Podcasts

Now In Every Living Room, A Homemade 3-D Printer

January 7, 2011 8:39 am | Comments

Jim Smith, a 23-year-old in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., is taking citizen science to another level. He designed and built his own 3-D printer, which sits in the corner of his living room. Science Friday visited with Smith, got a tour of the machine and did some printing.

Apollo-Era Moon Data Get a Fresh Look

January 7, 2011 8:39 am | Comments

By re-examining seismic data collected from Apollo-era moon missions, scientists say they're able to more precisely describe the makeup of the moon's core. Planetary scientist Renee Weber explains how the old data were initially interpreted and what the new analysis shows.

Paul Offit On The Anti-Vaccine Movement

January 7, 2011 8:38 am | Comments

In his new book, vaccine researcher Paul Offit contends that some parents' decisions not to vaccinate their kids are harming others. Offit discusses the anti-vaccine movement, and weighs in on a new report calling a 1998 study linking autism and vaccines an "elaborate fraud."

Watching More Than TV On TV

January 7, 2011 8:38 am | Comments

Apple TV, Google TV, Xbox ... There's no shortage of accessories to add to that 50-inch plasma. Two technology journalists run down the options for accessing the Web or streaming movies on your television. Plus, the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Weaving Batteries And Solar Cells Into Textiles

January 7, 2011 8:38 am | Comments

Reporting in the journal Science, researchers write of a way to create nanoscale yarns that function as superconductors, batteries or solar cells. Study author Ray Baughman discusses how to twist up these functional yarns, and how they could revolutionize future fabrics.

Futures in Biotech 73: Aging Delayed(2)

January 3, 2011 2:39 pm | Comments

Hosts: Marc Pelletier, Simon Melov, Ph.D. We will discuss the biotech of life extension with the scientist that discovered the Sirtuan family of genes. Guest: Brian Kennedy, Ph.D.: President and CEO, Buck Institute for Age Research. We invite you to read, add to, and amend our show notes....

Futures in Biotech 73: Aging Delayed

January 3, 2011 2:38 pm | Comments

What Happens When Leaf-Cutters Can't Cut It?

December 31, 2010 9:39 am | Comments

Leaf-cutter ants rely on their razor-sharp mandibles to snip leaves to pieces. But over time, their mandibles dull. Physicist Robert Schofield of the University of Oregon looked at what happens when the aging ants struggle with their snipping. He found they take on a new job.

Amir Aczel Looks At The LHC

December 31, 2010 9:39 am | Comments

In his new book, Present at the Creation, Amir D. Aczel tells the story of the European Organization for Nuclear Research's Large Hadron Collider. With the multibillion-euro collider, researchers hope to recreate the conditions that existed just after the Big Bang.

A Visit To Antarctica

December 31, 2010 9:39 am | Comments

In his new book Fraser's Penguins, writer Fen Montaigne describes the effect climate change is having on Antarctica's penguins. Montaigne, ecologist Bill Fraser and Science Friday blogger Kayla Iacovino (currently in Antarctica) recount their experiences on the continent.

Don't Cork That Champagne

December 31, 2010 9:38 am | Comments

There may be more mythology about pouring, drinking and storing Champagne than there is about any other fermented grape juice. Chemist Richard Zare and food writer Harold McGee set the record straight on the proper protocol for enjoying sparkling wines this New Year's Eve.

Year In Review: Science Stories Of 2010

December 31, 2010 9:38 am | Comments

From the Gulf oil spill and the earthquake in Haiti to the creation of synthetic life and the Icelandic volcano eruption, a lot of science stories made headlines in 2010. Science writers Ron Cowen, Robin Lloyd, Andrew Revkin and Paul Raeburn join Ira Flatow to discuss the year's top...

Bee Bonanza: From Hive Politics To Beekeeping

December 24, 2010 10:37 am | Comments

This Christmas marks the 200th birthday of Lorenzo Langstroth, the "Father of American Beekeeping." May Berenbaum discusses Langstroth's life and his beekeeping inventions, and Tom Seeley talks about the collective decision-making of honeybees, the subject of Seeley's new book, Honeybee Democracy.

Remembering Worry Over Y2K

December 24, 2010 10:37 am | Comments

On New Year's Eve in 1999, many people were celebrating the arrival of the year 2000. Some computer experts, however, were on alert, hoping that work reprogramming computers to deal with a date change bug would pay off. Science Friday opens the archives for a look back at worry over Y2K.

How Science and Technology Influence Language

December 24, 2010 10:37 am | Comments

Have you ever been Plutoed (demoted)? Is your inbox clogged with "bacn" (spam by personal request)? Are you a lifehacker (master at optimizing everyday routines)? Jonathon Keats, artist and author of Virtual Words, explains how science and technology influence language, and vice versa.