Science Friday Folgen

While oohing and ahhing at the powerful leaps and nimble spins on the ice at the Olympics, you may not realize you’re watching physics in action. Each jump requires a careful balance of matching the time in air to the speed and number of rotations.  From spray can to ocean spray, it's time to talk about aerosols. They do play a role in climate change, but not the one you might think.  There's a new urban air polluter on the block. Volatile organic compounds like wall paints and cleaning agents are becoming our cities' biggest sources of air pollution.  Could UV light zap the flu bug? Scientists are looking into a way to kill the bug even before it has a chance to get into your system, and one type of UV light could be used to disable proteins in the flu virus.  Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

One woman’s dubious dance with a cow parasite left her rubbing her eyes—and medical experts scratching their heads. The Idaho legislature is debating how to address human-induced climate change in revised science education standards. A collection of AI-assisted tools could allow the average person to create videos of anyone saying or doing anything. The latest hacking could be used to steal your computer’s CPU power without you knowing it. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Do you know the difference between a poisonous creature and a venomous one? One distinction is that poisons are often ingested or absorbed by the skin, while venoms have to be injected through a wound. Mandë Holford tells us more about her research studying these dangerous creatures. 25 years ago, all-female crayfish species originated from a hobbyist tank in Germany. In the wild, the crustacean developed a mutation that allowed it to pick up a third set of chromosomes and reproduce clonally. Since then, the cloning crayfish have proliferated—invading waters all around the world. What do the neurons of this clonal creature tell us about its ability to adapt to different environments? It's known that the immune system can fight cancer—and there have been heavy investments in the search for a drug that will boost our own body’s ability to combat cancer. Now, researchers at Stanford University may have discovered a treatment that’s not only quick, but also doesn’t send the body’s immune system into overdrive.     Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.