Pluto’s Haze, a Michigan Mammoth, and Antioxidants and Skin Cancer
11:56 minutes
It’s blue skies ahead for NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. Washington Post reporter Rachel Feltman explains what scientists are learning from new pictures of Pluto, including the first color images of the dwarf planet’s azure atmospheric hazes. She also discusses how blue whales subsist on shrimp and the shocking discovery of a woolly mammoth skeleton in Michigan as part of our weekly roundup of selected short subjects in science.
Plus, a new study in Science Translational Medicine finds that—contrary to popular belief—antioxidants might not be beneficial when it comes to the treatment of skin cancer. Specifically, researchers found “that some common antioxidants increase the rate of melanoma cell migration and invasion […] in a mouse model.” David Leffell, the section chief of dermatologic surgery and cutaneous oncology at the Yale School of Medicine, talks about the good and bad of antioxidants when it comes to protecting against and combating skin cancer.
Segment Guests
Rachel Feltman
Rachel Feltman is a freelance science communicator who hosts “The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week” for Popular Science, where she served as Executive Editor until 2022. She’s also the host of Scientific American’s show “Science Quickly.” Her debut book Been There, Done That: A Rousing History of Sex is on sale now.
David Leffell
David Leffell is the David P. Smith Professor of Dermatology and section chief in Dermatologic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
Meet the Producer
About Becky Fogel
@beckyfogelBecky Fogel is a newscast host and producer at Texas Standard, a daily news show broadcast by KUT in Austin, Texas. She was formerly Science Friday’s production assistant.