Science Friday

Valley Fever And COVID-19, Structure of Conspiracy Theories, New Climate Wars. Jan 15, 2021, Part 2

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How The West Is Battling COVID-19 And Valley Fever For the past year, the COVID-19 crisis has taken up much of our attention. But the pandemic can com...

How The COVID-19 Vaccine Was Developed And Is Being Distributed. Jan 15, 2021, Part 1

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How Did A Vaccine Get Developed In Less Than A Year? From the first discovery of a strange new respiratory virus in Wuhan, China, in January of 2020, ...

COVID Fact Check, Aging Cells, News Roundup. Jan 8, 2021, Part 1

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fact Check My Feed: What’s Up With These COVID-19 Mutations? It’s a new year, and that means there’s a whole slew of new COVID-19 news to dive i...

Fundamentals of Physics, Giant Ancient Birds, 2021 Space Outlook. Jan 8, 2021, Part 2

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Finding New Particles On The Frontier of Physics As a theoretical physicist, Frank Wilczek has made a career out of dreaming up new ways to understand...

They Might Be Giants, Animal Sounds Quiz, Luxury Ostrich Eggs. Jan 1, 2021, Part 2

01 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

They Might Be Giants With A Timely Reminder: “Science Is Real” Fans of the band They Might Be Giants are likely to be familiar with the band’s v...

Christmas Bird Count, Black Birders Week, Science Diction: Vaccine. Jan 1, 2021, Part 1

01 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Where Did The Word ‘Vaccine’ Come From? As we head into 2021, there’s one word on all of our minds: Vaccine. It may be in headlines right and le...

Indigenous Astronomy, Auroras, Inclusive Science. Dec 25, 2020, Part 2

25 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Nature’s Own Holiday Light Show The spectacular glowing green of the Northern Lights is caused by charged particles from the solar wind interacting ...

2020 In Review, Charismatic Tubeworms, Dog Evolution. Dec 25, 2020, Part 1

25 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

2020: The Year In Science, With Wendy Zukerman It’s the end of the year, and time to reflect. While there’s no doubt the coronavirus and efforts t...

Black Holes, Scallop Die-off, River Sound Map. Dec 18, 2020, Part 2

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What Would Happen If You Fell Into A Black Hole? A new book, Black Hole Survival Guide, explores different theories of what would happen if you jumpe...

Future Of Climate Change, Tongue Microbiome. Dec 18, 2020, Part 1

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How The Past Hints About Our Climate’s Future Ask a climate scientist how much the earth will warm as a result of the carbon dioxide we’re emittin...

Science Books of 2020, ANWR Drilling, Science Diction. Dec 11, 2020, Part 2

11 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Trump Administration Rushes To Sell Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Land For Drilling In a last-minute push, the Trump administration announced Thurs...

Vaccination Logistics, Europe’s Green Deal. Dec 11, 2020, Part 1

11 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

COVID-19 Vaccinations Begin In The U.K. This week, the U.K. began its vaccination effort against COVID-19 with Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old woman fr...

Virtual Worlds And Wildfire Health Effects. Dec 4, 2020, Part 2

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Science Friday’s Second Life: The Voyage Home Do you remember Second Life? That online virtual world where you can create an avatar, build whatever ...

David Attenborough, China’s Moon Mission, COVID Approved In U.K. Dec 4, 2020, Part 1

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

David Attenborough Observes A Natural World In Crisis If you were to make a list of celebrities of the natural world, Sir David Attenborough would mos...

Your Cheese’s Microbiome, COVID Reinfection Questions, Future Of Meat. Nov 27, 2020, Part 1

27 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Can You Get COVID-19 More Than Once? SciFri producer Elah Feder’s friend tested positive for antibodies a few months ago—but last month, she devel...

Ig Nobel Prizes, Koji Alchemy. Nov 27, 2020, Part 2

27 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Laugh Along At Home With The Ig Nobel Awards We know traditions are different this year. Maybe you’re having a small family dinner instead of a huge...

Roman Mars, Disinformation, Ancient Female Big Game Hunters. Nov 20, 2020, Part 2

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Exploring The Invisible Architecture Of Cities With Roman Mars On a walk through your city or town, there are all sorts of sights and sounds to take i...

Famous Arecibo Observatory Decommissioned, Biden’s Climate Change Plan. Nov 20, 2020, Part 1

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Puerto Rico's Famous Arecibo Observatory Decommissioned The astronomical observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, has been standing since 1963. It has wea...

Body Temperature, COVID Vaccines, Dog Genomics. Nov 13, 2020, Part 2

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our Average Body Temperature Is Getting Cooler We’ve all been getting our temperature checked on the regular these days. Most restaurants and busine...

Biden’s COVID Transition Team, Election Drug Policy Reform. Nov 13, 2020, Part 1

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The New Biden Administration Plans For COVID-19 It’s been less than a week since it became clear that Joe Biden would be the president elect. While ...

Climate Policy And The Election, COVID Winter Forecast, Murder Hornets. Nov 6, 2020, Part 1

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What Will The Pandemic Look Like During The Winter? It’s been almost a year since officials in China announced the spread of a mysterious pneumonia,...

Ancient Algae, COVID Holidays, Accessible Pregnancy Test. Nov 6, 2020, Part 2

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How Algae Survived A Mass Extinction Sixty-six million years ago when an asteroid slammed into what is now the Yucatan peninsula, it set off a period ...

Book Club Finale, Floating Nuclear Plants. Oct 30, 2020, Part 2

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Pushing Boundaries In Fantastical Fiction The Science Friday Book Club has spent all of October immersed in short stories by Indigenous, Black, Chi...

Science And The Election, Disinformation, Vampire Bats. Oct 30, 2020, Part 1

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Choosing the next U.S. president is not the only decision voters will make in the upcoming 2020 elections. Major science policies are also on the ball...

Should We Trust Election Forecasting, COVID Dreams. Oct 23, 2020, Part 1

23 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The first “scientific” election poll was conducted in 1936 by George Gallup, who correctly predicted that Franklin D. Roosevelt would win the pres...

Teaching in a Pandemic, Inheriting Stress, Book Club. Oct 23, 2020, Part 2

23 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Even In A Pandemic, Science Class Is In Session This academic year, school campuses across the United States look very different. Instead of crowded h...

U.S. COVID Spikes, Blockchain Chicken Farm, Book Club: Chicanafuturism. Oct 16, 2020, Part 2

16 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Across The Country, A Spike In Coronavirus Cases Over 217,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S., and many states are seeing an upswing in case ...

The Black Hole At The Center Of The Galaxy, Shipwreck Microbes. Oct 16, 2020, Part 1

16 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The 2020 Nobel Prize winners have been announced, and among them is UCLA astronomer Andrea Ghez, who split the prize with Roger Penrose and Reinhard G...

Science News, Nobel Roundup, Book Club. Oct 9, 2020, Part 1

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What Is The Status Of President Trump’s COVID-19 Case? Late last week, President Trump announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was ad...

Solar System Smackdown: Mars v. Venus, Mussel Mystery. Oct 9, 2020, Part 2

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Solar System Smackdown: Mars Vs. Venus One of the fiercest hunts in the solar system is the scientific search for signs of extraterrestrial life—whe...

Antarctic Ice, Itching, Ancient Birds. Oct. 2, 2020, Part 2

02 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

New Study Shows No Second Chance For Antarctic Ice Shelves From the heat waves and wildfires in the western U.S. to the active hurricane season in the...

Trump Tests Positive For Coronavirus, COVID-19 Fact Check, SciFri Book Club. Oct. 2, 2020, Part 1

02 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The news hit us overnight: President Trump, the First Lady, and at least one member of the president’s staff tested positive for COVID-19. Just befo...

Feather Communication, Thermal Imaging Wildfires, Tick Saliva. September 25, 2020, Part 2

25 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thermal Imaging Technology Helps Firefighters See Through Smoke Wildfires are still raging out west, and states are using anything in their arsenals t...

Indigenous Fire Management, Oliver Sacks Film. September 25, 2020, Part 1

25 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Down a long, single-lane road in the most northern part of California is Karuk territory—one of the largest Indigenous tribes in the state. It’s h...

SciFri Extra: After 20 Years, The ‘Cosmic Crisp’ Has Landed

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This fall, there’s a new apple all around town. After 20 years of development, the Cosmic Crisp has landed. Today, we're bringing you an episode of...

Nursing Homes, Volcano Science. Sept 18, 2020, Part 2

18 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

America’s Elder Care Has A Problem Since the pandemic began, long-term care facilities across the country have experienced some of its worst effects...

West Coast Fires, Sen. Ed Markey, Deafness Cures. Sept 18, 2020, Part 1

18 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Peak wildfire season is just beginning on the West Coast, but 2020 is already another unprecedented year. In California, more than 2.2 million acres h...

Medium Black Holes, World of Wonders, Warsaw Typhus. Sept 11, 2020, Part 2

11 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why A Medium-Sized Black Hole Is Surprising Physicists If you’re looking for a black hole, they normally come in two sizes. There’s the basic mode...

