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Science Friday is your trusted source for news and entertaining stories about science.
A Date Palm Named Methuselah
An excerpt from “The Triumph of Seeds,” by Thor Hanson.
The Fine Art of Toxic Waste
An engineer and an artist are transforming pollution from coal mines into pigments used to tint paint.
How the Bombardier Beetle Packs Its Punch
Researchers have figured how a toxin-spraying beetle packs its pulsing punch.
Sun Halo, With Sundog Companions
When the sun interacts with six-sided ice crystals, ethereal optical effects can occur.
From Feed Lot to Pasture: The State of U.S. Pork
An excerpt from “Pig Tales: An Omnivore’s Quest for Sustainable Meat.”
How Math is Like Baking: You Just Need a Recipe
An excerpt from “How to Bake Pi” by Eugenia Cheng.
Kitty’s Tongue, Under The Microscope
A magnified look at a cat tongue reveals the serrated edges that Fluffy uses to clean herself, and rasp meat from bone.
Carl Sagan, and the Rise of the ‘Celebrity Scientist’
An excerpt from “The New Celebrity Scientists: Out of the Lab and into the Limelight.”
From Fever Cure to Coma Therapy: Psychiatric Treatments Through Time
An excerpt from “Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry.”
Pando, One Of Earth’s Largest Living Organisms
These quaking aspens are all clones of one mother stem.
Against the Grain: An Alternative View of Alzheimer’s
For decades, Duke neurology professor Allen Roses has doggedly pursued a theory that dysfunctional mitochondria in the brain cause late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and that beta-amyloid is just part of the disease’s pathology.
Attack of the Luddites!
An excerpt from Sydney Padua’s graphic novel “The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage.”
Pillars of Creation, 2.0
Two new versions of the iconic Hubble image commemorate the space telescope’s 25th anniversary.
The Problem With Superman, and Other Physics Conundrums
The author of “Geek Physics” answers your pop culture physics questions.
L.A.’s So Fly
A citizen science project uncovers 30 new species of scuttle fly in Los Angeles.
The Year Ahead in Science Film
This year’s SXSW Film festival highlighted our fears about emerging tech and concerns facing online and gaming communities.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
This pristine white fungus might have neuroprotective properties.
The Undersea Network That Connects the World
An excerpt from “The Undersea Network.”
What Freaks You Out About Robots?
Should we worry about the imminent rise of robots in our lives?
Booting Up Computer Art
In the 1960s, curious computer scientists transformed computers into art machines.