
Science Friday
Science Friday and WNYC Studios
Categorias: Ciencia y medicina
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We Need To Talk About Bird Poop
Seabird poop—sometimes called guano—was the “white gold” of fertilizers for humans for millennia. Rich in nitrogen and phosphorus from birds’ fish-based diets, the substance shaped trade routes and powered economies until chemical fertilizers replaced it.
But while people may no longer find bird poop profitable, these same poop deposits—often found on islands or coasts where the birds nest and rear their young—may also be nurturing ecosystems that would be left high and dry if the birds were to disappear. As seabird populations quickly decline, that’s becoming an increasing risk.
Australian researchers Megan Grant and Jennifer Lavers talk to Ira about the under-appreciated role of bird guano in ecosystems, and why scientists should be looking more closely at the poop patterns of endangered seabirds.
How Did ‘Prehistoric Planet’ Make Dinosaurs Look So Real?
Being a fan of dinosaurs has its challenges. The largest, perhaps, is that no human has seen these creatures with their own eyes. Depictions of prehistoric creatures in film and media have been based on the research available at the time, but accurate knowledge about feathers, colors, and behavior have changed as science has progressed.
The much-anticipated docuseries “Prehistoric Planet” dives into the most recent research about dinosaurs and their environment and illustrates what the world might have looked like 66 million years ago. The show uses hyper-realistic computer imaging to make the most realistic dinosaurs seen on film yet. The result is an epic look at how dinosaurs once lived.
Joining Ira to talk about “Prehistoric Planet” is producer Tim Walker and paleontologist Darren Naish, who served as the show’s lead science consultant.
Midwestern Farmers Face Drought And Dust
Even with a few recent rains, much of the Great Plains are in a drought. Wildfires have swept across the grasslands and farmers are worried about how they’ll make it through the growing season. Randy Uhrmacher is in his tractor, planting corn and soybeans in central Nebraska. But it’s hard to see his work. The soil is so dry that clouds of dust hang in the air as he drives through his fields. “Not sure how I’m supposed to see what I’m doing tonight,” Uhrmacher said on a recent night of planting.
Even turning on the windshield wipers didn’t help him see through the dust storm. If he didn’t use soil conservation practices like reduced tillage and cover crops, he said his fields could look like something out of the 1930s Dust Bowl. It’s the driest spring Uhrmacher can remember in his 38 years of farming. Drought is a challenge many farmers and ranchers are facing in the middle of the country.
Read the rest on sciencefriday.com.
When Climate Change Reaches Your Plate
No matter how you slice it, climate change will alter what we eat in the future. Today, just 13 crops provide 80% of people’s energy intake worldwide, and about half of our calories come from wheat, maize and rice. Yet some of these crops may not grow well in the higher temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events caused by climate change. Already, drought, heat waves and flash floods are damaging crops around the world.
“We must diversify our food basket,” says Festo Massawe. He’s executive director of Future Food Beacon Malaysia, a group at the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus in Semenyih that studies the impact of climate change on food security.
That goes beyond what we eat to how we grow it. The trick will be investing in every possible solution: breeding crops so they’re more climate resilient, genetically engineering foods in the lab and studying crops that we just don’t know enough about, says ecologist Samuel Pironon of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. To feed a growing population in a rapidly changing world, food scientists are exploring many possible avenues, while thinking about how to be environmentally friendly.
Read the rest on sciencefriday.com.
Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
Episodios anteriores
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781 - Seabird Poop, ‘Prehistoric Planet’ TV Show, Dry Great Plains, Six Foods For A Changing Climate. May 20, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 20 May 2022 - 0h
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780 - Miscarriage Care, End of Astronauts, COVID Deaths Milestone. May 20, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 20 May 2022 - 0h
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779 - Abortion Medication, Rat Island, Access To Parks, Climate And Seafood. May 13, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 13 May 2022 - 0h
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778 - Second Black Hole Image, Last Days Of The Dinosaurs, Rising COVID Cases. May 13, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 13 May 2022 - 0h
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777 - Revisiting The Titanic, STEM Drag Performers As Science Ambassadors. May 6, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 06 May 2022 - 0h
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776 - How The Brain Deals With Grief, Listening To Noisy Fish Sounds. May 6, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 06 May 2022 - 0h
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775 - Covid Court Cases, Sharing Viruses for Research, Hepatitis Spike. April 29, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 29 Apr 2022 - 0h
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774 - Dog Breeds And Dog Behavior, Polar Science Update, Decarbonizing Transportation. April 29, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 29 Apr 2022 - 0h
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773 - Plastics And Ocean Life, Building An Animal Crossing, Indigenous Restoration. April 22, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 22 Apr 2022 - 0h
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772 - Carbon Removal Technology, IPCC And Policy, Sustainability News, Listening To A River. April 22, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 22 Apr 2022 - 0h
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771 - Inaccurate COVID Case Numbers, Spending A Trillion Dollars To Solve Problems. April 15, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 15 Apr 2022 - 0h
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770 - NSF Director, Soylent Green In 2022, Colorado Snowpack, Springtime On Neptune. April 15, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 15 Apr 2022 - 0h
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769 - Why Cold Plasma Could Help Sustainable Farming, How To Get Teens The Sleep They Need. April 8, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 08 Apr 2022 - 0h
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768 - FDA To Analyze COVID Boosters Efficacy, Dig Into Spring With Gardening Science. April 8, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 08 Apr 2022 - 0h
