948: Fire Risk To Homes Where Cities And Wildlands Meet Science Friday podcast

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A journalist traveled to five continents to learn about the afterlife of our trash, and why most “recyclable” plastic actually isn’t. 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 where will it actually end up? Journalist Alexander Clapp had those same questions, and went to great lengths to answer them—visiting five continents to chronicle how our trash travels. Along the way, he discovered a multibillion dollar trash trade run by shady waste brokers, and a global industry powered by slimy spoons, crinkled plastic bags, and all the other stuff we throw away. It’s a putrid business that we’re a part of, and many of us know little about. Host Flora Lichtman speaks with Clapp about the garbage business and his new book Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife Of Your Trash. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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978: An Animal’s Size And Its Cancer Risk | Bastetodon, A 30 Million-Year-Old Apex Predator 17:59

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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. What Does An Animal’s Size Have To Do With Its Cancer Risk? If you throw a huge party, there’s more of a chance of problems than if you host a quiet get-together for a couple of friends. The logic is simple: Having more people around means more opportunities for chaos. Similarly, it would seem to make sense that in animals, a bigger species with more cells might have a greater chance of something going wrong with one of those cells, including mutations leading to cancer. Back in 1977, a British epidemiologist named Richard Peto observed that that didn’t seem to be true. Bigger animals didn’t seem to have a greater risk of cancer than smaller ones. That became known as Peto’s Paradox , and has been a topic of debate among cancer biologists ever since. Research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences takes a new look at Peto’s Paradox using an unusual set of data—death reports from zoos around the world. Dr. Sarah Amend of Johns Hopkins Medical School joins Host Flora Lichtman to explain why, in their findings, Peto’s Paradox doesn’t seem to hold up—and what studying animal cancer rates could teach scientists about improving human health. Meet Bastetodon, A 30 Million-Year-Old Apex Predator Once upon a time, some 30 million years ago, what is now Egypt’s Western Desert was a lush forest. Humans had not evolved yet, the nearest relatives being monkey-like creatures. And through those forests stalked Bastetodon syrtos , a newly described apex predator from an extinct lineage known as the Hyaenodonts—one of the top carnivores of the age. Researchers recently discovered a nearly complete skull of the creature. They reported on the find in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Host Flora Lichtman talks with Shorouq Al-Ashqar of the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center about the discovery, and the picture it helps paint of ancient life. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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977: How Trump’s DEI Ban Will Affect Medical Research 18:54

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Changes limiting programs, grants, and even the nature of studies are already underway at the NIH, NSF, FDA, CDC, and more. On President Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to end what he calls “illegal and immoral discrimination programs,” referencing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government. The repercussions of this are already being felt across science agencies. Things are changing fast: Last week, a federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked parts of the DEI purge from being carried out. At the same time, federal research agencies have already made changes . For example, the National Institutes of Health suddenly pulled a program that provides grants to PhD students from marginalized backgrounds, and has already canceled studies mid-project, like one on LGBTQ cancer patients. The National Science Foundation has begun reviewing active research science projects that may not comply with Trump’s executive orders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took down resources for HIV prevention, LGBTQ+ health, contraception, and more—then partially restored them, as ordered by a judge. And the Food and Drug Administration pulled its guidance on the importance of having some diversity in clinical trials, like those to test drugs and medical devices. So, what does banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts mean for medical research ? And what does it mean for our health? Host Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Rachel Hardeman, director of the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; and Dr. Melissa Simon, an ob-gyn at Northwestern Medicine, and director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation in Chicago. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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976: Conflicting Directives Sow Confusion For NIH Workers | The Mycobiome 25:42

