WIRED

Science, Spoken

Science EN ↓ 2376 episodes

Get in-depth coverage of current and future trends in technology, and how they are shaping business, entertainment, communications, science, politics, and society.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: play.prx.org

Author

WIRED

Episodes

DNA Has Four Bases. Some Viruses Swap in a Fifth 03.08.2021 11:03

Dozens of viruses don't use the same four nucleotide bases found in all other life. New work shows how this is possible—and perhaps more common than we think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Mockingbirds Compose Songs Just Like Beethoven 02.08.2021 11:20

The birds aren’t producing sounds at random. Some of their strategies are surprisingly similar to ones used by humans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What Causes Gamma-Ray Bursts? Their Ultrabright Flashes Hold Clues 30.07.2021 10:03

These high-energy explosions, brighter than billions and billions of suns, have recently been tracked for days, upending ideas about the cataclysms that create them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hungry Wild Pigs Are Worsening Climate Change 29.07.2021 9:44

When the invasive swine root through soils around the world, they release as much carbon dioxide as a million cars. Good luck getting rid of them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Scientists Love Making Robots Build Ikea Furniture 28.07.2021 9:30

This robot can help a human assemble a bookcase by predicting what part they’ll want next and handing it over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Device Could Tune Your Heart—Then Dissolve Away 27.07.2021 12:20

The latest in “electronic medicine” offers an alternative to temporary pacemakers and could help reduce tissue scarring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Be Very Careful About Where You Build That Seawall 26.07.2021 10:56

Walls are meant to keep out rising seas—but that water still has to go somewhere. New modeling shows it could well end up flooding your neighbors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iconic Yellowstone Park Faces Startling Climate Threats 23.07.2021 14:22

A new report details global warming’s effect on the national park and its surroundings, including everything from its forests to the Old Faithful geyser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Is How Aliens Might Search for Human Life 22.07.2021 12:17

If habitable worlds exist around certain stars, they’d have just the right vantage point to spy on Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Graphene ‘Camera’ Images the Activity of Living Heart Cells 21.07.2021 13:02

Using a novel device made from carbon atoms and a laser, researchers captured real-time electrical signals from muscle tissue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Humans See Faces in Everyday Objects 20.07.2021 9:24

The ability to spot Jesus’ mug in a piece of burnt toast might be a product of evolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard Branson Reaches Space on Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity 19.07.2021 10:35

The historic flight is only the second time that the rocket plane has carried people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Which Crops Can Survive Drought? Nanosensors May Offer Clues 16.07.2021 10:00

The technique can be used to track how water flows through plants—which could be key to breeding more resilient crops in an increasingly hot, dry climate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mystery Solved: How Plant Cells Know When to Stop Growing 15.07.2021 12:46

The discovery could have a profound effect on cell research for many species of plants and animals, as well as the future of crops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Observatory Spied on LA’s Carbon Emissions—From Space 14.07.2021 10:20

The instrument reads sunlight intensity to determine carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. Its findings could help reduce our carbon footprint. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Coelacanth May Live for a Century. That’s Not Great News 13.07.2021 14:20

Scale markings reveal that this weird fish's lifespan is double what scientists first estimated. That also means they’re closer to extinction than we thought. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Utilities Want to Control Your Smart Thermostat Sometimes 12.07.2021 10:29

Don’t mess with Texans’ air conditioning. Here’s why some customers in the state had their thermostats remotely controlled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Northern Farms Are Releasing Massive Amounts of Carbon 09.07.2021 9:50

Humans have been draining peatlands to grow crops for centuries. It's a huge, underestimated source of greenhouse gas, scientists say. Â Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lakes Are Losing Oxygen—and Their Inhabitants Are in Danger 08.07.2021 11:18

Hundreds of temperate lakes around the world are showing trends toward anoxia, becoming warmer, murkier, and less hospitable to cold-water species. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's With All This Ooey, Gooey Sea Snot? 07.07.2021 7:27

A phlegmy film is coating the coast around Istanbul—and warmer water could be to blame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No, Covid-19 Vaccines Won't Make You Magnetic. Here's Why 06.07.2021 10:08

No matter how many videos you’ve seen of people sticking spoons to their faces, that’s just not how magnets work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Mystery of Betelgeuse's Dimming Has Finally Been Solved 05.07.2021 8:59

Astronomers say a cold patch and a stellar burp are behind the star's strange dip in brightness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Delta Variant and Low Vaccine Rates Could Spell Trouble 02.07.2021 7:53

Vaccines are effective against the variant, but experts worry about states where fewer people are inoculated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Clever Robot Spies on Creatures in the Ocean's ‘Twilight Zone’ 01.07.2021 9:15

Mesobot looks like a giant AirPods case, but it's in fact a sophisticated machine that tracks animals making the most epic migration on Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Challenge of Covid-19 Vaccines for the Immunosuppressed 30.06.2021 15:52

Recent studies find transplant patients and immune-suppressed people who get the shot don’t make many antibodies. But that research is just beginning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices