Biology
How the placenta evolved from an ancient virus
When evolutionary biologists studied the protein involved in fusing placenta cells, it didn’t look like it came from human DNA. It looked like a virus.
4 years ago
Listen 9:16How much should the public be told about research into risky viruses?
The U. S. government this week is pondering how much the public needs to be told about funding decisions for lab research that could make risky viruses even worse.
4 years ago
Scientists seek rare species survivors amid Australia flames
Australia’s unprecedented wildfires season has so far charred 40,000 square miles (104,000 square kilometers) of brushland, rainforests, and national parks.
4 years ago
Air Date: January 3, 2020
Listen 48:515 lessons one doctor learned from the times he almost died
How five near-death experiences drove David Fajgenbaum to live his life to the fullest, and discover a novel treatment for Castleman's disease.
4 years ago
Listen 18:16N.J. officials report 600% increase of endangered plant along state’s beaches
An annual plant census along New Jersey's beaches reveals a significant surge of a federally threatened and endangered plant species, state officials announced.
4 years ago
Air Date: December 20, 2019
Listen 49:00On the tree farm, a Christmas favorite thrives. In the wild, it struggles
The balsam wooly adelgid has devastated Appalachia’s native Fraser firs. On a North Carolina farm, their domesticated cousins grow with TLC.
4 years ago
Listen 06:41Air Date: December 13, 2019
Listen 48:47Your brain on gratitude: How a neuroscientist used his research to heal from grief
Gratitude journaling, it turns out, transformed the neuroscientist’s grief — and likely his brain
4 years ago
Listen 10:42Marine mammal experts rescue ‘cold-stunned’ sea turtles near Long Beach Island
The ongoing unseasonable cold snap is putting migrating sea turtles at risk of washing ashore on New Jersey beaches as either “cold-stunned” or dead, wildlife experts say.
4 years ago
We look at things that are hard to measure and the different approaches that we take to get those measurements correct.
Air Date: November 8, 2019
Listen 47:51Penn Medicine doctors try CRISPR gene editing for cancer, a 1st in the U.S.
The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in the three patients who have had it so far.
4 years ago
How studying nature's symphony can help scientists determine the fate of rainforests
Improvements in audio recorders, artificial intelligence, and data storage make sound a more powerful tool for ecology than ever before.
4 years ago
Listen 10:12Newly tagged great white shark ‘Shaw’ cruises near N.J.
Years after Mary Lee appeared, and following the brief blip of Miss May in July, there’s a new great white shark to track. His name is Shaw.
5 years ago