Science Friday

Indigenous Nations Are Fighting To Take Back Their Data

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You might’ve heard this phrase before: data equals power. Because when you have data, you can decide how they’re used and who gets to use them.The...

The Unseen World Of Plant Intelligence

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are plants intelligent? Until recently, botanists were hesitant to ask that question, at least publicly. But that’s changing.In recent years researc...

Right-To-Repair Laws Gain Steam In State Legislatures

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you have a problem with your phone, like a bad battery or a cracked screen, you might decide to just buy a new one. That’s partly because we don’...

Starliner Crewed Test Flight Rescheduled | Slugs And Snails Like Cities

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The much-delayed crewed test flight is back on the calendar, despite a helium leak. Also, researchers used data from the crowd-sourcing nature observa...

Your ‘Biological Age’ Could Be Different Than How Old You Are

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Aging often looks very different on different people. There are some 70-year-olds that exercise regularly, have no trouble going for a walk around the...

High-Speed Rail Gets A Boost In The U.S.

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While the US was known for its railroads in the 1800s, we’ve fallen behind places like Japan, China, and Europe, which have invested in trains that ...

Using A Lab On Wheels To Study Weed From Dispensaries

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cannabis is legal in some form or another in over half of US states. But federally, it’s illegal and has no accepted medical use. However, the Biden...

Jelly Creatures That Swim In Corkscrews | Keeping Wind Turbines Safe For Birds

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time, scientists have recorded how salps form chains and swim in corkscrews to reach the ocean’s surface each night. Also, a wind util...

Zapping Nerves Into Regrowth | Celebrating the Maya Calendar In Guatemala’s Highlands

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An early study found that electrical stimulation could improve hand and arm function in people with spinal cord injuries. Also, for thousands of years...

Fine-Tuning Grapes For Iowa’s Wine Industry

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that almost all the wine we drink, no matter what color it is or where it’s produced, comes from a grape species called Vitis vinifera?...

How To Recycle Rare Earth Elements

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rare earth elements are a group of 17 metals used in a wide range of things that make modern life possible, including batteries, magnets, LED light bu...

New Evidence Questions Dark Energy’s ‘Constant’ Nature

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After the Big Bang, the universe expanded rapidly. And, once upon a time, conventional wisdom held that that expansion would eventually slow, dragged ...

New Guidelines Recommend Earlier Breast Cancer Screening

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has updated its recommendations for breast cancer screening once again. The recommendations now stipulate that...

New Rule Sets Stage For Electric Grid Update | Harnessing Nanoparticles For Vaccines

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Upgrades to the power grid under a new rule could help accommodate an increasing renewable energy supply and meet data center demands. Also, extremely...

How Climate Change Is Changing Sports

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sports are a critical part of human culture just about everywhere in the world. Maybe you played little league as a kid, or like to go to the park for...

Why Is Tinnitus So Hard To Understand And Treat?

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tinnitus, a condition commonly described as a persistent ringing in the ears, affects millions of people around the world. In the US, the prevalence o...

Finding Purpose In A ‘Wild Life’

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant has tracked bears through the mountains, lived with lions, been chased by elephants, and trekked after lemurs in...

Archeopteryx Specimen Unveiled | Trees And Shrubs Burying Great Plains' Prairies

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Field Museum has unveiled a new specimen of Archaeopteryx, a species that may hold the key to how ancient dinosaurs became modern birds. Also, a “...

JWST Detects An Atmosphere Around A Rocky Exoplanet | Boeing Plans To Fly Humans To The ISS Next Week

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Astronomers have confirmed they found an atmosphere around an Earth-like rocky exoplanet for the first time. Also, Boeing’s Starliner craft was sche...

Challenging The Gender Gap In Sports Science

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The first Women’s World Cup was in 1991, and the games were only 80 minutes, compared to the 90-minute games played by men. Part of the rationale wa...

What Martian Geology Can Teach Us About Earth

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At first glance, Mars might seem rather different from our own planet. Mars is dry, with little atmosphere, and no liquid water on its surface. It is ...

