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April 26, 2024
For her new book, Aarathi Prasad spent years researching the past and future of silk—and even grew her own silkworms. Plus, an array of new products monitors users’ brain waves using caps or headbands. That neural data has few privacy protections. And, bonobo males may not live up to their reputation as calmer, more peaceful great apes.
4:27
Months After Sandy, Mucking and Gutting
Mold has become a concern for residents of a Sandy-damaged neighborhood in Queens.
22:42
Shoring Up the Nation’s Crumbling Coastlines
Can beaches be rebuilt to face fiercer storms and rising seas? Is there even enough sand to do it?
19:20
Canine Conundrum: How Dog Became Man’s Best Friend
Scientists have long debated how—and when—dogs first became domesticated.
10:22
Beijing Grapples with Record Air Pollution
Severe smog is raising concerns about the cost of China’s rapid industrialization.
23:52
Edward Tufte Wants You to See Better
The “Galileo of graphics” discusses his latest project: helping people to see information through “fresh” eyes.
11:59
Dementia Takes the Stage in ‘The Other Place’
Laurie Metcalf is a scientist suffering from the dementia she studies in the play ‘The Other Place.’
17:35
How Do You Fend Off the Flu?
Aside from getting the flu shot, how do you outsmart the wily flu virus? Hoard hand sanitizer? Dodge door knobs? Or quietly slink away from a coughing commuter?
17:01
Colossal Quasar Clump Too Huge to Exist, in Theory
Astronomers have discovered a clump of 73 quasars spanning four billion light years at its widest point — that’s like 40,000 Milky Way galaxies lined end-to-end.
12:04
Inventors Design Lamp Powered Entirely by Gravity
The gravity-powered device uses a weight to generate up to 30 minutes of light as it descends.
16:43
Simulating the Red Planet, on the Pale Blue Dot
What’s it like to live—and cook—on Mars? To find out, researchers are simulating Mars missions in Russia and on the slopes of a Hawaiian volcano.