minds.

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What to Wear When You’re Battling Giant, Venomous Hornets Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

The suits worn by Washington state entomologists aren't "official" hornet-fighting armor. But they were affordable—and came up in an Amazon search.

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Mark Kelly’s Been To Space. Can He Make it to Capitol Hill? Nov 06, 2020

Show notes

Mark Kelly isn’t the first former NASA astronaut to run for office, but if he’s elected he’ll be the only one to make it to Congress on his first shot.

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Babies May Be Drinking Millions of Microplastic Particles a Day Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

Scientists discover that baby bottles shed up to 16 million bits of plastic per liter of fluid. What that means for infants’ health, no one can yet say.

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