This week, a new way to study elusive subatomic particles – pions, and the story of Galileo remains relevant in a time of modern science denialism.
In this episode:
00:46 Probing pions
Pions are incredibly unstable and difficult-to-study subatomic particles. Now researchers have come up with a clever way to examine them – by sticking them into helium atoms. Research Article: Hori et al.
08:28 Research Highlights
A colourful way to cool buildings, and the rapid expansion of cities. Research Highlight: A rainbow of layered paints could help buildings to keep their cool; Research Highlight: Urban sprawl overspreads Earth at an unprecedented speed
10:46 The life of Galileo
A new biography of Galileo Galilei examines some of the myths about his life and draws parallels with problems facing scientists today. Books and Arts: Galileo’s story is always relevant
16:42 Pick of the Briefing
We pick our highlights from the Nature Briefing, including botanical graffiti, and rock-eating bacteria. The Guardian: ‘Not just weeds’: how rebel botanists are using graffiti to name forgotten flora; Scientific American: Scientists Waited Two and a Half Years to See whether Bacteria Can Eat Rock
Staff Writer Jocelyn Kaiser joins Sarah to talk about a recent Science paper describing the results of a large study on a blood test for multiple types of cancer. The trial’s results suggest such a blood test combined with follow-up scans may help detect cancers early, but there is a danger of too many false positives. 
Benjamin Thompson, Noah Baker, and Amy Maxmen discuss the role of antibody tests in controlling the pandemic, and how public-health spending could curtail an economic crisis. Also on the show, the open hardware community’s efforts to produce medical equipment.
On this week’s show, Staff Writer Robert Service talks with host Sarah Crespi about a new National Academy of Sciences report that suggests the novel coronavirus can go airborne, the evidence for this idea, and what this means for the mask-wearing debate. 
Boomers Daily 