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Each week Science Friday, hosted by Ira Flatow, focuses on science topics that are in the news and brings an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand.

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On Point

Go behind the headlines: From the economy and healthcare to politics and the environment - and so much more - On Point talks with newsmakers and real people about the issues that matter most. On Point is produced by WBUR for NPR.

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Science

Comet Neowise passes St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, UK in the early hours of Tuesday morning. (Owen Humphreys - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
NPR
Space

Good news: This comet won’t cause a mass extinction in 2020. Also, it’s really pretty

The first thing to know about a new comet that has appeared in the evening sky is that it's one big ice ball: about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) across.

5 years ago

This GOES-16 satellite image taken at 9:30 UTC (5:30 a.m. EDT) on Friday, July 10, 2020 shows Tropical Storm Fay as it moves closer to land in the northeast of the United States. (NOAA via AP)
Environment

Tropical Storm Fay shutters beaches as it heads north

Several beaches in Delaware had been temporarily closed because of the storm.

5 years ago

A colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (green) heavily infected with particles (orange) from the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient sample. (NIAID)
NPR
Biology
Public Health

WHO: Aerosolized particles unlikely to be significant source of COVID-19 transmission

The World Health Organization has issued a new scientific brief that summarizes what's known about the different ways the coronavirus can transmit.

5 years ago

This illustration provided by the American Museum of Natural History in July 2020 depicts a Kongonaphon kely, a newly described reptile near the ancestry of dinosaurs and pterosaurs, shown to scale with human hands. Kongonaphon lived roughly 237 million years ago. (Frank Ippolito/American Museum of Natural History)
Environment
History

Fossils reveal dinosaur forerunner smaller than a cellphone

Named Kongonaphon kely, which means tiny bug slayer, the creature looked like a dinosaur but scampered the Earth earlier, predating both dinosaurs and flying pterosaurs.

5 years ago

A closeup of a spotted lanternfly
Environment
Pennsylvania
StateImpact Pennsylvania

Penn State researchers still need the public’s help to fight the spotted lanternfly, but a new tracking technique can help target emerging infestations

Scientists and the public are working to limit the spread of this harmful pest.

5 years ago

Watching movies
The Pulse
Biology
Mental Health
Movies
TV

How Movies Move Us

Movies may not be real — but in a lot of ways, they’re real to us. Great films help us understand the world, history, and one another ...

Air Date: July 3, 2020

Listen 49:07
Tidal flooding in Pelican Island, N.J. on April 13, 2020. (Courtesy of Dominick Solazzo)
Down the Shore
Environment
New Jersey

N.J. among states at highest risk of future coastal flooding impacts, study finds

New Jersey is third in the United States for most properties at risk of tidal flooding, new data shows.

5 years ago

Sheila Kelly stands behind makeshift barriers as she helps patrons at her restaurant
Business
National
Public Health

Closing bars to stop coronavirus spread is backed by science

In the words of one study, it comes down to the danger of “heavy breathing in close proximity."

5 years ago

A North Atlantic right whale leaps out of the water.
Down the Shore
Environment
New Jersey

Critically endangered whale found dead off N.J. coast

The carcass of a critically endangered whale species was found floating off the coast of New Jersey on Thursday, federal authorities said.

5 years ago

Toxic algae bloom
Environment
New Jersey
Outdoors

Waging a $13.5 million battle against pond scum in N.J.’s lakes

In 2019, blue-green algae bloomed in freshwater lakes, and toxins affected wildlife, boating and swimming. A new initiative aims for better in summer 2020.

5 years ago

Conspiracy theories have flooded social media since the pandemic struck — giving researchers a chance to learn more about why and how misinformation spreads. (Konstantin Savusia/Big Stock Photo)
The Pulse
Technology

The cost and hidden silver lining of COVID-19 misinformation

Because of the pandemic, researchers are learning more about how falsehoods spread on social media — and hopefully how to stop them.

5 years ago

Listen 10:52
A northern diamondback terrapin
Down the Shore
Environment
New Jersey
Outdoors

With terrapin nesting season underway in N.J., naturalist asks drivers to be mindful

With warmer temperatures and a recent full moon, the annual nesting season for northern diamondback terrapins is beginning at the Jersey Shore. 

5 years ago

A 150-foot long caisson gate was deployed on the Deepwater Reef site off the New Jersey coast on Monday, June 8. (Courtesy of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection)
Down the Shore
Environment
New Jersey

N.J. sinks caisson gate, tugboat at artificial reefs

A dam gate and a tugboat are the latest items to join artificial reefs off the New Jersey coast, state officials announced.

5 years ago

Deja Bond graduated from New York University with a master’s degree in data science. Bond is the first African American woman get an advanced degree in data science from the university. — Courtesy of Deja Bond
Higher Education
Race & Ethnicity
The Philadelphia Tribune

Philly native is first African American woman to receive advanced degree in data science from NYU

Deja Bond earned a master’s degree from NYU Center for Data Science in May.

5 years ago

Fake vs. Real
The Pulse
Biology
Innovation
Technology

Fake vs. Real — And When It Matters

There was a time when seeing was believing — but that’s changing, thanks to new technology that’s elevating fakery to a whole new l ...

Air Date: June 12, 2020

Listen 48:59
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