Science Friday

asteroid 2012 DA14, Lamar Smith, House Science Committee, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Russia, meteor, Russian meteor, asteroid, asteroids, deflecting asteroid

Feb. 20, 2013

Wild Advice for Shutterbugs

by Annette Heist

Photographer Alex Wild shares some tips for getting those insect glamour shots.

Alex Wild, biology, photography, photographer, insects, macro photography, entomologist, entomology, ants, Nikon Coolpix 995, Canon DSLR, Thomas Shahan, Pentax DSLR

Feb. 15, 2013

Silence Is Noisy

by Katherine Bouton

An excerpt from "Shouting Won't Help: Why I--and 50 Million Other Americans--Can't Hear You"

book excerpt, Katherine Bouton, deafness, hearing, book excerpt

Feb. 15, 2013

Cold Snap: Our Winter Nature Photo Contest Returns

by Annette Heist

Warm us up with your best winter nature shots.

contest, photography, winter, winter nature, photo contest

Feb. 15, 2013

Watch the Asteroid Flyby Live

by Leslie Taylor

A roundup of live streams that will let you watch the approach of asteroid 2012 DA14 online.

asteroid, asteroid 2012 DA14, Earth, fly-by, live stream asteroid, live stream

Feb. 12, 2013

Battle of the Electric Cars: "Hydrogen Sucks," Says Elon Musk

by Ira Flatow

War of the Currents Redux: Fuel Cells vs Batteries

elon musk; Tesla; batteries; fuel cells; cars; hydrogen fuel; hydrogen; Edison; Westinghouse; current wars

Feb. 07, 2013

Below the Feathers

by Annette Heist

Artist Katrina van Grouw looks past the feathers to see the beauty in birds.

art, birds, birding, feathers, avian, avian evolution, taxonomy, taxidermy, Katrina van Grouw

Feb. 06, 2013

Our Award Winning Video

by Christian Skotte

"Step Into an Optical Illusion" was awarded top prize at Science Online’s Cyberscreen Film Festival. Congratulations Flora!

Flora Lichtman, optical illusion, science online, science video

Feb. 01, 2013

How to Cook on Mars

by Julie Leibach

Whipping up a yummy Martian snack isn't as hard as it might seem.

Mars, cooking, recipe, macaroni 'n cheese, gravity

Jan. 31, 2013

And the Award Goes To....

by Annette Heist

The 2012 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge winners are in...

National Science Foundation, Science, International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge

Jan. 29, 2013

February Book Club Pick: Gorillas in the Mist

by Annette Heist

Dian Fossey's memoir of her work with the gorillas is next on our reading list.

Jan. 29, 2013

Flatow File: Spider Webs, Tractor Beams, and Beer

by Ira Flatow

This week, I'm focusing on some really geeky -- I should say Benjie* -- research that caught my eye. Be ready for some gorgeous graphics and hi-tech talk.

Star Trek, Physics, Spider

Jan. 25, 2013

Cloudy With a Chance of Bacteria

by Charles Bergquist

Bacteria abound, even inside hailstones.

hail, hailstones, clouds, cloud, bacterial, bacteria, soil, Tina Santl-Temkiv

Jan. 25, 2013

SciFri Book Club Open Thread: The Andromeda Strain

by Leslie Taylor

Here are some ideas to get the conversation started.

scifri book club, book club, The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton, Richard Preston, science fiction, scifri, outbreak, astrobiology

Jan. 25, 2013

The Minimalist Brain

by Annette Heist

Artist Greg Dunn combines his two passions: neuroscience and Asian-inspired painting.

brain, painting, neuroscience, artist, neurons

Jan. 22, 2013

Flatow File: Water on Mars, Sea Creatures, NFL Concussions

by Ira Flatow

Once more, lots of intriguing stories making the news this week. Here are a few of my favorites.

Jan. 18, 2013

An Illustrated Guide to the Mysterious

by Annette Heist

In a new book, artists illustrate the big (and not-so-big) questions in science.

mystery, artist, illustrate, illustration, books, art

Jan. 18, 2013

Researchers Dig In to the Genetics of Burrowing

by Charles Bergquist

Complex behaviors, such as the way some mice dig burrows, can be affected by changes to just a handful of genes.

genetics, mice, mouse, tunneling, digging, burrowing, genes and behavior

Jan. 17, 2013

A Spider Charade

by Sam Flatow

The octopus may be the king of camouflage, but if there’s an animal whose name is synonymous with deception, it’s the spider.

spider, Phil Torres

Jan. 15, 2013

Cyberspace Sneaking: Sending Secret Messages Via Skype

by Julie Leibach

Polish researchers have devised a way to send encrypted messages using Skype.

Skype, secret messages, encryption, code

Jan. 11, 2013

What 17 Months in Isolation Looks Like (On a Mars Mission)

by Julie Leibach

For 520 days, six men lived together in a simulated mission to Mars. Here's what their home away from home looked like.

Mars500, Mars 500, Mars-500, Diego Urbina, 520 day isolation, sleep

Jan. 10, 2013

A Fallacy of Biblical Proportion

by Robert Lustig, M.D.

An excerpt from Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease by Dr. Robert Lustig.

book excerpt, health, sugar, fructose, diet, fat chance, obesity

Jan. 08, 2013

Nothing but 'Flower'

by Annette Heist

A new book strips the meaning from the blooms.

flowers, gardening, Flower, Andrew Zuckerman, photography

Jan. 03, 2013

I May Have Found My Bulb!

by Ira Flatow

For years I've been searching for the best light bulb, and I may have found it.

Jan. 03, 2013

SciFri Book Club Catches 'The Andromeda Strain'

by Annette Heist

The Michael Crichton classic tops the reading list.

book, Crichton, The Andromeda Strain, Book Club, SciFri Book Club, Michael Crichton, Science Fiction

Dec. 19, 2012

Sparrows and finches in Mexico City are lining their nests with the guts of used cigarette filters. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad someone is cleaning up, but who uses a stranger’s cigarette butt for housing?

birds, tobacco, nicotine, nature, tobacco