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The acting head of the NIH reportedly pushed back against legal guidance to resume grant funding, leaving federal workers in the lurch. Also, though fungi make up a tiny part of the human microbiome, they play an important role in both the prevention and development of many diseases. Cuts And Conflicting Directives Sow Confusion For NIH Workers Just over a month after President Trump’s inauguration, federal science in the US is in a state of disarray . Executive orders to halt grant funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have faced court challenges. Last week, a federal judge extended a restraining order on a proposal to cap NIH grant funding for indirect costs, costs that experts say are critical to their work. But according to new reporting, staff within the NIH have been left without clear guidance about moving forward with those grants, with the NIH’s acting director reportedly pushing back against legal guidance from the agency’s lawyers to restart distribution of the funding. Host Flora Lichtman is joined by Katherine J. Wu, staff writer for The Atlantic, who reported on the turmoil at the NIH. They also talk about other science news of the week, including an update on the measles outbreak in Texas, how to see every planet in the solar system this week, and how scientists think runner Faith Kipeygon could be the first woman to break a four-minute mile. You’ve Heard Of The Microbiome—Welcome To The Mycobiome You’ve heard of the microbiome, the community of bacteria, viruses, archaea parasites, and fungi that live in our bodies. But that last member of the group, fungi, get a lot less attention than the others. And perhaps that’s unsurprising. After all, bacteria outnumber fungi 999 to 1 in our guts. But now, scientists are beginning to piece together just how important fungi truly are. Disruption in the fungal balance can play a role in the development of Crohn’s disease , irritable bowel disease, celiac disease, colorectal cancer, some skin diseases, and more. Host Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum, microbiologist and professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, who has dedicated his career to studying the fungi in our bodies, and coined the term mycobiome over a decade ago. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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975: The Best Tail For Balance | Bindi Irwin Wants Kids To Become ‘Wildlife Warriors’ 23:16

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The bone and joint structures in mammal tails help them keep their balance. Could those benefits be adapted for robots? And, in her first children’s book, conservationist Bindi Irwin takes little readers on a journey through Australia Zoo. In Search Of The Best Tail For Balance If you have met a cat, you’ve probably at some point been amazed by how acrobatic they are. They’re able to reorient themselves effortlessly, even in midair. It turns out that a lot of that twistiness comes down to having a top-tier tail . While most reptile tails can swing only in one plane of movement, mammal tails have more joints, leading to better inertial control. That lets mammals tweak their balance better, much as holding a balance pole can help an acrobat navigate a tightrope. In a recent study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface , researchers explored the biomechanics of different tails, and considered how a better tail could help build a better robot . Dr. Talia Moore, a roboticist at the University of Michigan, and Dr. Ceri Weber, a cellular and developmental biology postdoc at UC San Diego, join Host Flora Lichtman to talk tails. Bindi Irwin Encourages Kids To Become ‘Wildlife Warriors’ Almost 30 years ago, conservationists Terri Irwin and the late Steve Irwin captured the world’s attention with their show “The Crocodile Hunter.” It introduced millions of people to Australia Zoo and the strange, often scary, sometimes cute, critters from Down Under . Now, Terri and her children—Bindi and Robert—are at the helm of the zoo, which is the setting for Bindi’s new children’s book , You Are a Wildlife Warrior!: Saving Animals & the Planet . In it, Bindi takes little readers and her own daughter, Grace, on an adventure through the zoo. Host Flora Lichtman talks with Bindi about her family’s legacy, how motherhood fuels her approach to conservation , and what it’s like to run a zoo. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com . Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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974: A Vaccine For Pancreatic Cancer Continues To Show Promise 18:28

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Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, and about 90% of diagnosed patients die from the disease. A team at Memorial Sloan Kettering has been working to improve those outcomes by developing a new mRNA vaccine for pancreatic cancer . A few years ago, the team embarked on a small trial to test the vaccine’s safety. Sixteen patients with pancreatic cancer received it, and even though it was a small study, the results were promising: Half the participants had an immune response, and in those patients the cancer hadn’t relapsed after 18 months. This week, the team released a new study in Nature following those same patients, and found six out of eight who responded to the vaccine in the first study did not have their cancer return more than three years later. Joining host Flora Lichtman to talk about these results, and what they could mean for the future of cancer treatment, is study author and surgeon Dr. Vinod Balachandran, director of The Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines at Memorial Sloan Kettering, based in New York City. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com . Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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973: Why Are Flu And Other Viral Infection Rates So High This Year? 18:48

