Science Friday on WBAA News
Fridays from 2 to 4 p.m.
Science Friday is your trusted source for news and entertaining stories about science. We started as a radio show, created in 1991 by host and executive producer Ira Flatow. Since then, we’ve grown into much more: We produce award-winning digital videos and publish original web content covering everything from octopus camouflage to cooking on Mars. SciFri is brain fun, for curious people.
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This week a handful of scientists got the wakeup call of a lifetime: news they had won the Nobel Prize. This year's recipients predicted the existence of the Higgs boson, figured out how cells transport materials, and used computer programming to map chemical reactions. Winners and experts discuss the research behind this year's awards, and what comes next.
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In Brave Genius: A Scientist, a Philosopher, and Their Daring Adventures from the French Resistance to the Nobel Prize, Sean B. Carroll tells the story of biologist Jacques Monod and philosopher Albert Camus--two men who made significant contributions to their respective fields, and who shared an enduring friendship.
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Recent revelations about the extent of NSA surveillance have put even the standards by which encryption systems are designed into question. Encryption experts Matthew Green, Phillip Zimmerman, and Martin Hellman discuss what makes a code secure and the limits of privacy in the modern age.
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Soil collected last year by the Mars rover Curiosity may contain two percent water, researchers report. Laurie Leshin of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute describes what else the rover is finding in the soil, and what that information might mean for future expeditions to Mars.
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Twenty years ago, physicist and Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman discussed the "malignancy" of the Standard Model of particle physics and how supercolliders could help refine the theory.
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Trying to liven up your ghosts and goblins this Halloween? Windell Oskay, cofounder of Mad Evil Scientist, shares homemade hack ideas for a festive fright fest, from LED jack-o'-lanterns, to 3D printed candy, to spooky specimen jars.
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The global population is projected to reach 10 billion by 2050. In his new book, Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?, author Alan Weisman asks how we got here, how many people the planet can support, and what we can do to stabilize growth. Weisman tells SciFri how cultural, scientific, and political communities across the globe are tackling these issues.
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IceCube, the largest neutrino observatory on earth, covers one cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice. The detector is looking for high-energy neutrinos coming from deep space. Physicist Francis Halzen discusses the decision to build the telescope at the South Pole and how we can construct a map of the cosmos with neutrinos.
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Guitarist Les Paul is best known as the inventor of his namesake solid-body electric guitar, the Gibson Les Paul. But even as a teen, he was a tinkerer. Sue Baker of the Les Paul Foundation talks about some of his early innovations, such as a harmonica holder constructed from a coat hanger, and an electric guitar built with a railroad rail.
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Fermentation is one of the oldest methods of preserving foods. How does acid affect sausage and cheese? What role do microbes play in determining texture and flavor? We'll discuss the science behind these fermented foods.