The Wonders of Moss, Clean. Sept 11, 2020, Part 1

11 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

These Moss Are Living Their Best Life—Under Rocks Desert mosses live a much different life than their cousins in lush, water-rich forests. In fact, ...

Fact Check Your Feed, Climate And Fungi, Cells Solve A Maze. September 4, 2020, Part 2

04 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Can Fungus Survive Climate Change? One of the most extensive global networks for sharing information and moving around essential nutrients is hidden f...

Urban Forests And Climate Change, HIV Treatment Progress. September 4, 2020, Part 1

04 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

New York City’s skyline is dominated by tall skyscrapers—but there’s a surprising amount of forest in the city known as a concrete jungle. Tree ...

Milky Way Gas, COVID Ventilation, Immunotherapy And The Microbiome. August 28, 2020, Part 2

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, a group of scientists studying the Milky Way through the world’s largest ground-based radio telescope identified something they had never ...

Coronavirus Immunity, Ask A Cephalopod Scientist. August 28, 2020, Part 1

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How well you fare in fighting a new pathogen like SARS-CoV2 depends in large part on how your immune system responds to—and kills—the virus. The i...

Pregnancy And Coronavirus, Good News For Corals. August 21, 2020, Part 1

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There’s no guidebook for how to have a baby during a pandemic. Experiences like having loved ones present at the delivery, or inviting grandparents ...

Iowa Derecho, Showering And Hygiene, Parasites. August 21, 2020, Part 2

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dealing With The Aftermath Of Iowa’s Devastating Derecho  It’s been more than a week since the state of Iowa was hit by a surprise visitor: a lin...

Contraceptive Access, Robot Bias, Story Structure. August 14, 2020, Part 2

14 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Roboticists, like other artificial intelligence researchers, are concerned about how bias affects our relationship with machines that are supposed to ...

Faster COVID-19 Testing, Hell Ants. August 14, 2020, Part 1

14 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout the pandemic, testing has continued to be one of the biggest issues, particularly in the United States. Some scientists say that the soluti...

SciFri en Español: El Río Hirviente De Perú Tiene Más De Lo Que El Ojo Ve

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

En el verano del 2019, Rosa Vásquez Espinoza bioquímica y candidata a Ph.D. en la Universidad de Michigan Ann Arbor, fue en una expedición al Río ...

Biden Climate Plan, Boiling River. August 7, 2020, Part 1

07 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last month, Vice President Joe Biden unveiled his plan for climate change—a sweeping $2 trillion dollar platform that aims to tighten standards for ...

The End of Everything, Bright Fluorescence, Gene Editing a Squid. August 7, 2020, Part 2

07 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to the eventual end of our universe, cosmologists have a few classic theories: the Big Crunch, where the universe reverses its expansion...

COVID In Prisons, How Sperm Swim. July 31, 2020, Part 2

31 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread, it’s become clear certain populations are particularly at risk—including those serving sentences in prisons a...

Science In Space, Sports and COVID, Science Diction. July 31, 2020, Part 1

31 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Astronauts have conducted all sorts of experiments in the International Space Station—from observations of microgravity on the human to body to grow...

SciFri Extra: The Origin Of The Word 'Ketchup'

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Science Diction is back! This time around, the team is investigating the science, language, and history of food. First up: Digging into America's fa...

Three Missions To Mars, COVID Fact Check, Solar Probes. July 24, 2020, Part 1

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, your news feed is likely still overflowing with both breaking research and rumors. Virologist Angela Rasmussen of ...

Long-Term COVID Effects, Dicamba and Agriculture, Mosquitoes. July 24, 2020, Part 2

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Since the beginning of the pandemic, hospitals have been treating and triaging an influx of COVID-19 patients. Hundreds of thousands of seriously ill ...

How Brains Organize Smells, Plant Evolution In Art, New Hearing Aids. July 17, 2020, Part 2

18 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How we smell has been a bit of a mystery to scientists. Other senses are easier to understand: For example, it’s possible to predict what a color wi...

Coronavirus And Schools, New Mars Rover. July 17, 2020, Part 1

17 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As we approach August, many of our young listeners and their parents are starting to think about going back to school. Usually, that might mean gettin...

Great Indoors, Science Museums, Who Owns The Sky. July 10, 2020, Part 2

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A whole lot of folks’ summer plans have been cut short this season. Maybe you were planning a family road trip to visit a national park. Or your loc...

