Science Magazine Podcast

Researchers study cognition in farm animals in Germany. Honeyguide birds have distinct signals for different human honey hunters. The cooperative relationship between humans and honeyguide birds is explored, showcasing cultural co-evolution.

Exploring the idea of increasing ocean alkalinity to capture carbon and its potential impacts on climate change and ecosystems. Discussing the benefits of autonomous construction robots in reducing energy costs and enabling remote construction on Mars. Highlighting the concept of alkalinity enhancement as a method of geoengineering and the challenges associated with it. Exploring the urgent need to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and the potential of autonomous construction robots to repurpose construction debris. Discussing a robot-built stone wall in Zurich and its benefits in terms of reducing environmental impact and potential space applications. Exploring how industrial robots are revolutionizing architecture and enabling the construction of complex structures.

Bigger supercomputers aid scientific advancements. Solving the Dolomite problem in labs. Origins of patriarchy and gendered power structures. Impact of the state on patriarchy. Shifting dynamics in post-revolution Iran.

Discover how artificial intelligence has revolutionized weather forecasting, using fewer resources. Explore the overlooked source of methane emissions from waste sites and potential solutions. Dive into the role of landfills in climate change and the significance of managing municipal waste. Learn about strategies to mitigate methane emissions and their impact in staying within the 1.5-degree Celsius limit.

Russian science is split between those who left after the Ukraine invasion and those who stayed, as discussed by journalist Olga Dobrovidova. Jacob Robinson, a professor, explores battery-free bioelectronics and the potential for internal medical devices to harvest energy from the human body.

Guest Christie Wilcox discusses efforts to turn anemones into corals by manipulating their genes. Then, Steve Hyman explores challenges in developing drugs for brain diseases. Lastly, Thomas Fuchs delves into the potential of AI in healthcare including disease identification and treatment recommendations.

First up on this week’s show, Staff Writer Erik Stokstad joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about why it might make sense to grow shorter corn. It turns out the towering corn typically grown today is more likely to blow over in strong winds and can’t be planted very densely. Now, seedmakers are testing out new ways to make corn short through conventional breeding and transgenic techniques in the hopes of increasing yields. Next up on the show, the last in our series of books on sex and gender with Books Host Angela Saini. In this installment, Angela speaks with Nandita Jayaraj and Aashima Dogra about their book Lab Hopping: A Journey to Find India’s Women in Science. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. About the Science Podcast Authors: Sarah Crespi, Angela Saini, Erik StokstadEpisode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl5269 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Restoring land after dam removal, and phonons as a basis for quantum computing  First up on this week’s show, planting in the silty soil left behind after a dam is removed and reservoirs recede. Contributing Correspondent Warren Cornwall joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about the world's largest dam removal project and what ecologists are doing to revegetate 36 kilometers of new river edge. Next up on the show, freelance producer and former guest Tanya Roussy. She talks with Andrew Cleland, a professor at the University of Chicago, about a Science paper from this summer on using the phonon—a quantum of sound energy—as the basis of quantum computers. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. About the Science Podcast Authors: Sarah Crespi, Tanya Roussy, Warren CornwallEpisode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl4219 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kuiper belt might be bigger than we thought, and managing the effects of wildfires on indoor pollution First up on this week’s show, the Kuiper belt—the circular field of icy bodies, including Pluto, that surrounds our Solar System—might be bigger than we thought. Staff Writer Paul Voosen joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss the distant Kuiper belt objects out past Neptune, and how they were identified by telescopes looking for new targets for a visit by the New Horizons spacecraft. Next up on the show, the impact of wildfire smoke indoors. Producer Kevin McLean talks with Delphine Farmer, a chemist at Colorado State University, about an experiment to measure where particulates and volatile organic compounds end up when they sneak inside during a wildfire event. Finally, in a sponsored segment from the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office, Jackie Oberst, associate editor for custom publishing, discusses with Jens Nielsen, CEO of the BioInnovation Institute—an international life science incubator in Copenhagen, Denmark—about the next big leap in biology: synthetic biology. This segment is sponsored by the BioInnovation Institute. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. About the Science Podcast Authors: Sarah Crespi, Paul Voosen, Kevin McLean Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl3178 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast covers topics such as the impact of earthworms on agriculture, measuring the amount of resources needed to escape poverty, the outbreak of avian flu in the Galapagos Islands, preserving ancient DNA, and exploring deep time paleogenomics.