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The early Earth was no place for life as we know it: Belching volcanoes, meteor strikes, hydrogen cyanide, and a healthy bombardment of ultraviolet rays. But a study in Nature Chemistry suggests those 'hellish' conditions—it's not called the Hadean period for nothing—may have been the very place where the stuff of life was forged from chemistry for the very first time. Study author John Sutherland discusses how the machinery for life came about.
 
Plus Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, comments on the genetic mutation rate of Ebola, and how the current strain is evolving at a similar rate to past outbreaks—not faster, as was previously believed.

And Arielle Duhaime-Ross, a science reporter at The Verge, joins Ira to run through a few of the week's science stories—including a spiky, ‘punk rocker’ frog.

'Hellish' Conditions Gave Spark To Life On Earth

Ryan Rykaczewski describes one of the most massive migrations on the planet, driven by the sun. Image by Tintinnidguy (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 

#ExplainTheSun  - The Largest Migration on The Planet

Once, there was the ordinary incandescent light bulb. It shone brightly, but wasted much of the energy put into it as heat. Then came the compact fluorescent. And as costs have dropped, consumers have increasingly been switching to light-emitting diode (LED) technology for many lighting applications, in an ongoing search for a more efficient bulb. Now, in work published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, researchers report that nanophotonic devices may be able to breathe new life into old incandescent technology. Marin Soljačić and Ognjen Ilic, two authors of the study, explain how they’ve been able to “recycle” some of the incandescent bulb’s wasted heat and re-emit it as visible light, boosting efficiency.

For the Lowly Incandescent Bulb, a Ray of Hope

Science, technology, and other cool stuff from public radio's Science Friday. It's brain fun, for curious people. From WNYC Studios.

'Hellish' Conditions Gave Spark To Life On Earth

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