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How Physics Could Make Big Crowds Safer
Episode 1218
What do large crowds of people and water have in common? They both act like fluids. When crowds cheer, sway and clump together, the movements look like ripples of water. Researchers hope insights fro…
Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Microbes: It's Complicated
Episode 1217
For a long time, microbes like the ones in Yellowstone's hot springs were studied in isolation. Molecular ecologist Devaki Bhaya says we should be studying them in community. Here's why.
Help shape th…
Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Why Black Holes Are More Than They Seem
Episode 1216
Black holes are notorious for gobbling up, well, everything. They're icons of destruction, ruthless voids, ambivalent abysses from which nothing can return — at least, according to pop culture. But b…
Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Not All Nature Comebacks Are Equal
Episode 1215
Ecologist Gergana Daskalova moved back to the small Bulgarian town of her childhood. It's a place many people have abandoned — and that's the very reason she returned. At the same time as land is b…
Published on 10 months, 4 weeks ago
10 Technologies To Watch
Episode 1214
In a world brimming with innovation and limited time, it can be hard to tell what technology has the potential to really shift life. Yet, every year, MIT Technology Review undertakes this very task a…
Published on 11 months ago
Farts To The Rescue
Episode 1213
Farts are funny and sometimes smelly. But are they a legitimate topic of research?
More than 40% of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from some kind of functional gut disorder — from acid refl…
Published on 11 months ago
The Latest On Bird Flu
Episode 1212
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading among livestock and other mammals in the United States, raising concerns that another pandemic may be looming. Last month, California declared a state of em…
Published on 11 months ago
Moths, Owls And Fungi With Over 20,000 Sexes...Oh My!
Episode 1211
Put on your headphones. In today's episode, host Emily Kwong leads us on a night hike in Patuxent River State Park in Maryland. Alongside a group of naturalists led by Serenella Linares, we'll meet a…
Published on 11 months ago
Peeing Is Contagious!
Episode 1210
At least, it's contagious among a group of captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Sanctuary. How do researchers know? A very dedicated grad student at Kyoto University. In the quest for scientific knowl…
Published on 11 months, 1 week ago
Where Are We In The Quest To Find Alien Life?
Episode 1209
Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. It was a big moment in a century-long concerted search for extraterrestrial in…
Published on 11 months, 1 week ago