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 16, 2020 • 9min
A New, Plastic-Busting Enzyme Can Break Down Water Bottles
The end result of the reaction is a raw material that can be reused in new products.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 15, 2020 • 13min
Death Cuts the Degree of Separation Between You and Covid-19
If knowing someone who has died would make the pandemic concrete for someone in the US—real and actionable—how many have to die? Here's the grim math.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 14, 2020 • 8min
Turns Out, Traffic Spreads Like the Coronavirus
Researchers use models meant for infectious diseases to show how congestion proliferates. That may mean a vaccine for traffic jams is on the horizon.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 13, 2020 • 8min
How a Real Dog Taught a Robot Dog to Walk
Instead of coding a mechanical quadruped's movements line by line, Google researchers fed it videos of real-life pups. Now it can even chase its tail.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 10, 2020 • 6min
The Political Promise of Carbon Taxes
Putting a price on emissions has become a bipartisan issue. Now we just need to do it the right way.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 9, 2020 • 9min
Solar Power Is Sustainable for the Economy, Too
We've been talking about the potential for the sun's energy for decades. Now it can be more profitable to save the planet than to ruin it.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 8, 2020 • 7min
The Fishy Fix to a Methane-Spewing Crop
Rice has the biggest carbon footprint of any grain. Bite by bite, bacteria-guzzling minnows can make it much smaller.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 7, 2020 • 8min
Solar Panels Could Be the Best Fad Ever
Installing an array on your roof is environmental exhibitionism—and it's contagious.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 6, 2020 • 10min
The Search for the Next Big Idea in Magnetic Field Mapping
A new competition challenges scientists to innovate on how we map Earth's constantly shifting magnetic field—and make navigation safer and more accurate.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Apr 3, 2020 • 10min
Why Stress-Baking and Cleaning Make You Less Anxious
You're not the only one who finds #quarantinebaking so soothing. Turns out, it has a lot to do with the neuroscience of mindful meditation.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
