Science Friday

In turbulent times, it helps to hear stories of resilience. What can we learn from 3.5 billion-year-old bacteria that eat light?

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, or RHIC, has ceased operation. What’s next for particle physics?

The mountaineering history behind "skimo," a new Winter Olympic event. Plus, research into a true alpine champion, the mountain goat.

It's easier than ever for companies to collect your personal data and compile it into a profile for advertisers, ICE, and other agencies.

New USDA dietary guidelines tell us to “eat real food.” Should policymakers get highly processed foods out of our stores and school lunches?

Agrivoltaics combines solar panels and agriculture on the same land. It’ll be an uphill battle for it to hit the mainstream.

A new book explores what we lose when we’re always keeping score—at work, in life, even within ourselves. Can games help set us free?

SciFri Host Flora Lichtman joined Jeremy Hobson on “The Middle” to talk about how trust in science can be restored.

A new study suggests dogs began to diversify about 11,000 years earlier than we thought. Plus, a long-running experiment to domesticate foxes.

A science historian looks to the past to understand our current moment, and how ghostwriting in scientific papers is harming public trust.

China is reshaping its energy economy with renewables like wind and solar—and flooding the world with affordable solar technology.

As we enter a new age of space travel, a former NASA astronaut says that rather than accepting risk, we should try to control risks.

A flu variant called subclade K emerged too late to be fully covered by this year's vaccine. But the flu shot can still help protect you.

An urban fire can release all kinds of chemicals. One year after fires hit Los Angeles, scientists are trying to understand the toxic fallout.

X’s AI chatbot Grok is undressing users, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg with fake imagery online. How does it work and what comes next?

When it comes to “bad” cholesterol, most cardiologists say lower is better. But what’s the best way to get that number down?

In 2025, more than 420 bills were introduced to weaken public health measures for vaccines, milk safety, and fluoride. What will we see in 2026?

Conventional wisdom is that ice is slippery because it has a thin layer of water on top, but new research suggests something else is at play.

Some Parkinson’s patients may experience strange symptoms, like smell loss and sleep disorders, decades before diagnosis.

Greenland sharks' eyes never seem to get old. Plus, exactly how flawless is the greatest eye in the sky, the James Webb Space Telescope?

What can we learn from a Pompeii construction site preserved in ash? Plus, tech companies look to build solar-powered data centers in space.

The CEO of AAAS is cautiously optimistic about federal funding for science, even as uncertainty makes research challenging.

Journalist Daisy Hernández chronicles the history of Chagas disease, also known as kissing bug disease, and how it changed her family’s story.

Recent studies on raccoons and dark-eyed juncos investigate how urban wildlife is evolving.

One year after the LA fires, the Community Brigade is equipping residents to prepare for, fight, and recover from wildfires.

A new report lays out the objectives for a crewed mission to Mars. Plus, an update on the NASA mission to survey the asteroid Psyche.

Solar power adoption has been rising fast. Amid recent federal efforts to limit clean energy, will it make a dent in our climate impact?

Ultramarathoners can run with what seems like superhuman stamina. But are their bodies much different than the rest of ours?

Over the past year, most of your body has replaced itself cell by cell. What can we learn from other animals’ dramatic feats of regeneration?

There was major science news in 2025. Plus, underreported developments in geoengineering and a triumph for furniture rearrangement.

Vocal researchers are learning how death metal singers safely produce extreme vocal distortions, in hopes of improving vocal health care.

You might think sticking out your gyatt for the rizzler is chopped, but “Algospeak” author Adam Aleksic says we should let Gen Alpha cook.

Physicist Sean Carroll takes on back holes, Schrödinger’s cat, and other big physics concepts that had our audience wondering.

In a conversation from January, a psychologist and author of “How To Winter” explains what we can learn from people thriving in the coldest parts of the world.

In a story from August, neurologist Bruce Dobkin discusses how he started hearing a phantom choir singing on a loop after he received a cochlear implant. He’s not the only one.

The nature documentary series uses new research and photorealistic CGI to bring the huge, bizarre animals of the Ice Age back to life.

After a year of near-daily headlines about changes to vaccine policy, what has actually changed? And what do we need to know?

Comet 3I/Atlas is just the third known object to visit us from outside our solar system. So yes... we'll be talking about aliens.

A newly identified amoeba can survive at the temperature of a medium-well steak. Plus, a distant lava planet shows signs of an atmosphere.

Humanoid robots are all over social media, doing everything from dancing to serving drinks. But are they really going to show up in our lives?

This Christmas Bird Count, we salute the fabulous, underappreciated, common species. Here's to you, house sparrow.

A volcanologist answers your questions about glass-shard hairballs, cooking breakfast over lava, Gollum's end on Mount Doom, and more.

What did a vulture-bone flute sound like inside a cave? How about singing inside a tomb? Researchers are bringing ancient sounds back to life.

A glacier’s edge can be a dangerous place to do research. This team is using robots and sound samples to monitor the melting ice.

Over the past century, most cancer research has focused on the tumor itself. Rakesh Jain focused on the tumor's environment instead.

When cases of plague pop up in the US, it can feel straight up medieval. It's treatable, but how and why does it persist?

Across their 10,000 species, sea slugs sport striking colors, external gills, and even the ability to regrow a body from a severed head.

A boom in construction of AI data centers is facing backlash over soaring electricity and water usage, and the resulting utility hikes.

How bats, agave plants, and tequila are connected. Plus, tiny trackers on monarch butterflies reveal their migration journeys.

To save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, one plan suggests killing thousands of barred owls. Conservationists and activists are at odds.

Microbes make up about 99% of all species, but they’re not part of any global conservation plans. One group is trying to change that.

Geologist Anjana Khatwa explains how embracing wonder and awe adds to our scientific understanding of the rocks that form our planet.

