Science, Spoken

Faced with extreme drought, Kenya’s president approved a controversial new crop for farmers. Then the legal backlash began. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

About a dozen such consumer tests are now on the market, but the science of reading DNA for insights about longevity is still young. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups rush to gain a foothold in a burgeoning industry as New York and California move to legalize human composting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One million species are at risk of extinction, but a handful of charismatic creatures get all the hype. A new conservation strategy has a different focus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New research shows that if done right, urban farms and gardens can support all kinds of species—for the good of people and the environment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atomic weapons are complex, sensitive, and often pretty old. With testing banned, countries have to rely on good simulations to trust their weapons work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a factory on the outskirts of Glasgow, aerospace manufacturer Skyrora is building rockets for a space-bound taxi service for satellites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Electrical stimulation applied to the spinal cord temporarily restored arm and hand movement in two patients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The student winners of a NASA competition designed a serpentine bot that could sidewind across lunar regolith or roll down hills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Audacious plans to resurrect the long-extinct bird could be lucrative. But the moonshot raises thorny philosophical questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The European Space Agency is exploring a unique way to dramatically cut carbon emissions by tapping sunlight closer to the source. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many are celebrating Australia’s decision to pave the way for these psychedelic therapies, but questions around accessibility remain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scientists have uncovered the Roman recipe for self-repairing cement—which could massively reduce the carbon footprint of the material today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Biological amino acids could have celestial or terrestrial roots. An experiment simulated their formation in deep space—but the mystery isn’t solved yet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A simultaneous solution to California’s extreme drought and flooding is to bank more water underground. Send in the choppers (and a few ATVs). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a warm band of water develops in the Pacific, drought grips the rainforest. The Amazon, devastated by deforestation and fires, is especially vulnerable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These tiny organoids with working immune systems mimic the function of the GI tract and could be used to study intestinal diseases and drugs to treat them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The largest catalog ever collected by a single telescope maps Earth’s 3 billion stellar neighbors—and helps track the dust that warps how we see them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Half of the globe’s crop productivity comes from a key fertilizer ingredient that’s non-renewable—and literally washing away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In France, a plan to cover swaths of asphalt with photovoltaics will bring renewable energy even closer to urban areas where it’s needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you agree to provide some of your car’s battery power in times of high energy demand, you’ll get paid, and help make the grid more stable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The space agency gave money to researchers working on liquid telescope mirrors, a lunar oxygen pipeline, and Martian building blocks made of fungi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Focusing wasn’t much easier in the time before electricity or on-demand TV. In fact, you probably have a lot in common with these super-distracted monks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fakery spans “beautified” data, photoshopped images, and “paper mills.” Experts and institutions are employing tools to spot deceptive research and mitigate its reach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Digitized archaeology is making souterrains—subterranean passages in the Highlands—accessible in a way Indiana Jones could only dream of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices