Radio
Listen to Science Friday live on Fridays from 2-4 p.m. ET
April 18, 2025
Are traffic engineering decisions based on evidence-based research? Not as much as you might think. Plus, researchers captured the first confirmed video of a colossal squid swimming in its natural habitat. And, with brain-implanted devices, people with paralysis have been able to command computers to “move” virtual objects and speak for them.
11:55
Honey, I Shrunk the Lab: Testing for STDs on a Smartphone
A new, inexpensive smartphone dongle tests for HIV and syphilis in 15 minutes.
7:46
Hitting the Sack: Sleep Cycles Can Affect Athletes’ Performance
An athlete’s performance can vary by up to 26 percent, depending on the time of day.
17:14
Modernizing Money: ‘Chip-and-PIN’ Credit Cards and Mobile Payments
Sorting through the changing technology of credit cards and mobile payments.
12:09
Small Drones Raise Big Legal Questions
Law professor Ryan Calo discusses how to regulate personal drones and other potentially invasive technologies.
17:14
The True Story Behind ‘Spare Parts’
In “Spare Parts,” four teenage MacGyvers beat MIT with a smelly robot built with PVC pipe.
29:31
Scientists and the Public Disagree on Key Issues
Is it possible to shift public opinion on controversial scientific issues?
16:22
Put Down Your Phone, Give Your Brain a Break
Some studies suggest letting the mind wander spurs creativity and contemplation. Is it time to rethink our relationship with our phones and bring back boredom?
17:18
Journeying to the Building Blocks of the Solar System
What can comets, asteroids, and protoplanets tell us about the formation of the solar system?
12:05
Scientists Engineer Bacteria With Genetic ‘Kill Switch’
Genetic engineers have designed strains of E. coli that can survive only in the presence of a compound that doesn’t exist in nature.