For the first time ever, scientists have heard the “low pitch hum” of gravitational waves rippling through the cosmos. It’s this ever-present background noise set off by the movement of massive objects—like colliding black holes—throughout the universe. Scientists have theorized that it’s been there all along, but we haven’t been able to hear until now. So what does this hum tell us about our universe?
SciFri producer Kathleen Davis talks with science writer Maggie Koerth about this discovery, as well as other science news of the week. They chat about the possibility of an icy planet hiding in the Milky Way, air quality problems due to wildfire smoke, an experimental weight loss drug that’s currently being tested, if our human ancestors were cannibals, and how dolphin moms use baby talk with their calves.
Celebrating The Weird, Wonderful World Of Cephalopods
Every year, Cephalopod Week reminds us of the fascinating and weird world of these sea creatures. And in this segment, recorded live at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science Auditorium, two cephalopod scientists share new research about our squishy sea-faring neighbors, how climate change is affecting squids and octopuses, and why they love working with them.
Ira Flatow talked to Dr. Lynne Fieber PhD., professor of marine biology and ecology who has studied the nervous systems of all types marine invertebrates including cephalopod and sea slugs, and Dr. Andrea Durant Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Grosell Environmental Physiology and Toxicology Lab, who studies how tiny glass squid live in a rapidly-changing ocean.
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Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
744: Predicting Heart Disease From Chest X-Rays With AI | Storing New Memories During Sleep
746: Recipient Of Pig Kidney Transplant Recovering | Answering Your Questions About April 8 Eclipse
743: Our Inevitable Cosmic Apocalypse
742: The Complicated Truths About Offshore Wind And Right Whales
741: The Bumpy Road To Approving New Alzheimer’s Drugs
740: ‘3 Body Problem’ And The Laws Of Physics | In Defense Of ‘Out Of Place’ Plants
739: Baltimore Bridge Collapse | Mapping How Viruses Jump Between Species
738: The Legacy Of Primatologist Frans de Waal
737: The ‘Asteroid Hunter’ Leading The OSIRIS-REx Mission
736: Swimming Sea Lions Teach Engineers About Fluid Dynamics
735: Botanical Rescue Centers Take In Illegally Trafficked Plants
734: 2023 Was Hottest Year On Record | The NASA Satellite Studying Plankton
731: A Strange-Looking Fish, Frozen In Time
732: What We Know After 4 Years Of COVID-19
733: Science Unlocks The Power Of Flavor In ‘Flavorama’
729: Abortion-Restrictive States Leave Ob-Gyns With Tough Choices
730: Nasal Rising Safely | How Your Brain Constructs Your Mental Health
726: A New Book Puts ‘Math in Drag’
725: With This Rare Disorder, No Amount Of Sleep Is Enough
724: How Election Science Can Support Democracy | The Genetic Roots Of Antibiotic Resistance
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