Category Archives: Science
Front Covers: Scientific American – October 2021
Science: Potty-Trained Cows, Massive Sardines Run Off South Africa
Online News Editor David Grimm joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about the health and environmental benefits of potty training cows.
Next, Peter Teske, a professor in the department of zoology at the University of Johannesburg, joins us to talk about his Science Advances paper on origins of the sardine run—a massive annual fish migration off the coast of South Africa.
Front Cover Preview: New Scientist Magazine – SEP 18
Science: Aquatic Foods To Aleviate World Hunger, Australian Wildfires
How aquatic foods could help tackle world hunger, and how Australian wildfires spurred phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean.
In this episode:
00:45 The role of aquatic food in tackling hunger
Ahead of the UN’s Food Systems Summit, Nature journals are publishing research from the Blue Food Assessment, looking at how aquatic foods could help feed the world’s population in a healthy, sustainable and equitable way.
We speak to Ismahane Elouafi, Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, who tells us about the role of blue foods in future food systems.
Immersive feature: Blue Foods
12:27 Research Highlights
The ingestible capsule that injects drugs straight into stomach tissue, and a soft material that changes colour when twisted.
Research Highlight: An easily swallowed capsule injects drugs straight into the gut
Research Highlight: Flowing crystals for quick camouflage
14:52 How Australian wildfires spurred phytoplankton blooms
The devastating Australian wildfires of 2019-2020 released plumes of iron-rich aerosols that circled the globe, fertilizing oceans thousands of miles away. New research suggests that these aerosols ultimately triggered blooms of microscopic phytoplankton downwind of the fires, in the Southern Ocean.
Research Article: Tang et al.
Covid-19: The Booster Shot Debate (CNBC Video)
The delta variant of Covid-19 took the U.S. by surprise. Months after the first vaccines rolled out, Covid-19 infections surged as the delta variant overwhelmed the unvaccinated population and even broke through the immunity from the shots from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. Now, the White House has a new plan to fight the delta variant, including booster shots and vaccine mandates. Here’s where we stand in the debate over booster shots, and in the fight against the delta variant.
Science: NASA’s First Moon Mission In 50 Years, Robots That Look, Act Like People
Staff Writer Paul Voosen talks with host Sarah Crespi about plans for NASA’s first visit to the Moon in 50 years—and the quick succession of missions that will likely follow.
Next, Eileen Roesler, an engineering psychologist at the Technical University of Berlin, discusses the benefits of making robots that look and act like people—it’s not always as helpful as you would think.
Front Cover Preview: New Scientist Magazine – SEP 11
Science: Geology’s Billion Year Gap, End Of Leaded Gas & Lush Ancient Arabia
A new theory to explain missing geological time, the end of leaded petrol, and the ancient humans of Arabia.
In this episode:
00:29 Unpicking the Great Unconformity
For more than 150 years, geologists have been aware of ‘missing’ layers of rock from the Earth’s geological record. Up to one billion years appear to have been erased in what’s known as the Great Unconformity. Many theories to explain this have been proposed, and now a new one suggests that the Great Unconformity may have in fact been a series of smaller events.
BBC Future: The strange race to track down a missing billion years
05:23 The era of leaded petrol is over
In July, Algeria became the final country to ban the sale of leaded petrol, meaning that the fuel is unavailable to buy legally anywhere on Earth. However despite this milestone, the toxic effects of lead petrol pollution will linger for many years to come.
Chemistry World: Leaded petrol is finally phased out worldwide
08:26 The ancient humans who lived in a wetter Arabia
While much of modern day Arabia is covered by deserts, new research suggests that hundreds of thousands of years ago conditions were much wetter for periods on the peninsula. These lusher periods may have made the area a key migratory crossroads for ancient humans.
Research Article: Groucutt et al.
News and Views: Traces of a series of human dispersals through Arabia
Analysis: Covid-19 Vaccine Efficacy Explained (Video)
Recent studies have shown that the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines is decreasing, though experts say the shots still work well. WSJ explains what the numbers mean and why they don’t tell the full story. Photo illustration: Jacob Reynolds/WSJ
Boomers Daily 