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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.
6:51
Microbes Thrive in Antarctic Lake Buried Beneath Ice
Microbes have made a home in a lake trapped beneath an 800-meter-thick ice sheet in Antarctica.
22:52
Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Send Messages to Your Brain?
Researchers discuss how the microbiome might play a role in anxiety, depression, and autism.
6:37
Bridging the Rift: Oculus’ Answer to Virtual Reality
Technological and design innovations inside the Oculus Rift make virtual reality poised for a mass-market debut.
18:06
Sylvia Earle’s ‘Mission Blue’
Oceanographer Sylvia Earle bears witness to troubling changes in our oceans in the documentary “Mission Blue.”
21:44
Concocting Condiments
Culinary scientist Ali Bouzari dips into the chemistry behind condiments, from hot sauce to mustard.
10:26
App Chat: Being Social Without Leaving a Trace
A growing number of apps allow users to post ephemeral or anonymous messages—and they’re catching on quickly with millennials.
5:31
Decoding Secret Communication Between Plants
A new study in Science says that certain parasitic plants spy on their hosts through RNA exchanges.
17:29
Is Healthy Soil the Low-Tech Solution to Climate Change?
In her book “The Soil Will Save Us,” writer Kristin Ohlson concludes that the low-cost, low-tech solution to climate change may be directly underfoot—in healthy soil.
11:41
Close-Up With a Comet
The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft is the first probe to orbit a comet.
7:44
Algorithm Turns Everyday Objects Into Microphones
Sound waves trigger tiny vibrations in objects. By studying the vibrations, researchers can recreate the sounds that caused them.