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Listen to Science Friday live on Fridays from 2-4 p.m. ET
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.
28:15
The Future of Artificial Intelligence
What questions should we ask as research on artificial intelligence progresses?
6:00
As Arctic Permafrost Thaws, Microbes Kick Into Action
Recent findings suggest that microbes living in Arctic permafrost could produce carbon dioxide and methane as it thaws.
17:22
Undersea Cables String Together the Global Internet
Ninety-nine percent of the data zipping between continents travels not via satellite, but through thousands of miles of cables.
9:46
Babies on the Brink
A series of rigorous (and adorable) experiments by Karen Adolph of NYU’s Infant Action Lab shatters the myth that babies learn to fear heights as they learn to crawl.
12:09
News Roundup: The Birth of the Moon, E.T. Life, and LHC Season Two
Washington Post science blogger Rachel Feltman gives us her top stories this week, and the BBC’s Jonathan Webb tells us what to expect from the revved-up particle collider.
10:48
The Math Game Behind the Iran Nuclear Talks
Energy secretary Ernest Moniz joins us to talk about the science behind the diplomacy.
16:16
Building Cancer Vaccines From Tumor Mutations
Researchers look to the genome of a patient’s tumor to build a cancer vaccine.
4:55
Catching a Non-Stop, Transatlantic Flight on a Songbird’s Back
The blackpoll warbler, a songbird that weighs 12 grams, can fly 1,700 miles—non-stop—to its wintering grounds.
16:40
Cracking the Egg
There’s a better way to make hard-boiled eggs—and it doesn’t involve boiling.
6:56
Mercury: The Ashtray of the Solar System?
Scientists say that dust from passing comets could have darkened the surface of Mercury.