NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast
Episodes
Forests in a Changing Climate
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
William Anderegg, director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy and associate professor in The University of Utah School of Biologica...
Wildfires in a Changing Climate
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Extreme weather events are increasing every year and wildfires are getting worse. We speak with Phil Higuera, a professor of fire ecology at the Unive...
I Am STEM
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A major initiative at the NSF, is broadening participation in STEM. Our guest today, Natalie S. King, a science educator at Georgia State University f...
Revolutionizing Cancer Screening
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A new integrated HPV DNA screening platform could transform cervical cancer screening around the globe. We'll speak with Kathryn Kundrod, who helped d...
Self-Healing Skin
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A new polymer-based material with electrical and magnetic properties that can autonomously heal itself has been demonstrated by NSF-supported chemical...
Gravitational Waves With Kip Thorne
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to the efforts of the NSF-Supported Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center scientists have c...
Gravitational Waves Announcement
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to the efforts of the U.S. National Science Foundation's NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center a new milestone in gravitational wave detection can ...
Black Holes and Space Breakthroughs
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From black holes and fast repeating bursts to James Webb Space Telescope breakthroughs and the search for extraterrestrial life, space has been a hot ...
Creating Accessibility
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The University of Washington's Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences (CREATE) is working towards a world with few...
Camp Century Cores
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
During the Cold War, a U.S. military installation called Camp Century was carved out of the ice sheet in Greenland. One of the camp’s projects was d...
Ubiquitous Computing
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shwetak Patel leads the University of Washington Ubiquitous Computing Lab, which develops innovative sensing systems for health, sustainability and no...
Inventing The Future
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cori Lathan has always had an interest in technology. She has spent her career inventing, founding and running a company, Anthrotronix, and inspiring ...
Coding Beats
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Freeman, professor of music and Brian Magerko, professor of digital media at Georgia Tech had an idea for a music-based learning environment to ...
Subglacial Secrets of Antarctica
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The vast wilderness of Antarctica has many secrets, and to reveal some, you must dig down into the subglacial environment. We are joined by Matthew Si...
Horses In the American West
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Horses evolved in North America, but ancient populations died off during the last ice age. We are joined by William Taylor, assistant professor, and c...
Hollywood’s Trolley Problem
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A recurring dramatic trope in film and television relates to the trolley problem, wherein a dilemma arises in which choice must be made to save one or...
Avoiding AI Plagiarism
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jooyoung Lee, a doctoral student at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, joins us to talk about her research on plagiarism f...
Reconstructing Black Hole Images
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The landmark first image of a black hole, at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy, has received a makeover with the help of machine learning. Lia Medei...
Quantum Communication
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Spiros Michalakis is manager of outreach and a staff researcher at Caltech’s Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, an NSF Physics Frontiers ...
Mapping the Brain
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In a landmark development for neuroscience, an interdisciplinary team has completed the first full map of an insect brain, revealing synaptic connecti...
Revolutionizing Manufacturing
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing Moving from Evolution to Revolution will accelerate the development and deplo...
Women in STEM
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Representation is vital for inspiring the next generation, and the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are no different. Today...
Cognitive Transformation and Desistance
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peggy Giordano has studied cognitive transformation and the dynamics of desistance for many years. Her work at Bowling Green State University in Ohio ...
The Life of Cordyceps
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The video game and television adaptation, The Last of Us, has created a lot of interest in the parasitic fungi Ophiocordyceps. We're joined by Chariss...
The Science of Altruistic Behavior
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences supports research focused on human behavior and how behavior can be shaped by social, ...
Mysteries of the Quantum Realm
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With accurate definitions of a seemingly contradictory nature and complex concepts like entanglement and teleportation, the realm of quantum science c...
Ragnarök and the cave of Surtur
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
During Iceland's Viking Age, a volcanic eruption formed a lava tube, which became a cave known as Surtshellir. Fast forward more than a millennium and...
Training the Mind
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In elite athletics, competitive advantages can come from the smallest of differences. Track, cycling, baseball, basketball, soccer, football have all ...
The Hidden Benefits Of Mentorship
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mentorship plays an essential role in encouraging and inspiring the next generation. Often, mentors are parents, family members or teachers, but anyon...
