Science, Spoken
WIRED
Get in-depth coverage of current and future trends in technology, and how they are shaping business, entertainment, communications, science, politics, and society.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 7, 2020 • 9min
What the Science of Animal Networks Reveals About Protests
The movement of demonstrators echoes the fluid collective responses of the animal world, as groups respond to threats and signal across large spaces.
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Aug 6, 2020 • 8min
NASA’s Mars Rover Will Be Powered by US-Made Plutonium
In 2015, Oak Ridge National Laboratory produced the first plutonium fuel in the US in nearly 30 years. Now it’s headed to another planet.
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Aug 5, 2020 • 12min
Mad Scientists Revive 100-Million-Year-Old Microbes
Researchers collected sediment thousands of feet deep, filtered out bacteria, and revived the cells. But fear not—the destruction of humanity by ancient microbes is not nigh.
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Aug 4, 2020 • 10min
These 4 Covid-19 Vaccines Are Closest to Becoming Reality
There are hundreds of trials currently in the works. Here’s everything you need to know about the ones edging ahead in the global race.
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Aug 3, 2020 • 10min
The Sly Psychology Behind Magicians' Card Tricks
Is this your card? A recent study found that participants will select the suit or number they were primed to choose.
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Jul 31, 2020 • 10min
How Quickly Can Atoms Slip, Ghostlike, Through Barriers?
A new experiment on how rapidly atoms can tunnel through a barricade revives a physics debate about how time passes on the quantum scale.
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Jul 30, 2020 • 9min
During Lockdowns, the Earth (Sort of) Stood Still
Seismometers pick up human activity, like driving. When Covid arrived, scientists watched that global seismic noise plummet by 50 percent.
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Jul 29, 2020 • 9min
A Billion More Tons of Plastic Could Blanket Earth by 2040
Even with immediate action, 710 million metric tons of plastic will enter the environment in the next two decades, scientists show. Welcome to Plastic Planet.
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Jul 28, 2020 • 11min
How NASA Built a Self-Driving Car for Its Next Mars Mission
It’s hard enough to get an autonomous vehicle to work on Earth. It’s even harder on another planet.
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Jul 27, 2020 • 6min
Everything You Need to Know About the Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine
Early results from the team in the UK show their approach is safe and provokes an immune response. But that doesn't mean it works.
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