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Top online stories, the state of marijuana research, and Afrofuturism
On this week’s show: The best of our online stories, what we know about the effects of cannabinoids, and the last in our series of books on race and …
4 years ago
The Breakthrough of the year show, and the best of science books
Every year Science names its top breakthrough of the year and nine runners up. Online News Editor Catherine Matacic joins host Sarah Crespi to discus…
4 years ago
Tapping fiber optic cables for science, and what really happens when oil meets water
Geoscientists are turning to fiber optic cables as a means of measuring seismic activity. But rather than connecting them to instruments, the cables …
4 years, 1 month ago
The ethics of small COVID-19 trials, and visiting an erupting volcano
There has been so much research during the pandemic—an avalanche of preprints, papers, and data—but how much of it is any good? Contributing Correspo…
4 years, 1 month ago
Why trees are making extra nuts this year, human genetics and viral infections, and a seminal book on racism and identity
Have you noticed the trees around you lately—maybe they seem extra nutty? It turns out this is a “masting” year, when trees make more nuts, seeds, an…
4 years, 1 month ago
Wildfires could threaten ozone layer, and vaccinating against tick bites
Could wildfires be depleting the ozone all over again? Staff Writer Paul Voosen talks with host Sarah Crespi about the evidence from the Polarstern r…
4 years, 1 month ago
The long road to launching the James Webb Space Telescope, and genes for a longer life span
The James Webb Space Telescope was first conceived in the late 1980s. Now, more than 30 years later, it’s finally set to launch in December. After su…
4 years, 2 months ago
The folate debate, and rewriting the radiocarbon curve
Some 80 countries around the world add folic acid to their food supply to prevent birth defects that might happen because of a lack of the B vitamin—…
4 years, 2 months ago
Sleeping without a brain, tracking alien invasions, and algorithms of oppression
Simple animals like jellyfish and hydra, even roundworms, sleep. Without brains. Why do they sleep? How can we tell a jellyfish is sleeping? Staff Wr…
4 years, 2 months ago
Soil science goes deep, and making moldable wood
There are massive telescopes that look far out into the cosmos, giant particle accelerators looking for ever tinier signals, gargantuan gravitational…
4 years, 2 months ago