February 7, 2025
Some research shows that e-cigarettes can be a useful tool for quitting cigarettes, but that strategy is hotly contested by scientists. Plus, an investigative journalist outlines how fraud and misconduct have stalled the search for effective Alzheimer’s treatments in a new book. And, why snow has that crisp, clean smell.
Tips to Keep Your Drinking Water Clean
A few key points from experts on the Flint water crisis.
The Mysterious ‘Alien Soil’ Growing Deep Underground
These labyrinthine ecosystems can be found growing on cave walls.
SciFri Book Club: Kim Stanley Robinson
Join us for a live conversation about climate change, fiction, and New York in the year 2140.
Make a Kite With Physics
Build a delta kite and explore some of the forces involved in flight. Challenge your design skills to improve your kite’s stability in the air.
07:21
An Advance Towards Male Birth Control, Sequencing the Quinoa Genome, and Slip-Off Gecko Skin
A male contraceptive gel prevented pregnancies for a year in rhesus monkeys.
4:30
Should A.I. Have a Role in Science Publishing?
Artificial intelligence won’t take over peer review anytime soon, but it may help combat fraud.
8:02
Consider the Universe. Now, Subtract Time and Gravity.
Holographic cosmology is a way of simplifying mind-boggling mathematical models of our universe. But it doesn’t necessarily mean we live in a hologram.
11:54
Why So (Heat) Sensitive?
A new plant-derived material claims the title of most heat-sensitive.
6:35
Harvesting Power From the Gut
Researchers have designed a battery that runs on stomach acid to power ingestible sensors.
25:14
From the Arctic to Enceladus: A Celebration of Unusual Ice
Researchers who study icy places have discovered uncanny phenomena.
On Earth, Echoes of Space
Astronomical artist Michael Carroll traveled to Antarctica for otherworldly inspiration.
How to Listen to Data
Scientists, composers, and programmers are experimenting with methods of conveying data audibly.
11:47
How Spaceflight Alters the Eyes
One of the more unexpected symptoms of spaceflight may be trouble reading fine print.
16:51
How To Hunt For Life As We Don’t Know It
Astrobiologists are looking at unusual environments on Earth for clues on how to search for life elsewhere in the solar system.
11:50
The High-Pressure Physics of Creating Metallic Hydrogen
Scientists theorize that metallic hydrogen could be used to create superconductors and high-powered rocket propellant.
8:34
Tapping Into Existing Bandwidth to Create Community WiFi
“Mesh networks” create wifi access points built off of existing wireless bandwidth.
8:37
The Secrets of Sticky Frog Saliva
Frog saliva changes from high to low viscosity when it hits an insect.
8:29
An Earthly Origin for Moon Oxygen?
Why some of the oxygen in the moon’s soil may have come from our ozone layer. Plus, is the moon more ancient than we thought?