How Louisiana Is Coping With Flooding In Cemeteries

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Emily Dalfrey lives across the street from Niblett’s Bluff Cemetery, where generations of her family are buried, in Vinton, Louisiana.In 2016, a per...

Inside Iowa State’s Herbarium | Science-Inspired Art From ‘Universe of Art’ Listeners

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Ada Hayden Herbarium preserves hundreds of thousands of specimens, including some collected by George Washington Carver. And, as the “Universe o...

Science From Iowa’s Prairies | Planning To Go See Cicadas? Here’s What To Know

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Science Friday is in Ames, Iowa, home to prairies, greater prairie chickens, and an array of wildlife. Also, the co-emergence of two periodical cicada...

Maybe Bonobos Aren't Gentler Than Chimps | Art Meets Ecology In A Mile-Long Poem

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A study found aggression between male bonobos to be more frequent than aggression between male chimpanzees. Also, visual artist Todd Gilens created a ...

When Products Collect Data From Your Brain, Where Does It Go?

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are products on the market that monitor your brain waves through caps or headbands: Some aim to improve mental health, sleep, or focus, while ot...

Visualizing A Black Hole’s Flares In 3D

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The words “black hole” might bring to mind an infinite darkness. But the area right around a black hole, called the accretion disk, is actually pr...

The 4,000-Year History of Humans and Silk

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Silk is one of the most luxurious fabrics for clothing and bedding. Unlike cotton or linen, silk is made most commonly by insects—often the Bombyx m...

Flint’s Water Crisis, 10 Years Later | Underwater Cables Could Help Detect Tsunamis

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While progress has been made in replacing water pipes in Flint, many residents say they still don’t know if their tap water is clean or not. Also, s...

Fighting Banana Blight | Do Birds Sing In Their Dreams?

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America’s most-consumed fruit is at risk from a fungal disease. Researchers in North Carolina are on a mission to save Cavendish bananas. Also, bird...

Why Is Solving The Plastic Problem So Hard?

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the biggest environmental issues in our modern world is plastic, which has become integral in the manufacturing of everything from electronics ...

What Worsening Floods Mean For Superfund Sites

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Superfund sites are some of the most polluted areas in the country, containing highly toxic waste such as asbestos, lead, and dioxin. Cleaning them up...

The Global Mental Health Toll Of Climate Change | Capturing DNA From 800 Lakes In One Day

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An explosion of research is painting a clearer picture of how climate change is affecting mental health across the globe. Also, a citizen science proj...

Clean Energy Transition Progress | Avian Flu In Cattle And Humans Has Scientists Concerned

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Global temperature increases are slowing, electric vehicle sales are growing, and renewable energy is now cheaper than some fossil fuels. Also, in a r...

A Cheer For The Physics Of Baseball

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

College basketball’s March Madness concluded this week, meaning that now the national sports attention can turn fully to baseball.The next time you’...

Carbon Cost Of Urban Gardens And Commercial Farms | Why There's No Superbloom This Year

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some food has a larger carbon footprint when grown in urban settings than on commercial farms, while for other foods the reverse is true. Also, what’...

Inside The Race To Save Honeybees From Parasitic Mites

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, almost half of the honeybee colonies in the U.S. died, making it the second deadliest year for honeybees on record. The main culprit wasn’...

The Brain’s Glial Cells Might Be As Important As Neurons

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Half of the cells in the brain are neurons, the other half are glial cells.When scientists first discovered glia over a century ago, they thought that...

Limits On ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Drinking Water | An Important Winter Home For Bugs | Eclipse Drumroll

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A long-awaited rule from the EPA limits the amounts of six PFAS chemicals allowed in public drinking water supplies. Also, some spiders, beetles, and ...

Investigating Animal Deaths At The National Zoo

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When a critter meets its end at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, it ends up on a necropsy table—where one of the zoo’s veterinary pathologists wi...

