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1311: Inside the Nebraska quarantine facility responding to hantavirus
Episode 1311
Two disease outbreaks are dominating the news: Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and hantavirus, which started spreading on a cruise shi…
4 months, 1 week ago
1310: Surveying wildlife along Lewis and Clark's route, 220 years later
Episode 1310
When Lewis and Clark crossed the United States in the early 1800s, they recorded their wildlife observations along the way. Now, more than 200 years …
4 months, 1 week ago
1309: Pope Leo's encyclical on AI, and the Vatican science advisors
Episode 1309
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV presented his encyclical, an open letter from the church, on AI. The 42,000-word document covers a lot of terrain—from screen…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
1308: Bizarre exoplanet clouds + Counting insects with weather radar
Episode 1308
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have observed clouds on a hot gas giant exoplanet called WASP-94A b, some 700 light-years away. But …
4 months, 2 weeks ago
1307: A trailblazing geneticist reflects on her life and work
Episode 1307
It’s common knowledge that many diseases and conditions have some kind of genetic link. But that wasn't always the case. In 1990, long before the Hum…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
1306: Is that spooky old house full of ghosts, or just infrasound?
Episode 1306
Old creepy houses are a horror cliche, but why? Why do they freak us out? According to new research, it might have something to do with infrasound: a…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
How do clinical trials work, and who can participate?
We recently got a call from a SciFri listener in Florida who has autoimmune arthritis. He told us that over the years he’d taken 10 drugs, and each o…
4 months, 2 weeks ago
1304: Use of herbicide linked to Parkinson's is on the rise in the US
Episode 1304
The herbicide paraquat is so toxic it’s banned in over 70 countries. But its use in the U.S. is growing, despite known links to Parkinson’s disease. …
4 months, 3 weeks ago
1303: Why does fashion repeat in 20-year cycles? Math has the answer
Episode 1303
Bucket hats. Low-rise jeans. Track suits. As you might’ve noticed, Y2K fashion is in right now. People say that fashion moves in 20-year cycles, and …
4 months, 3 weeks ago
1302: Earth's Ancient Hydrogen, And Fossilized Vomit
Episode 1302
A recent study simulated the extreme temperatures and pressure of the Earth’s interior by squeezing a sample between diamonds and heating it with a l…
4 months, 3 weeks ago