Podcast Episodes

The Trait That Makes Robots More 'Human'

Episode 1325

Neurotic, anxious robots like C-3P0 from Star Wars' C-3P0 and Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are a staple of science fiction — but they're not as common in the real world. Most of t…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Why Gene-Edited Babies May Be Closer Than Ever

Episode 1324

A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, made a shocking announcement to the world in 2018: He had secretly engineered the birth of the first gene-edited babies. The birth of the twins was seen as reckless a…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Sea Camp: Did Life Start In Hydrothermal Vents?

How did life start on Earth? The answer is a big scientific mystery scientists are actively investigating. After talking with many scientists, host Regina G. Barber found that an abundance of water o…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Why Do Some 80 Year-Olds Have Extraordinary Memories?

The human brain tends to slow down as we age — even healthy brains shrink. That can make learning and memory harder as people age. But some people’s brains shrink more slowly than their peers. This l…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Climate Change Could Alter Spidey Love

Every September, the small town of La Junta, Colorado puts on a whole festival to celebrate a beloved local animal: the tarantula! Around this time of year, thousands of mature male tarantulas start …

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

'Zombie' cells could explain aging — and help scientists slow it

It’s no secret that stress isn’t good for you. But just how bad is it? Well, in the last few decades, scientists have linked psychological stress to changes in our DNA that look a lot like what happe…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

The Giants Lurking In The Deep Sea

Episode 1319

The bathypelagic zone of the ocean is 1,000 to 4,000 meters below the surface. Sometimes it's called the midnight zone because it's too deep for sunlight to reach. Most animals here are much smaller …

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Climate Change Is Here For Your Chocolate

Last year, we reported how extreme weather events may be dwindling the future of chocolate. Just last week, we saw an inkling of that: The Hershey Company announced it would significantly raise the c…

Published on 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Why Illusions Are A Brain Feature, Not A Bug

Episode 1317

A grayscale ballerina who appears to be moving. A human who can fit in a doll box. A black-and-white prism that appears to change shape when viewed from three different directions. Those are the top …

Published on 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Nature Quest: Are Summers Getting Hotter?

Episode 1316

Much of the country is deep in the middle of a heat wave right now. And every summer, Duane Stilwell's town in Arizona seems to get hotter. It has him worried — and he's not the only one. Since 1980,…

Published on 5 months ago