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April 18, 2025
Are traffic engineering decisions based on evidence-based research? Not as much as you might think. Plus, researchers captured the first confirmed video of a colossal squid swimming in its natural habitat. And, with brain-implanted devices, people with paralysis have been able to command computers to “move” virtual objects and speak for them.
The SciFri Book Club Falls For Mr. Feynman
The Science Friday Book Club discusses the classic book “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”
In Twitter We Trust: Can Social Media Sway Voters?
Scientists are examining how social media can influence the opinions of voters.
Plunging Into the Science of BASE Jumping
The physics and neuroscience of jumping off cliffs.
Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite
Think monsters are make-believe? In his new book, science journalist Matt Kaplan writes of real-life zombies in Haiti, and how rabies infection could explain the vampire’s aversion to garlic and sunlight.
Scared to Death… Literally
An earthquake, terrorist attack, or even a hole-in-one can cause a heart-stopping surge of adrenaline.
Learning From the Things That Annoy Us
Why you have to overcome irritation in order to examine it.
How One Guy Raised $1.3 Million for a Tesla Museum
The money will be used to turn Nikola Tesla’s final laboratory into a museum.
When Infections ‘Spillover’
Will the next human pandemic start in an animal? Writer David Quammen talks about Ebola, HIV and other diseases that ‘spillover’ from animals to humans.
New Program Spurs Solar Development on Public Land
The plan identifies 285,000 acres of public land in six Western states for solar energy projects.
Spacecraft Records ‘Chorus’ of Space Sounds
What do Earth’s radiation belts sound like? Wonder no more.