Could eggs make the best water filter?
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
NSF-supported researchers at Princeton University have developed an egg protein-derived aerogel whose unique structure is able to remove both salt and...
Developing Smart Streetscapes
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
NSF's Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes will forge livable, safe, and inclusive communities through real-time, hyperlocal technologi...
What IS an Echinoid?
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While we are seeing climate change impacts around the world, researchers from the Florida Museum have reported the results of 30 dives tracking the nu...
Feeding A Growing Population
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Advancing Sustainable and Distributed Fertilizer Production will enable resilient and sustainable food produc...
Plasmas & Fusion
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A recent nuclear fusion ignition event at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has made headlines around the world. We are joined by physicists ...
Mapping The North Pole
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and the Ohio State University have recently released four more years of image d...
Fastest Swimming Robots
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At North Carolina State University, NSF-supported researchers have developed a swimming soft robot that is four times faster than previous soft robots...
Exploring The Microbiome
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
NSF's Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering will be creating microbiome technologies that address challenges at the interfa...
Sea Inspired Robot Arms
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kaitlyn Becker was working on her doctorate at Harvard University when she helped develop a soft robotic system that can handle complex objects by usi...
Lightspeed Smart Devices
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you ask a smart device a question, there is a latency in the response due to the processing of your question taking place at a data center. What ...
Space Science [Special Edition] Mudslides
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gravity in space is at a minimum, providing an ideal environment for studying physics-related properties. Researcher Ingrid Tomac joins us to expla...
Space Science [Special Edition] Gravity Research
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The lack of gravity in space provides an ideal environment for studying physics-related properties. To take advantage of this opportunity, an unpreced...
Tracking Cosmic Radiation
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From out in space, high-energy particles bombard Earth and objects in our orbit with radiation that can endanger the lives of astronauts and destroy e...
Viral Knowledge
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As we move into flu season, virologist Joanna Shisler explains how viruses work and how we may avoid them. Engineer Gerri Botte tells us how she devel...
Microplastics Are Everywhere
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The United Nations estimates that more than 400 million tons of plastic is produced each year. A byproduct of this level of use is that plastic waste ...
Building Power Grid Resiliency
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. power grid is the biggest machine in the world, and demand is ever increasing. Professor Anurag Srivastava is working on ways to make the gri...
Antarctica’s Weddell Seal
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Weddell seal population of Antarctica have been closely watched since the 1960s, but there are still new discoveries being made. We are joined by ...
Threatened with Extinction
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A 15-year global reptile assessment by zoologist Bruce Young and Neil Cox has comprehensively documented extinction risks for over 10,000 species. The...
Concrete Objectives
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cement is the most widely consumed material on the planet, and its manufacturing process a large source of CO2 emissions. Researchers at Northwestern ...
Mystery Of Shipwrecked Horses
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nicolas Delsol was working on his doctorate studying the domestication of cattle in the Americas when he inadvertently sequenced the DNA of the earlie...
Baby’s First Words
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers in the cognitive development lab at Indiana University Bloomington are working to understand how children learn words and what roles visua...
Dark Matter
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Invisible dark matter is estimated to make up as much as 95% of the universe, but we can only see it by the gravitational effects on other, visible ob...
Brightest Materials
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Liquid fluorescents play a role in many materials of today but have traditionally had a limitation when turned into a solid form. Researchers at I...
Killing Coral
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every year swimmers leave 6,000 tons of sunscreen washing through reefs, an organic compound found in many sunscreens can be harmful to corals. Resear...
Spinning Food Solutions
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers at Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at Harvard University are using a unique approach to address food spoilage and the il...
Swallow A Robot?
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers at Stanford University are working on a unique small-scale robot. This magnetic miniature machine moves by dynamic origami inspired foldin...
Consuming Stars
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers have discovered what they believe to be a rare “Black Widow” binary star system out in space some 3,000 light years from Earth. We’l...
Megalodon, King of the sharks
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Megalodon was a gigantic, prehistoric shark with teeth as big as a human hand that ruled the oceans 3-16 million years ago. We’ll explore the Meg’...
NSF’s Discovery Files Coming Soon!
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is the Discovery Files Podcast from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Where we will look at some of the latest research in the world of scien...