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate unusual scientific research—this year including lizard pizza preferences and fingernail growth.

In a conversation from August, two exercise researchers discuss what physical activity does to mental health—from boosting to straining it.

It’s squash, pumpkin, and gourd season. In a conversation from 2023, an expert answers listener questions about these colorful fall favorites.

In a conversation from February, a journalist discusses the afterlife of our trash, and why most “recyclable” plastic actually isn’t.

Science writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses what we get wrong about cancer, and why he leans into nuance as an author.

Talkative African grey parrots are charismatic internet stars. A global scramble to source and sell the birds threatens their survival.

Flora and “Part-Time Genius” co-host Mangesh Hattikudur put one lucky listener to the test with food science trivia.

Some animals seem to defy the rules of aging. Understanding how they do it could help us live longer, healthier lives.

Google's tool for predicting how proteins “fold” turns 5 this year. How is it fitting into biological research—and where is it going?

Is it all in the hips? Scientists break down woodpeckers' head-hammering moves. Plus, what makes one ant a queen and another a worker?

Neuroscientists are manipulating memories in mice in an effort to develop treatments for brain disorders.

Picking through a dozen vulture nests, scientists discovered hundreds of artifacts, including a sandal that could be more than 700 years old.

Phish bassist Mike Gordon is teaming up with neuroscientists to try to understand the transcendent experience of musical flow state.

Neuroscientist Ardem Patapoutian immigrated to the US, found belonging in science, and did groundbreaking work on sense of touch.

New research found that mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 could enhance cancer treatments and help patients live longer.

Two new studies suggest that, contrary to longstanding beliefs, dinosaurs were not on the decline before the Chicxulub asteroid impact.

At what point does the resolution on a TV display outpace what human eyes can actually see? Researchers investigated.

A giant infrastructure project aims to block invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan, but Chicago’s polluted water already keeps them out.

Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City is the only place where axolotls live in the wild, and they face growing threats.

A scientist diagnosed with endometriosis is working to answer fundamental questions about the disease and pave the way for better treatments.

It’s hard to convert energy from the ocean into electricity, thanks to a tough regulatory environment and, well, the ocean.

Tales of the amazing capabilities of bats, spiders, and snakes. Plus, a guided tour of some of the world’s spookiest lakes.

Emergency response experts say that funding and staff cuts at the National Weather Service could mean less reliable weather forecast. And, babies like music, but they generally have preferences. A music therapist reveals the best kinds of music to soothe a baby.

When the Chicago-size iceberg drifted away, scientists seized the opportunity to study the life and geologic formations hidden below.

Mental health information on social media can be both revelatory and misleading. How do clinicians and their patients make sense of it?

Engineers take an in-depth look at why the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed and how to prevent future tragedies.

The company has genetic data of 15 million people, which could be shared with a future buyer. Here’s how to delete it. Plus, an experimental coating could make golf balls roll more reliably on greens with different conditions.

Certain words are overrepresented in text written by AI language models. A study investigates why such patterns develop. Also, the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, typically shorten as an organism ages. But when some fat-tail dwarf lemurs hibernate, they lengthen.

TB kills more than a million people each year. Dr. Mireille Kamariza has spent her career developing better detection and treatment tools.

In a new book, author John Green traces how the disease has impacted culture, geography, and even fashion over the centuries.

Researchers built the largest 3D map of our universe yet. What they found supports the idea that dark energy could have evolved over time.

After nine months aboard the International Space Station, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finally landed back on Earth. Also, a German physicist and homebrewer discovered brief, intense physical reactions that happen when you uncork a bubbly swing-top bottle.

The framework of Adverse Childhood Experiences started with an unexpected finding over 30 years ago. How is our approach changing? Plus, butterfly memories from our listeners.

Former NIH director Dr. Harold Varmus speaks out about what recent budget cuts and policy changes could mean for science.

Fungal networks in the ground ferry crucial nutrients to plants. But how do brainless organisms form complex supply chain networks? Also, in this year’s baseball spring training, the new Automated Ball-Strike System is helping settle challenges to home plate pitch calls.

Layoffs at the agency, which releases weather forecasts and monitors extreme weather, could have serious implications. Also, funds for climate and sustainability-focused farming projects have been indefinitely frozen, even though the USDA has already signed contracts.

Mathematician Dr. Steven Strogatz breaks down the history of the math concept and brings it full circle to recent science.

A new book explores how prehistoric plants and dinosaurs co-evolved, and puts the spotlight on often overlooked flora.

An international team of researchers used drones to study narwhals and learn more about their behavior. And, a total lunar eclipse will be visible across most of North and South America in the early morning hours of March 14.

A new study of butterfly populations in the US shows a 22% decline among over 500 species in just 20 years.

USAID has historically funded programs focused on disease eradication, maternal and child health, and healthcare infrastructure.

Scientists aren’t always encouraged to be politically active. But recent political interference by the Trump administration has many fired up. And, the Blue Ghost lunar lander, part of NASA’s CLPS initiative, completed the first fully successful commercial moon landing.

Last year, 9,000 deceased donor kidneys were discarded due to storage and time limitations. A kidney “life support” machine could change that. Also, the SS United States will join Florida’s 4,300 artificial reefs—human-made places for fish and other marine life to live. How do these reefs work?

A journalist traveled to five continents to learn about the afterlife of our trash, and why most “recyclable” plastic actually isn’t.

A study finds that Peto’s Paradox, which states that larger animals are no more likely to get cancer than smaller ones, may not hold up. Also, a nearly complete predator skull was found in the Egyptian desert. Its lineage indicates that it was a top carnivore of the age.

Changes limiting programs, grants, and even the nature of studies are already underway at the NIH, NSF, FDA, CDC, and more.