SciFri
Entertaining conversations about science, technology and other stuff that’ll blow your mind and help you make sense of our weird, fascinating world. From supermassive black holes to superbugs, Science Friday brings you the latest in science news and connects you with leading experts to dig deeper. The show is hosted by Ira Flatow and Flora Lichtman, and is distributed by WNYC Studios to over 500 public radio stations across the country.
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SciFri
Our #PictureOfTheWeek features entomologist Dino Martins who has pulled botflies out of camel snot and willingly let a horsefly feast on him. Why? Because he’s obsessed with parasites.
Dino himself admits that parasites are disgusting and can be deadly, but reminds us that they are “part of the fabric of life…If we are going to learn about things that are beautiful and interesting, we also have to learn about things that are disgusting and maybe even slightly sort of disturbing.”
Flora chatted with him about his childhood pet zebra, the weird sex lives of parasites, and his book featuring these hidden creatures.
Listen to the podcast now on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/y2b1F9qZu3Y?si=NbHAW...
Image Credits and Captions:
1. Dino Martins teaching a field course, featuring a camel. Credit: Anne Powys
2. A close-up of a botfly. Credit: Dino Martins
3. Dino with his baby zebra. Credit: Nani Croze
10 hours ago | [YT] | 8
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SciFri
We’re teaching about the shape-shifting fire amoeba in our newest Think Big educational resource! 🔥
Scientists thought eukaryotic life could not survive temperatures above 60℃, but this microbe broke the record and can survive in water up to 63℃ (about 145℉).
Learn more about what a eukaryote is and how life adapts to survive in extreme conditions. Made for grades 6-8, it includes a short video, discussion questions, and a free printable worksheet. www.sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/microb…
5 days ago | [YT] | 16
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SciFri
Want to pick a book for Science Friday’s Book Club? 📚
Our book club members will decide our last read in 2026. Vote for "The Comfort of Crows," "Inside of a Dog," or "Wild New World" for our November/December pick.
If you’re already a member, find the poll in Mighty Networks or in our book club newsletter. If you’re not, join SciFri’s Book Club now to cast your vote! Voting closes July 31 and we'll announce the winner August 3.
Find more info on our website: www.sciencefriday.com/sf-books/science-friday-book…
1 week ago | [YT] | 10
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SciFri
Our #PictureOfTheWeek is fossilized squirrel poop from the last ice age. 🐿️
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, a ground squirrel in the Yukon pooped. That scat stayed frozen for millennia until researchers thawed it out and realized it was a literal data dump (sorry, we couldn’t resist).
In it, they found DNA of woolly mammoths, steppe bison, horses, and wolves, giving them a detailed snapshot of life during the last ice age. And after 700,000 years, the smell unfortunately still holds up. Biomolecular archaeologist Tyler Murchie joined Flora to talk about why ancient poop is a gold mine for researchers.
Listen to the podcast now: https://youtu.be/PHGCvP-PK40?si=4erQk...
Images Credits and Captions:
1. A cluster of ancient Arctic ground squirrel fecal pellets preserved in permafrost at Hunker Creek, Yukon. Credit: Scott Cocker
2. An illustration showing Arctic ground squirrels scavenging meat and foraging on plants in the last ice age. Credit: Mercedes Minck/Hakai Institute
3. Alejandro Alvarez, then a PhD student at the University of Alberta, collects permafrost cores. Orange flags mark ancient squirrel burrows and green flags mark middens, places where multiple generations of squirrels once cached food and defecated. Credit: Scott Cocker
4. A modern-day Arctic ground squirrel, whose Ice Age ancestors left behind permafrost-preserved burrows and feces. Credit: Government of Yukon
1 week ago | [YT] | 34
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SciFri
Is it alive? Our #PictureOfTheWeek is the SpudCell.
It’s the first synthetic cell system made entirely from non-living chemical components that encapsulates an entire genome. It can grow, eat, duplicate its DNA, and reproduce.
Synthetic biologist Kate Adamala joined Ira to talk about creating the cells, if she considers SpudCell a living organism, and why it's named after potatoes.
Listen to the full podcast now: https://youtu.be/UVtTJo2_ZUs?si=kY6kC...
Images Credit:
Orion Venero, Adamala Lab
Carousel Captions:
1. A SpudCell. The DNA of the genome and the synthetic cell membrane are stained with fluorescent dyes.
2. A super-resolution image of SpudCell’s liposomes.
3. SpudCell which contains a working translation system and metabolic enzymes. The red membrane is stained with a lipid dye.
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 49
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SciFri
There’s a massive undersea graveyard of whales deep in the Indian Ocean. Spanning about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles or roughly the distance from New York to Chicago), it contains whale remains dating back 5.3 million years and has at least five active whale fall sites still teeming with life.
Dr. Nick Pyenson,curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, joined Flora to break down the findings from the recent research paper.
Listen to our podcast to learn more: https://youtu.be/x8yZpxkXP8I?si=N1Qcm...
Image Details:
1. Fragmentary whale skeletal remains colonised by hard-substrate animals, including stalked sea anemones, sponges, and sea stars. Photographs taken from the Chinese submersible Fendouzhe.
2. Fossil skulls of three beaked whales recovered from the seafloor. The image shows two extinct beaked whale species, Pterocetus diamantinae sp. nov. (new species to science, on the top) and Izikoziphius rossi (the second skull), as well as an Andrews' beaked whale Mesoplodon bowdoini (two skulls on the bottom).
3. Recovery of whale fossil bones using the manipulator arm of the Chinese submersible Fendouzhe.
📸 : Global TREnD, IDSSE
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 43
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SciFri
Our #PictureOfTheWeek shows two scorpions in the middle of a mating dance, where they’ll even “kiss” like a couple in love. And unlike other arachnids, scorpions give live birth to tiny scorplings that the moms carry on their backs.
Scorpion researcher Dr. Lauren Esposito joined Flora to make the case for why scorpions are caring, ancient, and intriguing. Plus, we explored how there may have been a scorpion the size of a golden retriever 415 million years ago.
Learn to love scorpions by listening to our podcast episode on our YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/N38uL3VUDnE?si=E63pd...
📸: Prakrit Jain
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 33
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SciFri
Looking for books your kids will love this summer? 📚
We teamed up with literacy experts Melissa Stewart and Kathy Renfrew to find 10 children’s books guaranteed to get kids curious about nature.
Check out the list and let us know which ones are your favorites: www.sciencefriday.com/articles/best-kids-science-b…
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 25
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SciFri
We set out to raise $100,000 during the month of June, and SciFri fans have come through in a huge way.
If you've already donated, we can’t thank you enough for supporting science journalism! If you haven’t, please consider donating to help us reach our goal before June 30th. www.sciencefriday.com/donate/
📸: Jonathan Hickerson
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 21
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SciFri
Thanks to the generous support of Science Friday fans, we’re over halfway to our goal of raising $100,000 by June 30!
If you haven’t done so yet, please consider supporting science journalism by making a donation at sciencefriday.com/donate. Every bit helps us create our podcasts, radio show, educational content, newsletters, and more each week.
Photo Credit: JT Anderson
1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 15
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