Science, Spoken
2,361 episodes — Page 2 of 48
From Security, Spoken: Deepfake Porn Is Out of Control
We're bringing an extra episode from our show Security, Spoken.New research shows the number of deepfake videos is skyrocketing—and the world's biggest search engines are funneling clicks to dozens of sites dedicated to the nonconsensual fakes. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
From Business, Spoken: Why Read Books When You Can Use Chatbots to Talk to Them Instead?
We're bringing an extra episode from our show Business, Spoken.Book publishers are experimenting with chatbot editions of new titles, providing "conversational companions" for readers. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Chatbots Are Entering the Stone Age
Anthropic and other big AI startups are teaching chatbots “tool use,” to make them more useful in the workplace. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Neuralink’s First User Is ‘Constantly Multitasking’ With His Brain Implant
Noland Arbaugh is the first to get Elon Musk’s brain device. The 30-year-old speaks to WIRED about what it’s like to use a computer with his mind—and gain a new sense of independence. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
From What's New: Stop Planting Trees, Says Guy Who Inspired World to Plant a Trillion Trees
We're bringing an extra episode from our show What's New.Ecologist Thomas Crowther’s research inspired countless tree-planting campaigns, greenwashing, and attacks from scientists. Now he’s back with a new plan for nature restoration. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mexico Is So Hot, Monkeys Are Falling to Their Death From Trees
Authorities and conservation groups are investigating the deaths of dozens of howler monkeys in Tabasco, where extreme heat and land-use change appear to be threatening the vulnerable species. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The Auroras Should Be Spectacular This Summer, Thanks to Solar Maximum
Increasing solar activity over the next year could bring more opportunities to see fantastic displays of the northern lights. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Don’t Believe the Biggest Myth About Heat Pumps
Not only do heat pumps work fine in cold weather, they’re still more efficient than gas furnaces in such conditions. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Pocket-Sized AI Models Could Unlock a New Era of Computing
Research at Microsoft shows it’s possible to make AI models small enough to run on phones or laptops without major compromises to their smarts. The technique could open up new use cases for AI. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
How a Virus Found in Wastewater Beat Back a Woman’s ‘Zombie’ Bacteria
Viruses called phages offer a promising treatment option for bacterial infections when antibiotics stop working, but they have limitations. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The World Is Ignoring the—Other—Deadly Kind of Carbon
Not only is black carbon terrible for human health, but ever-fiercer wildfires are covering the Arctic with the dark particles, accelerating melting. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Hydro Dams Are Struggling to Handle the World’s Intensifying Weather
Climate change is robbing some hydro dams of water while oversupplying others—forcing managers to employ new forecasting technology and clever strategies to capitalize on what they have. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
City Trees Save Lives
Green spaces significantly cool our ever-hotter cities. New research suggests more trees could cut heat-related ER visits in LA by up to two-thirds. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
An Epic Fight Over What Really Killed the Dinosaurs
bonusWe wanted to bring back a favorite episode from 2023: A deep learning model has joined a vigorous debate over whether volcanoes began dinosaur doomsday well before the asteroid hit. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Lab-Grown Meat Is on Shelves Now. But There’s a Catch
A store in Singapore is selling lab-grown chicken, but it only contains 3 percent animal cells. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Saunas Are the Next Frontier in Fighting Depression
The preliminary results of a clinical trial of using heat exposure to combat depression are in—and are fueling cautious optimism that sauna practice could become an accepted treatment. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The First Person to Receive a Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died
The hospital that carried out the procedure two months prior says there’s “no indication” that the transplant was related to his death. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
These Artificial Blood Platelets Could One Day Save Lives
Platelets help blood clot, but they have a short shelf life. With blood in short supply, synthetic platelets could help meet demand. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The Earth Is About to Feast on Dead Cicadas
Two cicada broods, XIX and XIII, are emerging in sync for the first time in 221 years. They’re bringing the banquet of a lifetime for birds, trees, and humans alike. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Sell Lab-Grown Meat in Alabama and You Could Go to Jail
Anyone found guilty of selling or manufacturing cultivated meat in Alabama will face up to a three-month jail sentence and $500 fine. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The One Thing That’s Holding Back the Heat Pump
It’s not the technology itself. It’s that we don’t yet have enough trained workers to install heat pumps for full-tilt decarbonization. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Boeing's Starliner Is Finally Ready to Launch a NASA Crew Into Space
Seven years behind schedule, on Monday Starliner will send two astronauts to space on a mission for NASA. The troubled company still has lots of catching up to do. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The US Is Cracking Down on Synthetic DNA
Synthetic DNA could be used to spark a pandemic. A move by President Biden aims to create new standards for the safety and security of mail-order genetic material. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
China Has a Controversial Plan for Brain-Computer Interfaces
China's brain-computer interface technology is catching up to the US. But it envisions a very different use case: cognitive enhancement. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
She Painted a Few Champagne Bottles. Then Came Meta’s Customer Support Hell
A fashion influencer’s struggles to unblock her Instagram account highlight a long-standing problem with Meta’s lackluster customer service. Users and regulators say the company must step up. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Can’t Afford a House? Buy a Piece of One Instead
In a chaotic housing market that has shut many buyers out, fractional home ownership and investing trends are taking off. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
What’s the Safest Seat on an Airplane?
