Science Friday
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Science Friday
Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.
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How Did Ancient Humans Use The Acoustics Of Spaces Like Caves?
The sound of a choir performing in a cathedral is iconic for a reason. It’s this beautiful human experience: being side-by-side with other people, fee...
What The Sounds Of Melting Glaciers Can Tell Us
As the planet warms, the world’s glaciers are melting faster than snow can replenish the ice. That has implications for sea level rise, ocean currents...
How A Fringe Idea Led To Lifesaving Cancer Treatments
In cancer research, the “seed and soil” hypothesis posits that the tumor is like a seed of misbehaving cells taking root in the body. Whether it grows...
Why Is Bubonic Plague Still With Us?
For many people, bubonic plague is an illness that seems squarely situated in medieval times. But each year, a handful of human cases pop up in the we...
Don’t Let Their Name Fool You—Sea Slugs Are Awesome
Today we’re spotlighting an underappreciated group of marine creatures: sea slugs. Don’t let their humble name fool you. They come in vivid neon color...
As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push Back
There’s an enormous buildout of data centers underway across the country to fuel the AI boom. Hundreds of billions of dollars have already been spent...
A Toast To Bats That Pollinate Agave, And Tracking Monarchs
You might think about bats as flitting around in the dark and hunting insects, but some species feed on fruits or flowers—and play an important role a...
A Startling Plan To Save Spotted Owls—From Barred Owls
The spotted owl has been a conservation flashpoint for more than 30 years. While habitat loss has been their historic foe, their most recent threat co...
Can A Microbe Conservation Movement Take Off?
A team of scientists is trying to jumpstart a global conservation movement, on par with efforts to save the rainforests or protect the oceans. But it...
How To Tap Into The Hidden Histories Of Rocks
When we try to commune with nature, many of us turn toward the living: a walk in the woods among swaying trees, chirping birds, blooming flowers.
Fingernails And Indigestion At The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes
Each year, the Ig Nobel Prizes recognize scientific research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think. For instance, researchers who investiga...
Why Is Working Out Good For Your Mental Health?
A good workout can make you feel triumphant. And even if that isn’t your relationship with exercise, you’ve probably heard that working out can lift y...
Everything You Never Knew About Squash And Pumpkins
It’s a wonderful time of the year: squash, pumpkin, and gourd season. But how do those giant, award-winning pumpkins grow so big? And what’s the diffe...
Where Does Plastic And Other Trash Go After We Throw It Away?
Have you ever gotten to the end of, say, a jar of peanut butter and wondered if it should go in trash or recycling? If it’s worth rinsing out? And whe...
‘A Multi-Headed Beast’: Telling The Story Of Cancer
Twenty years ago, a young oncologist started journaling to process his experience treating cancer patients. That cathartic act became the Pulitzer Pri...
African Grey Parrots Are Popular—And It’s Fueling Illegal Trade
African grey parrots are internet stars. It’s easy to see why—the charismatic birds sing, tell jokes, and sling profanities. But how do the endangered...
Attention, Trivia Nerds! It’s A Food Science Fact Feast
After years of getting your emails and phone calls, we know that SciFri listeners are in the 99th percentile when it comes to nerdy knowledge. We’re p...
Can Animal Super-Agers Teach Us Their Secrets?
Some animals have a very different relationship to aging than we do: They don’t get cancer, they never go through menopause, and they live absurdly lo...
How Alphafold Has Changed Biology Research, 5 Years On
Proteins are crucial for life. They're made of amino acids that “fold” into millions of different shapes. And depending on their structure, they do ra...
How A Woodpecker Pecks Wood, And How Ants Crown A Queen
If you’ve heard the hammering of a woodpecker in the woods, you might have wondered how the birds can be so forceful. What does it take to whack your...
Memories Change. But Can We Change Them On Purpose?
Our memories make us who we are—just ask Barbra Streisand. But despite the lyrics in many popular songs, memories aren’t frozen in time. When we call...
Bearded Vulture Nests Hold Trove Of Centuries-Old Artifacts
Bearded vultures build giant, elaborate nests that are passed down from generation to generation. And according to a new study, some of these scavenge...
Why The Bassist From Phish Is Funding Research Into ‘Flow State’
The band Phish has toured for over 40 years. One of the draws of their legendary live shows—which can go on for 8 hours—is finding moments of “flow,”...
Even Nobel Prize Winners Deal With Imposter Syndrome
Around 25 years ago, Ardem Patapoutian set out to investigate the fundamental biology behind our sense of touch. Through a long process of gene elimin...
Study Finds COVID mRNA Vaccines Boost Cancer Treatment
Over the last five years, billions of people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. New research has found an unanticipated resul...
Were Dinos On Their Way Out Before The Asteroid Hit? Maybe Not
One of the biggest debates in the dinosaur world is what was happening right before they went extinct. Were they already declining, or would they have...
Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Resolution On A TV?
As Black Friday approaches, you’re probably being inundated with ads for bigger, better televisions. But just how good is good enough? Are there limit...
Can A Billion-Dollar Barricade Keep Carp Out Of The Great Lakes?
Decades ago, non-native carp were brought onto fish farms on the Mississippi River to control algae and parasites. They escaped, thrived, and eventual...
Inside The Race To Save Wild Axolotls
Axolotls are one of the most charismatic and beloved amphibians out there. But did you know that there’s only one place in the whole world where you c...
Endometriosis Is Common. Why Is Getting Diagnosed So Hard?
Endometriosis is a painful disease that occurs when endometrium-like tissue grows outside of the uterus. It’s extremely common—if you have a uterus, y...
Why Hasn’t Wave Energy Gotten Its Sea Legs Yet?
We've figured out how to harness renewable energy from many natural systems, like solar, wind, and geothermal power. But what about the ocean’s waves?...
A Halloween Monster Mashup, And A Spooky Lakes Tour
For Halloween, we bring you an ode to three quintessentially creepy creatures: bats, arachnids, and snakes. First, bat researcher Elena Tena joins Hos...
What Happens To Your Digital Presence After You Die?
There’s an established playbook for getting one’s affairs in order before death—create a will, name legal guardians, and so on. But there’s also a new...
Why Morbid Curiosity Is So Common—And So Fun
At first blush, the plots of many horror movies don’t seem particularly appealing. Take “The Shining”: A murderous psychopath tries to kill his family...
Peanut Allergies In Kids Are Finally On The Decline
For decades, peanut allergies were on the rise in the US. But a study released on October 20 found that peanut allergies in babies and young children...
How Do Bacteria Talk To Each Other?
Bacteria have been around for billions of years. Could they have come up with complex behaviors that we just don’t understand yet? Could they have the...
A Lab-Grown Salmon Taste Test And More Foodie Innovations
After years of development, lab-grown fish is taste-test ready for the public. Four restaurants in the US are serving up cultivated salmon made by the...
What Did It Feel Like To Be An Early Human?
Do science documentaries need a refresh? What if the goal wasn’t just teaching you something, but making you feel something? A new series from the BBC...
TikTok Is Shaping How We Think About ADHD
TikTok and other social media sites are full of mental health content—often short, grabby, first-person videos detailing symptoms for conditions like...
Footage Shows How Narwhals Use Tusks To Hunt And Play
We’re taking a polar plunge into the science of sea unicorns, also known as narwhals!
Narwhals are mysterious arctic whales with long, twirly tu...