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
Nov 16, 2020 • 11min
What Happens When You Fly a Science Plane Through Wildfire Smoke
Aboard a decked-out C-130, researchers measure how smoke transforms from “fresh” to “stale” and begin to parse what that means for humans downwind.
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Nov 13, 2020 • 11min
How Humanity Spent Its First 20 Years in Orbit Aboard the ISS
Two decades ago, three explorers arrived at the International Space Station and marked the beginning of a permanent human presence beyond Earth.
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Nov 12, 2020 • 11min
In Embryos, Crispr Can Cut Out Whole Chromosomes—That's Bad
The DNA-cutting tool has been hailed as a way to fix genetic glitches. But a new study suggests it can remove more than scientists bargained for.
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Nov 11, 2020 • 10min
How Octopuses Use Their Suction Cups to Taste Through Touch
A new study reveals that the invertebrates use a novel kind of receptor embedded in their suckers to explore their ocean habitats.
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Nov 10, 2020 • 10min
A New Way to Plug a Human Brain into a Computer: via Veins
Electrodes threaded through the blood vessels that feed the brain let people control gadgets with their minds.
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Nov 9, 2020 • 10min
What to Wear When You’re Battling Giant, Venomous Hornets
The suits worn by Washington state entomologists aren't "official" hornet-fighting armor. But they were affordable—and came up in an Amazon search.
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Nov 6, 2020 • 12min
Mark Kelly’s Been To Space. Can He Make it to Capitol Hill?
Mark Kelly isn’t the first former NASA astronaut to run for office, but if he’s elected he’ll be the only one to make it to Congress on his first shot.
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Nov 5, 2020 • 12min
Babies May Be Drinking Millions of Microplastic Particles a Day
Scientists discover that baby bottles shed up to 16 million bits of plastic per liter of fluid. What that means for infants’ health, no one can yet say.
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Nov 4, 2020 • 12min
Your Brain Prefers Happy Endings. That’s Not Always Smart
People tend to focus on whether an experience ends on an up note or a sour one, even if it leads us to make bad decisions. A new study examines why.
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Nov 3, 2020 • 14min
Can Placebos Work—Even When Patients Know They’re Fake?
Researchers showed that a saline spray “treatment” reduced people’s emotional distress, even though the study subjects knew the spray wouldn’t do anything.
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