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May 9, 2025
Some car designers are turning from touchscreen controls back to physical buttons. Two researchers explain why that could be better. Plus, geneticists used CRISPR gene editing to grow bigger fruits without sacrificing flavor. And, an executive order could change the political tides for deep sea mining.
7:13
Exploring Remote Villages for Clues to the Human Microbiome
The microbes that live on and in residents of an Amazonian village with no recorded contact with Western civilization are super-diverse—and some carry genes for antibiotic resistance.
17:32
Water Wanes in the West
NASA’s Airborne Snow Observatory found that snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is a fraction of what it used to be.
11:44
New Climate Polls, A Comet Mystery, and Puppy Love
Rachel Feltman of the Washington Post gives us her rundown of the week’s science stories.
7:20
How the Apple Watch Measures Up
Re/code’s Lauren Goode give us her take on Apple’s new wearable.
12:07
Are Scientific Journals Clogged With ‘Publication Pollution’?
Medical ethicist Art Caplan says science and medical journals are plagued by fraud, plagiarism, and predatory publishers.
28:15
The Future of Artificial Intelligence
What questions should we ask as research on artificial intelligence progresses?
6:00
As Arctic Permafrost Thaws, Microbes Kick Into Action
Recent findings suggest that microbes living in Arctic permafrost could produce carbon dioxide and methane as it thaws.
17:22
Undersea Cables String Together the Global Internet
Ninety-nine percent of the data zipping between continents travels not via satellite, but through thousands of miles of cables.
9:46
Babies on the Brink
A series of rigorous (and adorable) experiments by Karen Adolph of NYU’s Infant Action Lab shatters the myth that babies learn to fear heights as they learn to crawl.
12:09
News Roundup: The Birth of the Moon, E.T. Life, and LHC Season Two
Washington Post science blogger Rachel Feltman gives us her top stories this week, and the BBC’s Jonathan Webb tells us what to expect from the revved-up particle collider.