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November 22, 2024
On the 50th anniversary of Lucy’s discovery, paleoanthropologists reflect on what she means to science, and what she taught us about ourselves. Plus, divers have recovered seeds of a long-lost rye variety from a 146-year-old shipwreck in Lake Huron. And, just in time for Thanksgiving, a potato researcher explains potato varieties, potato nutrition, and some tubular tuber facts.
11:29
Protecting A Flickering Symbol Of Summer Nights
Researchers used citizen science observations and machine learning to understand where fireflies are and what they need to thrive.
16:59
Why Do Cephalopods Make Ink?
Squid, octopuses, and cuttlefish use ink to confuse predators and to communicate. But there’s still a lot we don’t understand about inking.
12:43
México eligió a una presidenta científica. ¿Qué significa esto?
La comunidad científica del país Latinoamericano está dividida sobre la elección de Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
11:37
A Week Of Milestones For Spaceflight
Boeing’s Starliner successfully launched and docked at the ISS, SpaceX’s Starship rocket launched and returned, and Hubble had a hiccup.
8:01
A Tiny Fern Has The Largest Genome Ever Discovered
The little fern from New Caledonia is just a few inches tall, and its genome has 160.45 billion base pairs—50 times more DNA than a human.
8:14
Mexico Has Elected A Scientist President. What Will That Mean?
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo brings scientific expertise to the presidency. How will her leadership shape science policy?
12:07
How Metal-Absorbing Plants Could Make Mining Greener
Plants called “hyperaccumulators” have evolved to absorb high levels of metals. Scientists want to harness them for greener metal mining.
17:20
How Sound Rules Life Underwater
In her new book, science journalist Amorina Kingdon explores the astonishing variety of sound in the ocean, and how it affects ecosystems.
16:56
Step Aside, DNA. It’s RNA’s Time To Shine.
The COVID vaccines proved that RNA could be extremely powerful. A new book explores even more medical applications for the tiny molecule.
17:13
How Psychological Warfare Moved From Battlefields To Politics
A new book looks at the history of psychological warfare, its connections to science fiction, and how it’s been adapted to modern politics.