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It’s been an unusually tough winter virus season. Rates of flu-like infections are higher than they’ve been in nearly 30 years. And for the first winter since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, flu deaths have surpassed COVID deaths. Add to that a higher-than-average year for norovirus, a nasty type of stomach bug. Then there’s the emerging threat of avian flu. While there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus, about 70 people in the US have contracted the virus from livestock since April 2024. To make sense of the latest viral trends, Host Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, epidemiologist and author of the newsletter “Your Local Epidemiologist”; and Dr. Erica Shenoy, chief of infection control at Mass General Brigham hospital. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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972: Making Sense Of Federal Cuts To Science—And What Comes Next 18:28

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Last week, some 3,500 people from across scientific fields gathered in Boston for the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) . The organization’s CEO, Dr. Sudip Parikh, gave a rousing speech to attendees. “Destruction for the ill-conceived notion of cutting costs didn’t put an American on the moon, and it didn’t wipe smallpox from the face of the Earth,” Parikh said in opening remarks. He was referring, of course, to the huge funding cuts and mass firings happening across federal science and health agencies under the Trump administration. Over the last few weeks, news of these cuts has been frequent—along with the cancellation of grants that include certain prohibited words and the disappearance of data from agency websites. So what’s happening, and how should the scientific community respond? Host Flora Lichtman sat down with Dr. Sudip Parikh to discuss the importance of this point in time for American science and technology, what cuts for “efficiency” are getting wrong, and what’s at stake in the next few weeks. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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971: Tomb Of Egyptian King Unearthed | Why The Internet Was Captivated By A Hideous Fish 21:04

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Finding the original tomb of the royal is one of the most significant developments in Egyptian archeology in recent history. Also, a video of a gloriously creepy anglerfish inspired tears and poetry online. But why was this deep-sea dweller near the surface at all? Royal Tomb Of Egyptian King Thutmose II Unearthed A British-Egyptian team has made one of the most significant Egyptian archeological finds in recent history: the tomb of pharaoh King Thutmose II , who ruled sometime between 2000 and 1001 BCE. This is the first tomb of a pharaoh unearthed since Tutankhamun’s in 1922. Thutmose II’s mummified remains were found two centuries ago, but they had been moved from his original tomb, the location of which remained a mystery until now. Part of the reason why his tomb’s location was such a mystery was that Thutmose II was buried in an area associated with the wives of Egyptian kings, about 1.5 miles west of Egypt’s famous Valley of the Kings. Joining Host Flora Lichtman to talk about this and other science stories of the week is Maggie Koerth, science writer and editorial lead of CarbonPlan, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Why The Internet Was Captivated By A Hideous Fish Last week, a viral video likely floated to the top of your feed: a rare black seadevil anglerfish, which looks like a floating head with a frightening amount of teeth and two cloudy eyes, swimming in azure waters. The fish showed up near Spain’s Canary Islands, off the northwestern coast of Africa. It made the news because it was spotted near the surface, while anglerfish normally reside in the deep ocean. So why was she paddling so close to the surface? Was she sick? How unusual is this? And also, why do they even look like that? We had questions. Host Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Kory Evans, assistant professor of biosciences at Rice University, to separate fact from fish-ction. He also explains new research he helped conduct about the evolutionary history of anglerfish, which could help explain why they look the way they do. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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970: What Happens To Your Body When You’re Grieving 18:51

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We have lots of expressions to describe the pain of loss—heartache, a broken heart, a punch in the gut. These aren’t just figures of speech: While grief is an emotional experience, it’s also a physical one. Studies show that grief can change your physiology , most dramatically in the cardiovascular and immune systems. One staggering finding? A heart attack is 21 times more likely to happen in the 24 hours after the death of a loved one. And after the death of a parent, risk of ischemic heart disease rises by 41%, and risk of stroke increases by 30%. Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor has dedicated her career to understanding the physiology behind grief and grieving. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss what she’s learned over the years, and her new book The Grieving Body . Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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969: Can Men and Women (Baboons) Really Just Be Friends? | The Best Bear Deterrent May Be Drones 19:23