Eating More Oysters Helps Us—And The Chesapeake Bay

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Chesapeake Bay produces around 500 million pounds of seafood every year, providing delicious blue crabs, striped bass, oysters, and more to folks ...

How Trees Keep D.C. And Baltimore Cool

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Springtime is a great reminder of just how beautiful trees can be. Cherry blossoms and magnolias put on a gorgeous show, but trees aren’t just there...

Predicting Heart Disease From Chest X-Rays With AI | Storing New Memories During Sleep

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Eric Topol discusses the promise of “opportunistic” AI, using medical scans for unintended diagnostic purposes. Also, a study in mice found th...

Recipient Of Pig Kidney Transplant Recovering | Answering Your Questions About April 8 Eclipse

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A Massachusetts man who received a kidney from a genetically modified pig is recovering well. Also, on April 8, a total solar eclipse will plunge part...

Our Inevitable Cosmic Apocalypse

04 Apr 2024

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...

The Complicated Truths About Offshore Wind And Right Whales

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By the time researchers found the dead whale on a Martha’s Vineyard beach, her jet-black skin was pockmarked by hungry seagulls, her baleen had been...

The Bumpy Road To Approving New Alzheimer’s Drugs

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the past few years pharmaceutical companies have developed a string of new Alzheimer’s drugs called anti-amyloids, which target amyloid plaques i...

‘3 Body Problem’ And The Laws Of Physics | In Defense Of ‘Out Of Place’ Plants

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Particle accelerators, nanofibers, and solar physics: The science advisor for the Netflix adaptation breaks down the physics in the show. Also, in her...

Baltimore Bridge Collapse | Mapping How Viruses Jump Between Species

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We look into the engineering reasons why the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed after a ship crashed into it. Also, a new analysis finds that more vir...

The Legacy Of Primatologist Frans de Waal

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It wasn’t that long ago that scientists didn’t think animals could rival humans in terms of intelligence, emotions, or empathy. But the groundbrea...

The ‘Asteroid Hunter’ Leading The OSIRIS-REx Mission

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ever since we learned that an asteroid slammed into Earth, wiped out the dinosaurs, and changed the course of life on this planet, scientists have won...

Swimming Sea Lions Teach Engineers About Fluid Dynamics

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The next time you go to the zoo, take a few minutes by the sea lion habitat to watch the way they swim. While most high-performance swimmers use power...

Botanical Rescue Centers Take In Illegally Trafficked Plants

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a thriving black market to buy and sell endangered plants, and the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitor enda...

2023 Was Hottest Year On Record | The NASA Satellite Studying Plankton

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The World Meteorological Organization’s report confirms last year had the highest temperatures on record and predicts an even hotter 2024. Also, NAS...

A Strange-Looking Fish, Frozen In Time

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The term “living fossil” has been applied to any number of animals, from sharks to turtles to the coelacanth. It’s the idea that those animals l...

What We Know After 4 Years Of COVID-19

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Four years ago this week, the world as we know it changed. Schools shut down, offices shuttered, and we hunkered down at home with our Purell and cann...

Science Unlocks The Power Of Flavor In ‘Flavorama’

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Think about the best meal you’ve ever eaten: Maybe it was in a restaurant in a far-off city, or perhaps it was a home-cooked meal made by someone yo...

Abortion-Restrictive States Leave Ob-Gyns With Tough Choices

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Roe v. Wade was overturned almost two years ago, and a lot has changed in terms of abortion choices in the United States. Some states have effectively...

Nasal Rinsing Safely | How Your Brain Constructs Your Mental Health

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A recent study looked into life-threatening Acanthamoeba infections, and a few deaths, linked to the use of tap water with devices like neti pots. And...

A New Book Puts ‘Math in Drag’

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a common refrain from elementary school to adulthood: “I’m bad at math.” It’s a hard subject for a lot of people, and it has a reputati...

With This Rare Disorder, No Amount Of Sleep Is Enough

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Humans need sufficient sleep to function. The conventional wisdom is that we need around 8 hours each night to be at peak performance.But for people w...

