January 31, 2025
When a fire burns in an urban area, it unleashes a slurry of chemicals. Scientists are trying to untangle the chemistry at play. Plus, early analysis of asteroid samples from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission shows the residue of an icy brine and a soup of amino acids. And, on the heels of some big quantum computing advances last year, what’s next in 2025?
SciFri Book Club Talks Silent Spring
Silent Spring revisited: Ira Flatow and Flora Lichtman host the first SciFri Book Club meeting.
Astronauts Prepare for Departure
We’ll check in with crewmembers on board the International Space Station, just days before several are scheduled to return to Earth after months in orbit.
Bidding Farewell to Lonesome George
He never spoke, but affected many. We’ll look back on the life of the Galapagos icon Lonesome George.
A Tale of Two Coastlines, Skirted by Swelling Seas
Rising sea levels are swallowing up U.S. coastlines–with a flood of consequences onshore.
Alan Turing at 100
A look at the man who helped create the modern world–and was promptly forgotten by it.
Meet the Energy-Saving Gadgets of the Future
Floors that generate electricity from footsteps. A GPS that outsmarts traffic jams. Innovations like these could be the next big thing–and we have student inventors to thank.
Spider-Man Gets a Physics Lesson
Do the laws of physics apply to superheroes? Sort of, says James Kakalios.
Will China Blast Past America in Space?
China just ticked off another accomplishment in space: its first manned docking in orbit. Next stop…the Moon?
Voyager 1 Bids Farewell To The Solar System
Voyager 1 is leaving the solar system, making it the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space.
More to the Universe Than Meets the Eye
The universe is full of invisible stuff. Take dark matter–you can’t spot it with your eyes, but it outnumbers visible matter five to one!
Field Trip! Can You Stomach It?
Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum has a lot of heart, and other organs too.
Can 3D Printers Reshape the World?
From batteries to bikinis, a look at what’s in the queue for 3D printers.
Tall Buildings a Cut above the Rest
Desert towers with their own sunscreen are among the world’s best skyscrapers.
What Your Brain Looks Like When You Lose Self-Control
New pictures show what happens in the brain when you pass up the pie, but later eat the pudding.
Medical Oddities from the Bowels of the Mütter
“Disturbingly informative,” is how museum director Robert Hicks describes Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum—items of interest include a gangrenous hand, wax models of extinct diseases, deformed bones and body parts.
Bones, Books, and Bell Jars
In her new book, Bones Books and Bell Jars, physician and photographer Andrea Baldeck documents the collection of medical texts, instruments, and specimens at Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum.
How the Morning-After Pill Works
Growing scientific evidence weakens claims that the morning-after pill is tied to abortion.
Mapping the Microbial Make-Up of Healthy Humans
Scoping out the trillions of germs that call the healthy human body home.
Bacterial Armor Imaged, Down to the Details
Images of a bacterium reveal a protective protein coat akin to the chainmail of a medieval knight.
Desktop Diaries: Sylvia Earle
A moray eel, a flock of geese, and a shrunken head are just a few of things found in and around Her Deepness’ office.