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.
Meet the ‘Dune’ Readers: Kim Stanley Robinson and Sara Imari Walker
Sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson and astrobiologist and theoretical physicist Sara Imari Walker talk about returning to Frank Herbert’s Dune Planet.
The Heat Is On: Mating Pandemonium in African Forest Elephants
A researcher uses thermal imaging to study elephant mating behavior.
‘Dune’ Discussion Question: Week #2
The second discussion question for this summer’s SciFri Book Club selection, “Dune.”
‘Dune’ Pic: What’s this Mouse Got to Do With Paul Muad’Dib?
Ecologist Ned Dochtermann explains why the kangaroo mouse makes a perfect namesake for Paul Muad’Dib, the hero in Frank Herbert’s “Dune.”
12:06
Ebola Outbreak Continues in West Africa
Ebola specialist Daniel Bausch provides an on-the-ground view of treating the disease in West Africa.
17:26
How Ultramarathons Affect the Heart, Blood, and Brain
Exercise scientists Tamara Hew-Butler and Greg Whyte talk about how the body changes after dozens of hours in motion.
15:36
Can Animals Go Mad?
From depressed dogs to anxious gorillas, author Laurel Braitman explores mental illness in animals.
22:37
Tapping Into Musical Memory
A new documentary, “Alive Inside,” exposes the connections between music and memory.
6:28
Can’t Stop Worrying? Blame It on Your Habenula
The habenula is a pea-sized part of the brain that tracks our expectations of negative events.
16:29
Will Big Data Answer Big Questions on Health?
Google’s latest big idea is called “Baseline Study”—an effort to catalog the DNA of thousands of healthy people, along with their blood, urine, saliva, breath, and tears.
Animals Can Suffer From Mental Illness, Too
An excerpt from Laurel Braitman’s “Animal Madness.”
Balloon Rockets
In this lesson from the Chemical Educational Foundation, apply the concepts of pressure and Newton’s laws of motion to build balloon rockets.
A Galaxy Bonanza
This photograph of the universe taken by Hubble reveals more than 10,000 galaxies, including young ultraviolet ones.
Dune Discussion Question: Week #1
The first discussion question for this summer’s SciFri Book Club selection, “Dune.”
12:04
Mosquito-Borne Viruses Raise Public Health Concern
This summer, two different and currently untreatable mosquito-borne viruses were identified on the East Coast.
6:34
A Newly Discovered Virus That Lives in Our Gut
Researchers discovered a virus that lives in the gut of half of the world’s population.
10:59
What’s the Real Cost of Your Steak?
Cattle require 28 times more land and 11 times more irrigation water than eggs or poultry.
17:21
The SciFri Book Club Introduces Dune
Sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker introduce the SciFri Book Club’s summer selection: “Dune”.
11:45
New Online Tracking Tool Evades Privacy Settings
A new online tracker is snooping on visitors to over 5,600 popular sites—and it’s nearly impossible to block.