How Election Science Can Support Democracy | The Genetic Roots Of Antibiotic Resistance

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How Election Science Can Support DemocracyThis week, the election season shifted into full gear with the Super Tuesday slate of primaries. But as the ...

Triple Feature: Dune, Mars, And An Alien On Earth

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Could A Planet Like Arrakis From ‘Dune’ Exist?“Dune: Part II” is one of the year’s most highly anticipated films, and it picks up where the ...

Could This Be The End Of Voyager 1?

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1977, NASA launched Voyager 1 and 2. Their mission? To explore the farthest reaches of our galaxy. Their missions were only supposed to last about ...

What It Takes To Care For The US Nuclear Arsenal

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For many people in the US, the threat of nuclear weapons is out of sight and out of mind. But the nuclear complex is alive and well. In fact, the stat...

A Young Scientist Uplifts The Needs Of Parkinson’s Patients

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"I heard elders talk about 'the shakes,' but I now know that language reflects deep historical inequities that have denied us access to healthcare, kn...

Snakes Are Evolutionary Superstars | Whale Song Is All In The Larynx

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the trees, through the water, and under the dirt: Snakes evolve faster than their lizard relatives, allowing them to occupy diverse niches. Also, r...

What’s Behind The Measles Outbreak In Florida?

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The United States eliminated measles back in 2000, but it still pops up every now and then. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventio...

Pythagoras Was Wrong About Music | Biochar's Potential For Carbon Capture

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras had specific ideas about the mathematical ratios behind music. It turns out that he was wrong. Also, the charcoal-lik...

As Space Exploration Expands, So Will Space Law

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Almost 70 years ago—in the middle of the Cold War—the United States and the Soviet Union kicked off the race to space, and that high-stakes sprint...

Blood In The Water: Shark Smell Put To The Test

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sharks are somewhat notorious for their sense of smell and ability to sniff out prey deep in the ocean. There’s that persistent myth that sharks can...

How Trivia Experts Recall Facts | One Ant Species Sent Ripples Through A Food Web

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How can some people recall random facts so easily? It may have to do with what else they remember about the moment they learned the information. Also,...

OpenAI’s New Product Makes Incredibly Realistic Fake Videos

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI, the company behind the chatbot ChatGPT and the image generator DALL-E, unveiled its newest generative AI product last week, called Sora, which...

Private Spacecraft Makes Historic Moon Landing | New Cloud Seeding Technique

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Private Spacecraft Makes Historic Moon LandingThursday evening, the Odysseus moon lander successfully soft-landed on the moon, becoming the first U.S ...

Making Chemistry More Accessible To Blind And Low-Vision People

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The field of chemistry is filled with visual experiences, from molecular diagrams to color-changing reactions to data displayed as peaks and waves on ...

Understanding And Curbing Generative AI’s Energy Consumption

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The explosion of AI-powered chatbots and image generators, like ChatGPT and DALL-E, over the past two years is changing the way we interact with techn...

Which Feathered Dinosaurs Could Fly? | Some French Cheeses At Risk Of Extinction

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How Do You Know If A Feathered Dinosaur Could Fly?Not all birds can fly. Penguins, ostriches, and kiwis are some famous examples.It’s pretty easy to...

Climate Scientist Michael Mann Wins Defamation Case

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann won a defamation lawsuit against two conservative writers last week.The verdict was 12 years in the making. In 2012...

Odysseus Lander Heads To The Moon | Ohio Chemical Spill, One Year Later

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If successful, Odysseus will be the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon since the Apollo mission. And, in East Palestine, Ohio, the stream that ...

One Crisis After Another: Designing Cities For Resiliency

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past few years, many cities around the world have changed dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with shifts in office use and co...

Using Sound To Unpack The History Of Astronomy

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Looking into space can be pretty daunting. How do we make sense of the vast expanse above our heads, the millions of stars we might be able to see, an...