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767 - Why People Can’t Read Bar Graphs, First Complete Human Genome Released, Mars Book Club Finale. April 1, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 01 Apr 2022 - 0h
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766 - Experimental HIV Vaccines, Lithium Mining In Oregon, Controlling The Tawny Crazy Ant. April 1, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 01 Apr 2022 - 0h
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765 - Ukraine And The Energy Market, More West Nile Virus, Bird Flu In Chickens, 5,000 Exoplanets Found. March 25, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 25 Mar 2022 - 0h
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764 - How Vampire Bats Evolved To Drink Blood, Ethics Checks On Brain Research, Cicada Exhibit. March 25, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 25 Mar 2022 - 0h
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763 - James Webb Focused Image, Decarbonize Your Home, Wildlife Crime. March 18, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 18 Mar 2022 - 0h
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762 - Dandelion Sensors, GoFundMe Healthcare Shortcomings, Where Did Mars’ Water Go. March 18, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 18 Mar 2022 - 0h
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761 - Will Russia’s War Spur Clean Energy Efforts, What Is “Life,” Scientific Sewer Tour. March 11, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 11 Mar 2022 - 0h
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760 - Mask Mandates Drop, International Salmon Survey, Long COVID Answers And Questions. March 11, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 11 Mar 2022 - 0h
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759 - T. Rex Dispute, Texas Trans Healthcare, Russian Cyber Warfare, Bird Calls. March 4, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 04 Mar 2022 - 0h
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758 - Lack Of Black Physicists, Solar Outages, Martian Meteorites, What Is A Butt. March 4, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 04 Mar 2022 - 0h
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757 - Bridge Infrastructure, Cat Ancestor Gap, Lab Mice, Power Of The Dog, Mars Book Club. Feb 25, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 25 Feb 2022 - 0h
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756 - Eye Implant Ethics, Sled Dogs, Tranquility Sound Scapes. Feb 25, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 25 Feb 2022 - 0h
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755 - Paralysis Treatment, Protein Vaccines Advantages, How Cuba Made Five Vaccines, Fish Sounds. Feb 18, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 18 Feb 2022 - 0h
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754 - Successful HIV Treatment, Improving Health Equity, Fusion Energy Record. Feb 18, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 18 Feb 2022 - 0h
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753 - How Grief Rewires The Brain, New Cancer Therapy, Olympic Battery-Heated Skiing Shorts. Feb 11, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 11 Feb 2022 - 0h
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752 - Science Advisor Resigns, COVID Drug Treatments, Science Drag Artists. Feb 11, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 11 Feb 2022 - 0h
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751 - Phasing Out “Problematic” Plastics, Sticky Surface Science, Monarch Boom. Feb 4, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 04 Feb 2022 - 0h
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750 - Brain Donation, Meat And Human Evolution, Bird Song, Space Station Retirement. Feb 4, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 04 Feb 2022 - 0h
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749 - Fake COVID Testing Sites, Cannabis And Exercise, Electric Aviation. Jan 28, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 28 Jan 2022 - 0h
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748 - Saving Manatees, Nighttime Satellite Streaks, Webb Telescope Update. Jan 28, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 28 Jan 2022 - 0h
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747 - Epstein-Barr Virus and MS, Agrivoltaics, Ag School Influence, Social Cues From Saliva. Jan 21, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 21 Jan 2022 - 0h
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746 - Airborne eDNA, Beetle Jumps, Wordle Psychology, City Pigeons. Jan 21, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 21 Jan 2022 - 0h
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745 - Historic Big Bang Debate, Black Hole Sounds, Plant DNA Mutations. Jan 14, 2022, Part 2 Fri, 14 Jan 2022 - 0h
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744 - Omicron And Kids, Ivermectin Origins, Icefish Nests. Jan 14, 2022, Part 1 Fri, 14 Jan 2022 - 0h
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743 - Omicron News, COVID Severity Questions, Bird Count. Jan 7 2022, Part 1 Fri, 07 Jan 2022 - 0h
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742 - Pizza Science, Remembering E.O. Wilson And Richard Leakey. Jan 7 2022, Part 2 Fri, 07 Jan 2022 - 0h
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741 - Celebration Of Weird Ice, Non-Melting Jelly, Former NIH Director Reflects On His Tenure. December 31, 2021, Part 2 Fri, 31 Dec 2021 - 0h
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740 - Best Science Books Of 2021, Glitter Bad For Environment. December 31, 2021, Part 1 Fri, 31 Dec 2021 - 0h
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739 - Looking Back On A Century Of Science, Holiday Math. December 24, 2021, Part 2 Fri, 24 Dec 2021 - 0h
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738 - American Chestnut, ‘Don’t Look Up’ Movie, Aurora Electrons. December 24, 2021, Part 1 Fri, 24 Dec 2021 - 0h
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737 - Big Trees, Masks And Singing, Capturing Holiday Scents, Unseen Body. Dec 17, 2021, Part 2 Fri, 17 Dec 2021 - 0h
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736 - James Webb Space Telescope, Vaccination And Church, Maine Puffins. Dec 17, 2021, Part 1 Fri, 17 Dec 2021 - 0h
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735 - Vocal Fry, Indigenous Tribes And The Colorado River, Year In Space. December 10, 2021, Part 2 Fri, 10 Dec 2021 - 0h
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734 - Michael Pollan On Mind-Altering Plants, A Second Pandemic Winter. December 10, 2021, Part 1 Fri, 10 Dec 2021 - 0h
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733 - Omicron Variant, Quantum Computing, Xenobots, SciFri Trivia. Dec 3, 2021, Part 2 Fri, 03 Dec 2021 - 0h
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732 - Ralph Nader On 55 Years Of Car Safety, Spinal Cord Research, Omicron And Travel Bans. Dec 3, 2021, Part 1 Fri, 03 Dec 2021 - 0h