Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine
Science Magazine
Categories: Science & Medicine
Listen to the last episode:
First up on the podcast, bringing Gregor Mendel’s peas into the 21st century. Back in the 19th century Mendel, a friar and naturalist, tracked traits in peas such as flower color and shape over many generations. He used these observations to identify basic concepts about inheritance such as recessive and dominant traits. Staff Writer Erik Stokstad talks with host Sarah Crespi about the difficulty of identifying genes for these phenotypes all these years later. We also hear some other stories from the plant world, including evidence that wavy fields are more attractive to insects and a tree benefits from being struck by lightning. Next on the show, a carnivorous caterpillar that haunts spiderwebs, camouflaged in its insect prey’s body parts. Producer Kevin McLean talks with Daniel Rubinoff, a professor in the department of plant and environmental protection sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, about how such an adaptation might have evolved and the overlooked importance of insect conservation. Finally, we kick off our 2025 books series on the science of death and dying. Books host Angela Saini and books editor Valerie Thompson talk about the challenges of putting this year’s list together and the reads they are looking forward to. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. About the Science Podcast Authors: Sarah Crespi; Erik Stokstad; Kevin McLean; Valerie Thompson; Angela Saini Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous episodes
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1175 - A caterpillar that haunts spiderwebs, solving the last riddles of a famed friar, and a new book seriesThu, 24 Apr 2025
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1174 - Linking cat domestication to ancient cult sacrifices, and watching aurorae wanderThu, 17 Apr 2025
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1173 - The metabolic consequences of skipping sleep, and cuts and layoffs slam NIHThu, 10 Apr 2025
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1172 - Talking about engineering the climate, and treating severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancyThu, 03 Apr 2025
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1171 - Studying urban wildfires, and the challenges of creating tiny AI robotsThu, 27 Mar 2025
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1170 - Why seals don’t drown, and tracking bird poop as it enters the seaThu, 20 Mar 2025
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1169 - Why sign language could be crucial for kids with cochlear implants, studying the illusion of pain, and recent political developments at NIHThu, 13 Mar 2025
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1168 - Intrusive thoughts during pregnancy, paternity detectives, and updates from the Trump TrackerThu, 06 Mar 2025
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1167 - Keeping transgenic corn sustainable, and sending shrunken heads homeThu, 27 Feb 2025
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1166 - Shrinking AI for use in farms and clinics, ethical dilemmas for USAID researchers, and how to evolve evolvabilityThu, 20 Feb 2025
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1165 - Training AI to read animal facial expressions, NIH funding takes a big hit, and why we shouldn’t put cameras in robot pantsThu, 13 Feb 2025
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1164 - How the mantis shrimp builds its powerful club, and mysteries of middle EarthThu, 06 Feb 2025
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1163 - Why it pays to scratch that itch, and science at the start of the second Trump administrationThu, 30 Jan 2025
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1162 - Unlocking green hydrogen, and oxygen deprivation as medicineThu, 23 Jan 2025
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1161 - Rising infections from a dusty devil, and nailing down when our ancestors became meat eatersThu, 16 Jan 2025
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1160 - Bats surf storm fronts, and public perception of preprintsThu, 09 Jan 2025
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1159 - On the trail with a truffle-hunting dog, and why we should save elderly plants and animalsThu, 02 Jan 2025
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1158 - Top online stories of the year, and revisiting digging donkeys and baby mindsThu, 19 Dec 2024
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1157 - Science’s Breakthrough of the Year, and psychedelic drugs, climate, and fusion technology updatesThu, 12 Dec 2024
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1156 - Making Latin American science visible, and advances in cooling techThu, 05 Dec 2024
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1155 - Leaf-based computer chips, and evidence that two early human ancestors coexistedThu, 28 Nov 2024
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1154 - Testing whales’ hearing, and mapping clusters of extreme longevityThu, 21 Nov 2024
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1153 - Resurrecting a ‘flipping ship,’ and solving the ‘bone paradox’ in ancient remainsThu, 14 Nov 2024
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1152 - Watching continents slowly break apart, and turbo charging robotic sniffersThu, 07 Nov 2024
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1151 - The challenges of studying misinformation, and what Wikipedia can tell us about human curiosityThu, 31 Oct 2024
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1150 - Paleorobotics, revisiting the landscape of fear, and a book on the future of imaginationThu, 24 Oct 2024
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1149 - How to deal with backsliding democracies, and balancing life as a scientist and athleteThu, 17 Oct 2024
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1148 - Graphene’s journey from hype to prime time, and harvesting lithium from briny waterThu, 10 Oct 2024
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1147 - Scientific evidence that cats are liquids, and when ants started their fungus farmsThu, 03 Oct 2024
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1146 - Burying trees to lock up carbon, notorious ‘Alzheimer’s gene’ fuels hope, and a book on virtual twinsThu, 26 Sep 2024
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1145 - Looking for life on an icy moon, and feeling like a ratThu, 19 Sep 2024
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1144 - Hail finally gets its scientific due, and busting up tumors with ultrasoundThu, 12 Sep 2024
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1143 - Linking long lives with smart brains, and India’s science education is leaning into its history and traditions—but at what cost?Thu, 05 Sep 2024
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1142 - A fungus-driven robot, counting snow crabs, and a book on climate capitalismThu, 29 Aug 2024
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1141 - Saving wildlife with AI, and randomized trials go remoteThu, 22 Aug 2024
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1140 - The origins of the dino-killing asteroid, and remapping the scientific enterpriseThu, 15 Aug 2024
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1139 - The humidity vs. heat debate, and studying the lifetime impacts of famineThu, 08 Aug 2024
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1138 - Iron-toothed dragons, and improving electron microscopyThu, 01 Aug 2024
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1137 - Targeting dirty air, pollution from dead satellites, and a book on embracing robotsThu, 25 Jul 2024
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1136 - New treatments for deadly snake bites, and a fusion company that wants to get in the medical isotopes gameThu, 18 Jul 2024
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1135 - How rat poison endangers wildlife, and using sound to track animal populationsThu, 11 Jul 2024
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1134 - What’s new in the world of synthetic blood, and how a bacterium evolves into a killerThu, 04 Jul 2024
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1133 - Targeting crop pests with RNA, the legacy of temporary streams, and the future of moneyThu, 27 Jun 2024
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1132 - The hunt for habitable exoplanets, and how a warming world could intensify urban air pollutionThu, 20 Jun 2024
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1131 - How dogs’ health reflects our own, and what ancient DNA can reveal about human sacrificeThu, 13 Jun 2024
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1130 - Putting mysterious cellular structures to use, and when brown fat started to warm us upThu, 06 Jun 2024
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1129 - Restoring sight to blind kids, making babies without a womb, and challenging the benefits of clinical trialsThu, 30 May 2024
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1128 - Stepping on snakes for science, and crows that count out loudThu, 23 May 2024
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1127 - How the immune system can cause psychosis, and tool use in ottersThu, 16 May 2024
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1126 - A very volcanic moon, and better protections for human study subjectsThu, 09 May 2024
