Bacteria Extinction, Facial Recognition, Solar Probe. August 3, 2018, Part 2

Long before we walked the Earth, bacteria took it over. They’re in every ecosystem on the Earth, and researchers have hopes to someday find them on other planets. The tiny cells have even helped make our atmosphere oxygen-rich and liveable. But do bacteria—numerous and adaptable as they are—ever go extinct? New research suggests they do.  Facial recognition systems—the type of technology that helps you tag your friends on Facebook—is finding its way offline and into real world environments. Some police departments are using the technology to help identify suspects and companies are marketing face-identifying software to schools to increase security. But a study found that facial recognition algorithms lacked in accuracy when it came to assessing different genders and skin tones.  If you want to study something, the best way to do it is to go straight to the source. That goes for bodies in our solar system as well. Over the last several decades, NASA has sent space probes to study Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Pluto, and the objects beyond them. And on August 11th, NASA will launch the Parker Solar Probe, the latest mission to study our nearest star—and every other star in the universe. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

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