The back of the plane is safest, according to common wisdom, but that’s not really true. Let us explain. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
We Finally Know Where Neuralink’s Brain Implant Trial Is Happening
After months of secrecy, Neuralink revealed that the partner site for its brain implant study is the Barrow Neurological Institute.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Doctors Combined a Heart Pump and Pig Kidney Transplant in Breakthrough Surgery
In the first procedure of its kind, a 54-year-old New Jersey woman received a genetically engineered pig kidney and thymus after getting a heart pump.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
No, Dubai’s Floods Weren’t Caused By Cloud Seeding
Heavy rain has triggered flash flooding in Dubai. But those pointing the finger at cloud seeding are misguided.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Green Roofs Are Great. Blue-Green Roofs Are Even Better
Amsterdam is experimenting with roofs that not only grow plants but capture water for a building’s residents. Welcome to the squeezable sponge city of tomorrow.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Unruly Gut Fungi Can Make Your Covid Worse
An infection can upset your microbiome, and if certain gut fungi run riot, this can kick the immune system into overdrive.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The Rise of the Carbon Farmer
Farmers around the world are reigniting the less intensive agricultural practices of yesteryear—to improve soil health, raise yields, and trap carbon in the atmosphere back down in the soil.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
US Infrastructure Is Broken. Here’s an $830 Million Plan to Fix It
WIRED spoke with US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg about recent grants to fix ancient roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure before it’s too late.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The Next Frontier for Brain Implants Is Artificial Vision
Elon Musk’s Neuralink and others are developing devices that could provide blind people with a crude sense of sight.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The Paradox That's Supercharging Climate Change
Humanity needs to burn less fossil fuels. But that means fewer aerosols to help cool the planet—and a potential acceleration of global warming.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Can You Really Run on Top of a Train, Like in the Movies?
To pull off this classic Hollywood stunt, you gotta know your physics!Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Trump Loyalists Kill Vote on US Wiretap Program
An attempt to reauthorize Section 702, the so-called crown jewel of US spy powers, failed for a third time in the House of Representatives after former president Donald Trump criticized the law.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mexico City’s Metro System Is Sinking Fast. Yours Could Be Next
Subsidence is causing parts of Mexico City to sink, and it’s happening at an uneven rate. That’s bad news for its sprawling public transportation system.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
He Got a Pig Kidney Transplant. Now Doctors Need to Keep It Working
Researchers think a combination of genetic edits and an experimental immunosuppressive drug could make the first pig kidney transplant a long-term success.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Why the East Coast Earthquake Covered So Much Ground
Friday morning's earthquake was felt from New York City all the way to Washington, DC. Blame ancient fault lines and bedrock for the jolt.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Can You View a Round Solar Eclipse Through a Square Hole?
Here’s a cool way to watch the eclipse—and learn about the weird physics of light while you’re at it.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
‘In 24 Hours, You’ll Have Your Pills:’ American Women Are Traveling to Mexico for Abortions
Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, more women have been crossing the border to Mexico for abortion medications and procedures.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
How to View April’s Total Solar Eclipse, Online and In Person
Here’s some advice for safely experiencing the total solar eclipse on April 8 as the moon casts a slender shadow across Mexico, the United States, and eastern Canada.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
This Bag of Cells Could Grow New Livers Inside of People
Donor livers are in short supply for transplants. A startup is attempting to grow new ones in people instead.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Meet the Designer Behind Neuralink’s Surgical Robot
Afshin Mehin has helped design some of the most futuristic neurotech devices.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The Next Heat Pump Frontier? NYC Apartment Windows
New heat pumps easily fit over window sills, meaning they could replace clunky apartment air-conditioning units.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The Real Reason Why Some Abortion Pill Patients Go to the ER
The abortion pill mifepristone went in front of the US Supreme Court on Tuesday. Antiabortionists say an increase in emergency room visits shows it’s unsafe. Medical experts disagree.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
The Next Generation of Cancer Drugs Will Be Made in Space
Injectable immunotherapy drugs can be made, in theory, but gravity prevents them from crystallizing correctly. A startup thinks the solution could be right above us.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Why the Baltimore Bridge Collapsed so Quickly
Steel structures aren’t as strong as you might think—and the immense power of a container ship shouldn’t be underestimated.Read this story here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices