15.09 podcasts

Reviving a case for foundational science that dates back to Einstein.

The Many Uses Of Useless Research

Researchers are developing wearable devices that can make human movements more efficient, boost strength, and increase endurance.

Need A Boost? Try An Exosuit

Climate change can create more habitat for some species of fish. But will fisheries adapt?

Winners And Losers In Warming Northeast Waters

Actress Hedy Lamarr was so much more than a beautiful face. Here is why her story needs to be told.

Spreading The Word About The Mother Of Wi-Fi

Biochemist Jennifer Doudna describes her work on developing the CRISPR-Cas9 technique and the ethical concerns of using the revolutionary tool.

The Road To CRISPR

Regulating algorithms could offer better insight into why they fail.

Can You Hold An Algorithm Accountable?

No one, not even Donald Trump, could make such a complex system like the U.S. government work.

Why Theoretical Physics Says The US Is Ungovernable

The DNA replication process is not exactly like the textbooks say.

Caught On Video: How DNA Replicates

Researchers estimate that climate change effects could wipe out 39â59 percent of Ethiopian coffee farms in the future.

Climate Change Could Lead to Coffee Crisis

Should you put your food on a red plate or a blue plate? Do you drink your beer out of an angular glass or a round one? What dinner music do you cue up? It turns out that such mundane-seeming decisions can have a significant effect on how we perceive the flavors and textures of our food. For example, people report an enhanced appreciation for umami flavors in the din of an airplane, but a decreased ability to taste sweet things. That could explain why you might crave tomato juice or Bloody Mary mix during a long flight.

University of Oxford experimental psychologist Charles Spence is a self-described “gastrophysicist” who experiments with the ways aesthetics, environment, and even subtle cues in packaging can change how we perceive sweetness, bitterness, crispness and other qualities of our food. He describes how restaurants, both expensive and midrange, are using this knowledge, and how a greater understanding of gastrophysics can improve even the humble (and often wasted) hospital meal.

Season Your Meal With All Five Senses

Among the many hurdles NASA scientists face when conducting research with Mars rover Curiosity, one stands out: time. It takes 24 minutes for scientists to send instructions to Curiosity, a delay that puts constraints on the pace of scientific research. But since May 2016, NASA has been testing out an autonomous system, named AEGIS (Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science), on the rover. It saves NASA time by letting Curiosity decide which rocks to sample and what data to send back to Earth. Raymond Francis, an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, joins Ira to discuss the rover’s autonomous upgrade.

Curiosity Gets An AI Upgrade

Ever been to a carnivorous plant garden? How about a nuclear reactor run by undergrads, or a museum full of brains? Those are just a few of the geeky destinations described in “Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders.” Co-authors Ella Morton and Dylan Thuras join Ira in this segment to recommend road trip-worthy spots for your summer vacation.

Hidden Wonders To Hit On Your Science Road Trip

Over two thousand years ago, the ancient Romans built piers, breakwaters, and other structures out of concrete—and some of those structures still stand today. Now, researchers are trying to understand the chemical and geological processes that work together to give that ancient concrete such durability. Using microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and spectroscopic techniques, they’ve developed a map of the crystalline microstructures within the concrete. According to their research, a slow infusion of seawater into concrete made with a type of volcanic ash found near Rome gradually creates crystals of a material called aluminous tobermorite, which actually strengthens the concrete as it ages.

Marie Jackson, a geology and geophysics research professor and one of the authors of a report on the work, says that understanding Roman concrete could give modern materials scientists ideas for how to strengthen modern structures, and could even lead to new materials, such as concretes that soak up and trap nuclear waste.

Drilling Into The Secrets Of Roman Concrete

The worst heat of summer is still ahead, and with it, the torment of turning on a stove to cook.

What other options are there for making dinner? If you have lime juice, you could try making ceviche. If you have salt, what about salmon gravlax, preserved lemons, or salt-cured meats?

In the latest edition of Food Failures, Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Cooks, and Good Food, serves up secrets to preparing safe and delicious foods at room temperature.

Food Failures: Too Hot In The Kitchen? Try No-Heat Cooking

Scientists do incredibly cool things on the job: They simulate Mars missions on Hawaiian volcanoes, track polar bears from helicopters, and investigate the unusual fluid properties of substances like ketchup or queso. But the way scientists often appear in popular culture is more akin to Einstein: older and male, with wild hair, and perhaps donning a white lab coat.

Sarah McAnulty, a biologist who studies the microbiomes of squid at the University of Connecticut, says she wanted to change that stereotype by introducing schoolkids around the world to real, working scientists using videoconferencing tools like Skype and Google hangouts. The program she founded, called Skype a Scientist, has already connected scientists to over 800 classrooms in nearly every U.S. state, and in more than a dozen countries around the world.

One of the participants in the program (and also someone with a really cool job) is Emily Green, who works in an ant lab at the University of Connecticut. In this segment, McAnulty and Green talk about their experiences with the program, and why connecting scientists with students is more important than ever.

Don’t Phone A Friend. Skype A Scientist!

Fingerprint scanners are standard on new smartphones, and new ID methods are on the way. But security researchers say biometrics are still too easily duped.

How To Make Spoof-Proof Biometric Security

Modern evolutionary science has some advantages Darwin did not. What are we learning from DNA, experimentation, and more?

Inevitable Or Accident? Tackling The Big Questions Of Evolution

Modern fake flavors owe more to the chemistry of the past than their real fruit counterparts.

Why Doesn't Cherry Candy Taste Like Real Cherries?

The idea that some people learn best from visual or audio materials has been around since the 1950s. But there is little evidence to support it.

The Myths That Persist About How We Learn

Seven innovative science teachers have turned Science Friday stories into lessons you can use in the classroom and at home.

15.09 podcasts

Kristjan Oja