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Millions of years ago, iguanas somehow got from North America to Fiji. Scientists think they made the trip on a raft of fallen vegetation. Also, the marine reptile’s fossilized fetus is cluing paleontologists into the lives of ancient sea creatures.Ancient Iguanas Floated 5,000 Miles Across The PacificIf you picture iguanas, you might imagine them sunbathing on hot sand in the Caribbean or skittering around the Mojave Desert. But far, far away from where these iguanas are found is another group of iguanas living on the islands of Fiji and Tonga in the South Pacific—closer to New Zealand than the Americas. And it raises the question: How in the world did these iguanas end up all alone, on the other side of the ocean? In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in March, scientists suggest that millions of years ago, iguanas hitched a ride on a raft and accidentally sailed all the way across the ocean before washing ashore and starting a new life. Host Flora Lichtman discusses the iguanas’ intrepid adventure with lead author Dr. Simon Scarpetta, evolutionary biologist and assistant professor at the University of San Francisco in California.Meet Fiona, The Pregnant Icthyosaur FossilIn the Patagonia region of Chile, Torres del Paine National Park is a graveyard of ichthyosaurs—ancient, dolphin-like reptiles that roamed the oceans when dinosaurs dominated the land. Nearly 90 of these giant reptiles’ fossils have been found amongst the glaciers. But the standout in the bone heap is Fiona, an ichthyosaur that lived 131 million years ago. She’s in pristine condition, the only fully preserved ichthyosaur in Chile. And, she died pregnant. She’s teaching paleontologists about the evolution of her species. And some of those findings were recently published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Host Flora Lichtman talks with lead author Dr. Judith Pardo-Pérez, paleontologist at the University of Magallanes in Chile.Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

In “Into the Unknown,” an astronomer explores the mysteries of the cosmos and the limits of what science can test.What is time? If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into? What happened just before the Big Bang?Some of the most head-scratching ideas in physics strain the limits of what science can test. In her book Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos, astronomer Dr. Kelsey Johnson describes some of those concepts, and sketches out ways to try to wrap your brain around them. Johnson joins Host Ira Flatow to talk about the limits of scientific inquiry, and what mysteries lie at the limits of science.Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.  Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Scientists bring us a lab-grown chicken nugget and texturally accurate, plant-based calamari. We’ll bite.There’s a movement in the world of science to find alternatives to meat and dairy products that don’t involve killing animals. Two avenues for this are by using animal cells in a lab, or going plant-based. Two breakthroughs in this field of food science were published in journals recently: the largest lab-grown chicken nugget and a plant-based fried calamari that tastes like the real thing.Producer Kathleen Davis joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss these morsels of research and other science news of the week, including mandatory composting hitting the largest U.S. city, why human wounds heal slower than our primate cousins, and the disinfecting limitations of at-home washing machines. Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.