Degrees of Change: Changing Behavior. July 10, 2020, Part 1

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past months, our Degrees of Change series has looked at some of the many ways our actions affect the climate, and how our changing climate ...

Summer Science Books, Naked Mole Rats. July 3, 2020, Part 2

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The pandemic has nixed many summer vacation plans, but our summer science book list will help you still escape. While staying socially distant, you ca...

Making The Outdoors Great For Everyone. July 3, 2020, Part 1

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the start to a holiday weekend, which often means spending time outdoors, whether that’s going to the beach, on a hike, or grilling in a park...

Honeybee Health, Assessing COVID Risk, Seeing Numbers. June 26, 2020, Part 2

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This past year was a strange one for beekeepers. According to a survey from the nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership, U.S. beekeepers lost more than 40%...

Checking In On Kids’ Mental Health During the Pandemic. June 26, 2020, Part 1

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the U.S., we’re heading into the fourth month of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing and lockdowns have taken a toll on everyone’s mental ...

SciFri Extra: A Pragmatic Wishlist For AI Ethics

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month, three major tech companies publicly distanced themselves from the facial recognition tools used by police: IBM said they would sto...

Facial Recognition, Hummingbird Vision, Moon Lander. June 19, 2020, Part 2

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Protests Shine Light On Facial Recognition Tech Problems Earlier this month, three major tech companies publicly distanced themselves from the facia...

Doctor Burnout, International Doctors. June 19, 2020, Part 1

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A Crisis Of Health In Healthcare Workers Content Warning: This segment contains talk of suicide. For help for people considering suicide, call the Na...

Proactive Policing, The Social Brain. June 12, 2020, Part 2

12 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1980s and 1990s, in the midst of rising crime rates and a nationally waning confidence in policing, law enforcement around the country adopted ...

Anthony Fauci On The Pandemic’s Future. June 12, 2020, Part 1

12 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

During the pandemic, immunologist Anthony Fauci has gained fame as “America’s doctor.” He’s a leading scientist in the government’s response...

Breast Cancer Cultural History, Butterfly Wings. June 5, 2020, Part 2

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

‘Radical’ Explores The Hidden History Of Breast Cancer  Nearly 270,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, along with a couple t...

Police Behavior Research, Dermatology In Skin Of Color, Coffee Extraction. June 5, 2020, Part 1

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans by police brutality and racial inequality continue to fuel demonstr...

Vaccine Rate Decrease, Mind-Body Music. May 29, 2020, Part 1

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One unintended consequence of families sheltering at home is that children’s vaccination rates have gone way down. In New York City, for example, va...

Bio-Inspired Concrete, Nose Microbiome, Space News. May 29, 2020, Part 2

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The human microbiome—our own personalized bacteria profile—plays a part in our health. The different parts of our body, from our skin to our gut, ...

Ancient East Asian Genomes, COVID And Clotting, And Cassowary Plumage. May 22, 2020, Part 2

22 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The cassowary, a large flightless bird native to Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, has a reputation for aggression and wickedly clawed feet t...

Degrees Of Change: Regulatory Rollbacks. May 22, 2020, Part 1

22 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration is in the process of reversing nearly 100 environmental rules and regulations—threatening air, water, and public health. Fo...

Galileo, Home COVID Monitoring Tech, Origin Of The Feces. May 15, 2020, Part 2

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Galileo’s Battle Against Science Denial Galileo Galilei is known as the father of observational astronomy. His theories about the movement of the Ea...

Global COVID Hotspots, Fact Check My Feed, Koji Fermenting. May 15, 2020, Part 1

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fact Check My Feed: Finding The Falsehoods In ‘Plandemic’ Science Friday continues to weigh the truth and sift through the seemingly never-ending...

Moon Maps, Brain Replay, Contact Tracing. May 8, 2020, Part 2

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever had to learn something new and repeat it over and over—until it feels like you’re doing it in your sleep? Maybe you are. In research...

COVID-19 Inequalities. May 8, 2020, Part 1

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Coronavirus is still hitting the U.S. hard. And breaking down infections by race shows a striking pattern: Black, Latino, and Native American people a...

Evolutionary Biologist Neil Shubin, Bee Virus Behavior, Search for Lost Apples. May 1, 2020, Part 2

01 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Twists And Turns Of The Evolution Of Life On Earth In an evolutionary tree, neat branches link the paths of different species back through time. A...

COVID-19 By The Numbers, 1918 Flu. May 1, 2020, Part 1

01 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Navigating COVID-19 By The Numbers Ever since the first news about a new virus in China, we’ve been seeing projections, or models predicting how it ...

