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
Apr 30, 2020 • 10min
The Legacy of Math Luminary John Conway, Lost to Covid-19
Conway, who passed away on April 11, was known for his rapid computation, his playful approach, and solving problems with “his own bare hands.”
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Apr 29, 2020 • 11min
A Brain Implant Restored This Man's Motion and Sense of Touch
After his accident, Ian Burkhart didn’t think he’d ever be able to move or feel his hand again. A small chip in his brain changed everything.
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Apr 28, 2020 • 8min
Spot the Coronavirus Doctor Robot Dog Will See You Now
Boston Dynamics' famously deft robot gets a job screening patients at a hospital. But there's still much that it and other medical robots can't do.
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Apr 27, 2020 • 9min
The Deepwater Horizon Disaster Fueled a Gulf Science Bonanza
A decade after the worst oil spill in US history, researchers have turned out a massive data set charting the health of the ecosystem.
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Apr 24, 2020 • 13min
The Real Reason Veterinarians Gave a Tiger a Covid-19 Test
It’s hard for humans in New York City to get a test for the coronavirus. So when a Bronx Zoo tiger tested positive for Covid-19, it invited some questions.
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Apr 23, 2020 • 12min
New Covid-19 Antibody Study Results Are In. Are They Right?
Two preprints of California serosurveys offer surprising estimates about the infection rate, and have caused a Twitter “peer review” uproar.
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Apr 22, 2020 • 7min
The Cold, Hard Work of Delivering Oxygen to Ventilators
Oxygen is in the air. Getting it to a Covid-19 patient struggling to breathe can be trickier than it seems.
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Apr 21, 2020 • 9min
Africa's Huge Locust Swarms Are Growing at the Worst Time
As coronavirus takes hold and farmers plant crops, the continent faces a new wave of locusts 20 times larger than one earlier this year.
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Apr 20, 2020 • 8min
‘Common Sense’ Is No Substitute for Science in a Pandemic
The scientific method isn't perfect, but it's better than the alternative when lives are at stake.
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Apr 17, 2020 • 9min
What if Covid-19 Returns Every Year, Like the Common Cold?
A new Harvard study models how long we’d have to keep social distancing if the virus turns out to be seasonal, like its coronavirus cousins. It could be years.
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