Colorectal Cancer Rates Rising In Young People | What An AI Learns From A Baby

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Colorectal Cancer Rates Are Rising In Young PeopleGastrointestinal medicine practitioners have noticed something strange in recent years: More and mor...

A Black Physician’s Analysis Of The Legacy Of Racism In Medicine

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Uché Blackstock always knew she wanted to be a doctor. Her mother was a physician at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. Uché and her twin ...

Faraway Planets With Oceans Of Magma | The Art And Science Of Trash Talk

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hycean planets were thought to be covered by oceans of water, but a new study suggests it could be magma instead. And, author Rafi Kohan explains the ...

Is Each Fingerprint On Your Hand Unique? | In This Computer Component, Data Slides Through Honey

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new study uses artificial intelligence to show that each of our ten fingerprints are remarkably similar to one another. Plus, honey could be the sec...

The FDA Approved The First CRISPR-Based Therapy. What’s Next?

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last month the FDA approved a new treatment for sickle cell disease, the first medical therapy to use CRISPR gene editing technology. It works by iden...

Protecting The ‘Satan’ Tarantula | If Termites Wore Stripes, Would Spiders Still Eat Them?

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A team of scientists in Ecuador is on a mission to describe new-to-science tarantula species to help secure conservation protections. And, undergradua...

Scientists Are Uncovering A World Of ‘Dark Matter’ Carcinogens

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cancer, at its core, is a genetic disease: the result of DNA mutations that cause cells to grow out of control and develop tumors. And over the years,...

Syphilis Cases Up 80% Since 2018 | The Largest Deep-Sea Coral Reef In The World

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There has been a boom of syphilis cases, including a 180% increase in congenital syphilis cases, despite other STI levels staying stable. Also, the wo...

Expanding Our Umwelt: Understanding Animal Experiences

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Take a quick moment to think about your surroundings. Tune into your senses, and contemplate what’s happening around you. What do you see, hear, and...

How Signing Characters Help Deaf Children Learn Language

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This radio interview is an abbreviated version of the full video interview, available with ASL interpretation on Youtube.Think back to your favorite c...

‘Mysterious’ Canine Illness: What Dog Owners Should Know

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past few months, there have been reports about a mysterious canine respiratory illness. It’s easy to get a little scared: Some dogs are dev...

An App For People Of Color To Rate Their Birthing Experiences | How Different Animals See

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Irth is a “Yelp-like” app to help expectant parents make informed decisions by exposing bias and racism in healthcare systems. Also, a new video c...

NASA Opens Canister With Asteroid Sample | ADHD Prescription Rates Spiked During The Pandemic

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Engineers had to design bespoke tools to open the OSIRIS-REx capsule nearly four months after it arrived back on Earth. Also, prescription rates for A...

AI Helps Find Ancient Artifacts In The Great Lakes | An Artist Combines Indigenous Textiles With Modern Tech

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers in Michigan modeled a prehistoric land bridge and used AI to predict where caribou–and humans–might have traveled along it. Also, arti...

When The ‘Personal’ Computer Turned 30

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple Macintosh in January of 1984, the visual user interface, all-in-one design, and mouse-controlled navigation were re...

How The Moon Transformed Life On Earth, From Climate to Timekeeping

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For almost their entire 4.5 billion-year existence, Earth and its moon have been galactic neighbors. And the moon isn’t just Earth’s tiny sidekick...

From Scans To Office Visits: How Will AI Shape Medicine?

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers continue to test out new ways to use artificial intelligence in medicine.Some research shows that AI is better at reading mammograms than ...

Rhesus Monkey Cloned With Modified Approach Has Survived Into Adulthood

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, a research team in China reported that it had successfully cloned a rhesus monkey, which has lived normally for over two years and reached ...

3,000 Types Of Brain Cells Categorized In Massive Brain Cell Atlas

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In October 2023, an international group of scientists released an impressively detailed cell atlas of the human brain, published in 21 papers in the j...