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Can Men and Women (Baboons) Really Just Be Friends? In the romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally,” the central premise, as Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan’s characters stay friends throughout the years, is, can men and women really just be friends? In the movie, the answer is no, not really. Spoiler alert: They do get together in the end. But what if we take that concept and bring it to the animal kingdom, specifically to primates? The Kinda baboon is known for its distinct social behaviors. Individuals form long-term, social bonds, and those relationships are seen, uniquely, between male and female baboons. Over nine years, researchers studied the Kinda baboon , a kinder, gentler species of baboon, to learn more about their social lives. Kindas are unique among baboons because they’re the least sexually dimorphic: males and females are close to the same size, making them a better analog for us humans. So can male and female baboons really be just friends? Much like the movie, long friendships do happen between Kindas—but there also appears to be a benefit during mating season. Joining Host Flora Lichtman to talk about her work with these baboons is Dr. Anna Weyher, founder of the Kasanka Baboon Project in Zambia. Weyher has studied Kinda baboons for over a decade. The Best Bear Deterrent May Be Drones What do you do when a bear keeps coming too close to people, and doesn’t take the hint to stay away? It’s a serious problem, because human-wildlife conflict can be dangerous for both the people and animals involved. Wildlife managers have for years used a collection of deterrents, including firecracker noises, rubber bullets, and trained dogs, to try to chase bears away from human habitations. Writing in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science , former Montana bear management specialist Wesley Sarmento claims that a high-tech approach may be more effective: drones . Sarmento joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss his experiences with hazing stubborn bears. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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968: Adventures In Science At The Icy ‘Ends Of The Earth’ 18:32

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The North and South Poles, also known as Earth’s iceboxes, help cool the planet, store fresh water, influence weather patterns, and more. They’re also the fastest warming places on Earth. A new book called Ends of The Earth: Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and Our Future illustrates the wonders of Antarctica and the Arctic—and the lengths scientists go to to study them before it’s too late. Host Ira Flatow talks with author Dr. Neil Shubin, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago, about some of the wonders found at the ends of the Earth, and the threats they’re facing. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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967: FDA Approves A New, Non-Opioid Painkiller | Deep, Multi-Layer Oceans On Uranus And Neptune? 24:36

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It’s the first FDA approval for a pain medication in 25 years. How does the drug work, and who is it for? Also, non-mixing layers of water and hydrocarbons thousands of miles deep could explain the icy planets’ strange magnetic fields. The FDA Approves A New, Non-Opioid Painkiller In January, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new pain medicine called Journavx (suzetrigine) , made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. It’s the first time in 25 years the agency has given the green light to a new painkiller. Notably, it’s not an opioid and, according to the company, it’s not addictive. Unlike opioids, which act directly on the brain, Journavx instead blocks nerve endings across the body that transmit pain. Host Ira Flatow is joined by Dr. Sean Mackey, a professor of anaesthesiology and pain medicine at Stanford University and chief of the Division of Stanford Pain Medicine, to discuss how the new drug works, who should take it, and what its limitations are. Might Uranus And Neptune Have Deep, Multi-Layer Oceans? We’ve got a pretty good idea about what’s beneath the surface of our nearest planetary neighbors, like Mars. But as you get farther out into the solar system, our knowledge becomes scarce. For instance, what’s inside the so-called ice giants, Neptune and Uranus? Recent research based on computer simulations of fluids hints that the planets could contain vast multi-layered oceans, as much as thousands of miles deep. A layer of water that is on top of—but doesn’t mix with—a deeper layer of hydrocarbons could help explain strange magnetic fields observed during the Voyager mission. Dr. Burkhardt Militzer, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at UC Berkeley, wrote about this idea in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . He joins Host Ira Flatow to explain his theories. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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966: Most Powerful Neutrino Ever Is Detected In the Mediterranean | Nerdy Valentines 17:19

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Most Powerful Neutrino Ever Is Detected In the Mediterranean Neutrinos are sometimes called “ghost particles,” because they are nearly weightless, rarely interact with any other matter, and have very little electric charge. Now, scientists have discovered a neutrino with a recording-breaking level of energy , which could bring us closer to understanding physics underpinning the creation of the universe. Host Ira Flatow is joined by Sophie Bushwick, senior news editor at New Scientist , to talk more about the latest in neutrino research and other top science news of the week, including supersonic spaceflight without a sonic boom; an asteroid headed for Earth; and why loggerhead turtles are dancing. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters .…

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965: ‘Common Side Effects’ And An All-Healing Mushroom | The Unique Smell Of Snow 18:45

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