September 27, 2024
Climate activists Bill McKibben and Akaya Windwood say it isn’t fair to leave the climate crisis for younger generations to solve. Plus, a cultural anthropologist discusses the Mariana Islands’ long history of colonization and why demilitarization matters for climate progress. And, new research into a fish known as the sea robin finds that leg-like appendages can “taste” prey buried in the sand.
Insect Microfossils Provide Prehistoric Insights
Discovered at La Brea Tar Pits, the pupa helps reveal clues to what the environment was like in Southern California during the Pleistocene Epoch.
17:20
Unraveling the Mysteries of Black Holes
High energy x-rays provide a rare glimpse into the behavior of black holes.
8:29
Electric Bacteria Form Nanowires, Shoot Out Electrons
USC’s Moh El-Naggar says engineers hope to harness bacterial energy using fuel cells.
17:14
Less Flashy Fossils Offer Paleoclimate Clues
Uncharismatic microfauna, such as insects and mollusks, are giving scientists at La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles a glimpse of the city’s cool, humid past.
12:27
From The Lab To The Silver Screen: The Birth of CGI
Animator Tom Sito explains how scientists and engineers kickstarted Hollywood’s digital animation revolution.
17:23
Science In The Writers’ Room
Hollywood T.V. and film writers explain how they balance scientific accuracy and storytelling.
17:22
Making Hollywood’s Digital Doubles
Now that Hollywood’s visual effects wizards can create convincing “digital actors,” will we still need the real thing?
11:55
Experimental Therapy Saves Monkeys From Deadly Dose of Ebola
ZMapp, the cocktail of antibodies used to treat two American aid workers infected with the Ebola virus, spared 18 severely ill monkeys from death.
No Waffling on the Numbers
Three delicious math games you can play on your waffles to build math fact fluency and geometry skills, from the folks at Bedtime Math.
What Can We Learn From On-Screen Psychopaths?
Few psychopaths who terrorize the big screen could pass a reality check, but those who do can be used as teaching tools for aspiring psychiatrists.
The Ultimate Bachelor Pad: Great Bowerbird’s Bower
Male great bowerbirds build these structures strictly to attract females for mating.
Classroom Strategy: Image of the Day
Three approaches for using images as gateways to instruction in grades 4-16.
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.
6:51
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.
17:38
The SciFri Book Club Talks ‘Dune’
The SciFri Book Club concludes its discussion of Frank Herbert’s ecological epic, “Dune.”
12:21
Oceans Act As the World’s Thermostat
Global temperatures hit a plateau at the turn of the 21st century. Now researchers say they’ve discovered where that missing heat was hiding: in the oceans.
7:34
Making “Masstransiscope”
A filmmaker uses science to transform the New York City subway into a movie theater.
9:49
Neanderthals and Modern Humans Mingled for Millennia
New, more accurate radiocarbon dating suggests the two cultures co-existed in Europe for nearly 5,000 years.
7:59
‘Evolutionary Misfit’ Finds Its Way Into the Family Tree
Scientists piece together how a 14-legged Cambrian worm is related to modern animals.