Vaccine Process, Hubble Space Telescope Anniversary, Alchemy Of Us. April 24, 2020, Part 2

24 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Over 50 pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms around the world are now racing to develop vaccines for the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. A...

Valley Fever, Citizen Science Month Finale. April 24, 2020, Part 1

24 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When you think of fungal infections, you might think athlete’s foot or maybe ringworm—itchy, irritating reactions on the skin. But other fungal di...

COVID-19 Factcheck, Digital Earth Day, City Nature Challenge, Ancient Antarctic Forest. April 17, 2020, Part 2

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Can Coronavirus Reactivate In Patients After Recovery? These days, newsfeeds are overloaded with stories of the coronavirus, but Science Friday cont...

Degrees of Change: Climate Anxiety and Depression. April 17, 2020, Part 1

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You Aren’t Alone In Grieving The Climate Crisis As the consequences of unchecked climate change come into sharper focus—wildfires in the Amazon an...

Spring Sounds, Luxury Ostrich Eggs, ISeeChange. April 10, 2020, Part 2

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Enjoying Spring From Quarantine You may be trapped inside, but outside, it’s bird migration season. Flowers are blooming from coast to coast, and ev...

Healthcare Ripple Effects, Resilient Flowers, Cancer Detection. April 10, 2020, Part 1

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Routine Healthcare Is Falling Through The COVID-19 Cracks Our healthcare system is straining under the weight of the coronavirus epidemic, with hospit...

SciFri Extra: Science Diction On The Word 'Quarantine'

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Quarantine has been on many of our minds lately. The phrases “shelter in place” and “self-quarantine” have filled up our news, social media, a...

DIY Masks, Neanderthal Diet, Symbiotic Worms. April 3, 2020, Part 2

03 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals across the country are running low on PPE—personal protective equipment. This includes masks, gowns, ...

COVID-19 Supplies Shortage, Citizen Science Month, Mercury Discovery. April 3, 2020, Part 1

03 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

April is Citizen Science Month! It’s a chance for everyone to contribute to the scientific process—including collecting data, taking observations,...

SciFri Extra: Science Diction On The Word 'Cobalt'

31 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Cobalt has been hoodwinking people since the day it was pried from the earth. Named after a pesky spirit from German folklore, trickery is embedded in...

Squid Lighting, Tongue Microbiome, Invasive Herbivores. March 27, 2020, Part 2

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How Humboldt Squid Talk To Each Other In The Dark Cephalopods are masters of changing their bodies in response to their environments—from camouflag...

COVID Near You Citizen Science, Fact-Check Your Feed. March 27, 2020, Part 1

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

These days, our newsfeeds are overloaded with stories of the coronavirus. This week, Science Friday continues to dig into the facts behind the specu...

SciFri Extra: Science Diction On The Word 'Dinosaur'

24 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At the turn of the 19th century, Britons would stroll along the Yorkshire Coast, stumbling across unfathomably big bones. These mysterious fossils wer...

Coronavirus Fact-Check, Poetry of Science, Social Bats. March 20, 2020, Part 2

21 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As new cases of coronavirus pop up across the United States, and as millions of people must self-isolate from family and friends at home, one place ma...

Jane Goodall, Coronavirus Update, Science Diction. March 20, 2020, Part 1

21 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

60 years ago this year, a young Jane Goodall entered the Gombe in Tanzania to begin observations of the chimpanzees living there. During her time ther...

SciFri Extra: Science Diction On The Word 'Vaccine'

17 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, smallpox seemed unbeatable. People had tried nearly everything to knock it out—from herbal remedies to tossing back 12 bottles of bee...

Farmers’ Stress, Tiny Dino-Bird Discovery. March 13, 2020, Part 2

13 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Farm Crisis of the 1980s was a dark time for people working in food and agriculture. U.S. agricultural policies led to an oversupply of crops, pri...

Coronavirus: Washing and Sanitizing, Science Diction, New HIV PrEP Drugs. March 13, 2020, Part 1

13 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The number of people in the U.S. confirmed to be infected with the pandemic-level respiratory coronavirus continues to rise, even as testing and diagn...

SciFri Extra: Science Diction On The Word 'Meme'

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Remember that summer when the internet was one Distracted Boyfriend after another—that flannel-shirted dude rubbernecking at a passing woman, while ...

Astronaut Training, Marsquakes, Whale Migration. March 6, 2020, Part 2

06 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Do You Have The ‘Right Stuff’ To Be An Astronaut? If you’ve ever considered being an astronaut, this might be your chance to land that dream job...