November 22, 2024
On the 50th anniversary of Lucy’s discovery, paleoanthropologists reflect on what she taught us about ourselves. Plus, divers have recovered seeds of a long-lost rye variety from a 146-year-old shipwreck in Lake Huron. And, a potato researcher explains potato varieties, potato nutrition, and some tubular tuber facts.
47:47
Somewhat Silly Science Earns Ig Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobel Prizes honor scientific research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think.
The Tragic Mystery Of The Mushy Apple
In this experiment, you’ll explore the influence of apple cell structure on the crunchiness and juiciness of an apple by measuring apple tissue tensile strength.
The Space Car on the Red World
Comic artist Randall Munroe describes the Curiosity Rover, in not so many words, in this excerpt from “Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words.”
The Week-After Science Friday Quiz! 11/23/15
Can you crack the science behind cider and transit maps?
12:19
Antibiotic Awareness, Bee Blunders, and Barbie Becomes a ‘Chatty Cathy’
The World Health Organization launches Antibiotic Awareness Week, and Hello Barbie raises privacy concerns.
27:50
Why Machines Discriminate—and How to Fix Them
Big data sets can perpetuate the same biases present in our culture, teaching machines to discriminate when scanning resumes and approving loans.
05:43
Hard Cider Science
For cidermaker Alejandro del Peral, the process is “about 50 percent chemistry, and the other 50 percent is art.”
11:37
Cracking Open the Encryption Debate, Post-Paris Attacks
What role does encryption play in surveillance, security and privacy?
22:49
Can Science Untangle Our Transit Maps?
Scientists are taking lessons from psychology and cognitive science to figure out what works—and what doesn’t—in transit map design.
10:38
How YOU Solved the Science Club Message Challenge
The Science Club meets to discuss your innovative methods for getting a message from one place to another.
Cider Science
Making a hard cider is about 50 percent chemistry, and 50 percent is art.
Hard Cider, Easy Sipping
For one New York cidermaker, a variety of flavorful blends keeps the drink interesting.
The Week After Science Friday Quiz! 11/17/15
What do you know about honeybees, swimmers, and plant poaching?
Thanksgiving Science
From cranberries to turkey snoods to giant balloons, Thanksgiving is stuffed full of science.
11:58
Regulating Homeopathic Treatments, Thousands of Toenails, and A.I. in the Classroom
The FDA and FTC explore whether or not to regulate homeopathic medicines. Plus, artificially intelligent software could be changing how students learn in the classroom.
27:05
The Dirt On The Illegal Plant Trade
The trade of illegal poached plants includes rare Vietnamese orchids and threatened North Carolina wild venus flytraps.
06:06
The Swarming Intelligence Of Ant Colonies And Slime Molds
Biologist Simon Garnier studies how ant colonies and the multi-nucleated slime mold organize themselves into dynamic structures.
12:02
Microscopic Hairs Keep Some Critters Clean
Studying the hair tricks of the insect world might lead researchers to better self-cleaning materials, like solar panels that dust themselves.
17:32
Gene Therapy Aims to Switch on Hearing
Researchers have developed several genetic therapies for hearing loss that show promise in animal studies, but it’s unclear whether they’ll succeed in humans.