Science Magazine Podcast Folgen

First up on the podcast, News Editor Tim Appenzeller joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about an x-ray image that is upsetting the narrative of DNA’s discovery as told by James Watson. A newly resurfaced photo taken by Rosalind Franklin—photo 49—shows she was aware of the helical structure of DNA and explains why her published image—photo 51—does not have indications of her understanding of its shape.  Next on the show, producer Elah Feder chats with Andreas Nieder, professor of animal physiology and director of the Institute for Neurobiology at the University of Tübingen, about the high speed of bird cognition. It turns out in experimental settings carrion crows make decisions twice as fast as primates. The conversation delves into what could make avian brains ultrafast and the evolutionary advantages of speedy thinking. Last up this week, poets and scientists get together in books and in real life. Phil Levin and David Hassler discuss their collaboration on a joint effort to create a poetry anthology and a scientific report on the state of nature. They explain how they see science and poetry are connected, and how their ideas will be put into action at an upcoming conference on poetry and science in November. Also in this segment, Lara Volski reads her poem “The Monarch Bear.” People in this segment Phil Levin, professor in sustainability science and director of the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington (UW) David Hassler, executive director of the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University Lara Volski, Ph.D. candidate in the People and Wildlife Lab at UW Works mentioned The Nature of Our Times: Poems on America’s Lands, Waters, Wildlife, and Other Natural Wonders The Nature Record Conference details Poet and science gathering at Kent State This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. Image: Franklin: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up on the podcast, producer Meagan Cantwell and Newsletter Editor Christie Wilcox discuss a few stories from ScienceAdviser, including why Nazi Germany was unlikely to ever make an atomic bomb, a gene that might prevent gray hairs, and 140 years of cheese history from a Swiss basement. Next on the show, Contributing Correspondent Lizzie Wade joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss how archaeologists are revisiting the standard Inca chronology as radiocarbon dates mix up the timeline for the empire’s inception and growth. Last up this week, the neural basis of our breath’s rhythm. Nicholas Bush, a staff research scientist at Epsilon, talks about using modern neuronal recording techniques and computing to describe the generation of rhythmic breathing. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. Image: Lizzie Wade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up on the podcast, freelance science journalist Robin George Andrews describes Japan’s upcoming Martian Moons eXploration mission that will nab a sample from the surface of Mars’s moon Phobos. The material, due back to Earth in 2031, could reveal the origins of this mysterious moon, the past habitability of Mars, or even hints of life itself. Next on the show, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano started to periodically spew tall fountains of lava in December 2024. Researchers and the public tuned in to watch more than 50 fountaining events steaming live online. Ashton Flinders, a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about how observations from the cameras plus geochemical, geophysical, and geologic monitoring revealed a predictable pattern in these usually rare events. Last up this week, Javier Birchenall, professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses predictions of world-ending crises—starting with a prediction published in a Science paper in 1960 that suggested Earth’s population would reach a singularity on 13 November 2026. We are still here and the global population is headed for a decline. What happened to the singularity and what else are we not predicting very well? Heinz von Foerster et al., Science 1960 Doomsday: Friday, 13 November, A.D. 2026 “At this date human population will approach infinity if it grows as it has grown in the last two millenia[sic].” Image: ESA Mars Express/Andrea Luck This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices