Science, Spoken

Last year was one of the warmest measured, say NASA and NOAA. It would have been even more sweltering if not for La Niña, which will soon fade away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Space agencies and companies aim to send people to the Red Planet. But settling there would be hell on—well, you know what we mean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some environmentalists warn the planet can’t handle so many people, but we may need to rethink our approach to rising populations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2022 was a breakthrough year for xenotransplantation, a procedure that could be a lifeline for patients in desperate need of a donor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Holiday feasts tend to be salt-heavy—but early animal experiments are finding that overindulging in the condiment could take an emotional toll. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Instead of cutting out chunks of the genome to disable malfunctioning genes, base editing makes a smaller, more precise swap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The epidemic has largely subsided, but largely because queer men seem to have learned more from AIDS and Covid-19 than the authorities did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Europe’s energy crisis is forcing companies to switch strategies or close down. The industry’s future hangs in the balance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vast swathes of the country have been vindictively laced with explosives, threatening the civilian population both physically and mentally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whale-sized shonisaurs dominated the ocean 230 million years ago. A fossil cluster offers a fascinating glimpse at how they lived—based on where they died. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growing crops to make plastic could theoretically reduce reliance on fossil fuels and even pull carbon out of the atmosphere, but at an enormous environmental cost. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The answer explains why electric cars are everywhere, but electric aircraft are still a novelty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big Data, drones, diagnostics—the United Nations and other groups hope to innovate the world out of a maternal and reproductive health crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During the coronavirus lockdowns, emissions of the potent greenhouse gas somehow soared. The culprit wasn't humans—but the Earth itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An experiment at the Large Hadron Collider suggests there’s a chance of catching this elusive evidence as it floats through our galactic neighborhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Internet-connected thermometers can quickly show how influenza is spreading—so measures to control the disease can be targeted more effectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

US nuclear scientists have achieved the long-sought goal of a fusion ignition—but don't expect this clean technology to power the grid yet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A briefcase-sized satellite will ping lasers at the lunar South Pole to locate ice and map it for future human explorers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The craft survived a 26-day voyage and a scorching descent. Now it’s time for NASA engineers to learn what went wrong—and what went right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Physicists study starlight to find whether the fine structure constant, whose value makes our universe possible, really is the same everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fentanyl-related substances have a bad reputation, but they could also save lives. In the US, a legislative battle to expedite research is heating up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did a lunch last underwater for 10 months? The answer relates to how carbon moves in the deep sea, and has implications for fighting climate change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Audiology screening can be inaccessible for kids in low-resource areas. By utilizing off-the-shelf products, these scientists are trying to change that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flexible e-skins could be used to measure wearers’ blood pressure, temperature, and oxygen levels in real time, assisting with diagnoses and health care. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gene therapies promise long-term relief from intractable diseases—if insurers agree to pony up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices