George Harper

@george-harper.bsky.social

Former Evolutionary Biology Professor - Now Science Friday's Stewardship Manager because sharing science with the broadest audience possible is a critically important public good.

As a kid, I picked up every rock I came across and took loads of #Geology along w/my Bio major courses. Absolutely love the passion @anjanakhatwa.bsky.social has for rocks and their stories. This was a great way to start my week back! Thanks Flora & Anjana! www.sciencefriday.com/segments/whi...

How To Tap Into The Hidden Histories Of Rocks

Geologist Anjana Khatwa explains how embracing wonder and awe adds to our scientific understanding of the rocks that form our planet.

sciencefriday.com

Trivia games are a fun way to learn/teach science. Take 12 minutes for some food science fun and try the Super Food Science Excellence Trivia Blowout (SFSETBO) w/Flora & @parttimegenius.bsky.social co-host Mangesh Hattikudur (Mango). Fun food facts! www.sciencefriday.com/segments/foo...

Attention, Trivia Nerds! It’s A Food Science Fact Feast

Flora and “Part-Time Genius” co-host Mangesh Hattikudur put one lucky listener to the test with food science trivia.

sciencefriday.com

More fascinating #animals this week! These #superagers live ‘long’ healthy lives - much longer than expected for the types of animals they are. What can we learn from them? Flora talks with Vera Gorbunova (U of Rochester) and Juan Manuel Vazquez (Penn State U) www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ani...

Can Animal Super-Agers Teach Us Their Secrets?

Some animals seem to defy the rules of aging. Understanding how they do it could help us live longer, healthier lives.

sciencefriday.com

Alphafold (released 5 yrs ago) won the 2024 Nobel in Chemistry. If you don’t work in protein structures, you may not know what it is. Ira talks w/John Jumper (Nobel recipient) about what Alphafold is, what it does well & doesn’t do well, & where it's headed. www.sciencefriday.com/segments/alp...

How Alphafold Has Changed Biology Research, 5 Years On

Google's tool for predicting how proteins “fold” turns 5 this year. How is it fitting into biological research—and where is it going?

sciencefriday.com

In today's podcast, Dr. Steve Ramirez - Boston U (@okaysteve.bsky.social) says memory manipulation in mice is #Inception & #Severance type manipulations. What??? He also shares that memory & imagination light up the same #brain regions. Catch it all at www.sciencefriday.com/segments/how...

Memories Change. But Can We Change Them On Purpose?

Neuroscientists are manipulating memories in mice in an effort to develop treatments for brain disorders.

sciencefriday.com

Many humans see us as apart from nature. This study points out we are part of the natural world for other organisms. Plus, bearded vultures are cool - eating mostly bones. Flora's 12 min conversation w/ Dr. Ana Belen Marín-Arroyo - Universidad de Cantabria www.sciencefriday.com/segments/bea...

Bearded Vulture Nests Hold Trove Of Centuries-Old Artifacts

Picking through a dozen vulture nests, scientists discovered hundreds of artifacts, including a sandal that could be more than 700 years old.

sciencefriday.com

Confession - I've loved the music of @phish.com since their 1st album. I especially love the live jams with the guys in #flowstate. Love that this conversation between Flora and @mike-gordon.com (bassist) and Dr. Greg Appelbaum (UCSD) is about flow state. www.sciencefriday.com/segments/phi...

Investigating 'Flow State' With The Bassist From Phish

Phish bassist Mike Gordon is teaming up with neuroscientists to try to understand the transcendent experience of musical flow state.

sciencefriday.com

Ever wonder what the journey to a Nobel Prize is like? Take a 36 min dive into the not-so-straight path that led @ardemp.bskyverified.social from roach-stomping as a child in Lebanon to Nobel Prize winning scientist. Armed's conversation with Flora is great. www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ard...

Even Nobel Prize Winners Deal With Imposter Syndrome

Neuroscientist Ardem Patapoutian immigrated to the US, found belonging in science, and did groundbreaking work on sense of touch.

sciencefriday.com

After you cram lots of pixels into a small space, does it matter if you cram in some more? What are the limits of our vision? Today's SciFri podcast is "Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Resolution On A TV?" with Dr. Maliha Ashraf, U of Cambridge, and Dr. Bryan W. Jones, U of Pittsburgh

Science Friday@scifri.bsky.social · 9mo ago

With Black Friday approaching, you might be looking for a deal on a super-high-res television. But a new study questions whether you’ll see a difference—literally. 👀

Keeping human-introduced carp out of the Great Lakes Today's SciFri podcast: "Can A Billion-Dollar Barricade Keep Carp Out Of The Great Lakes?" with Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco (@juanpab.bsky.social), WBEZ environment reporter, and Dr. Cory Suski, U of Illinois. www.sciencefriday.com/segments/inv...

Can A Billion-Dollar Barricade Keep Carp Out Of The Great Lakes?

A giant infrastructure project aims to block invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan, but Chicago’s polluted water already keeps them out.

sciencefriday.com

Axolotls are so interesting! Today's SciFri podcast is "Inside The Race To Save Wild Axolotls" with Dr. Alejandro Maeda-Obregón, University College London, and Dr. Luis Zambrano (@zambranol.bsky.social), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. www.sciencefriday.com/segments/sav...

Inside The Race To Save Wild Axolotls

Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City is the only place where axolotls live in the wild, and they face growing threats.

sciencefriday.com

One in 10 women with a uterus experience endometriosis in their lifetime. Today's SciFri podcast is "Endometriosis Is Common. Why Is Getting Diagnosed So Hard?" with Dr. Linda Griffith, Scientific Director of The MIT Center for Gynepathology Research. www.sciencefriday.com/segments/end...

Endometriosis Is Common. Why Is Getting Diagnosed So Hard?

A scientist diagnosed with endometriosis is working to answer fundamental questions about the disease and pave the way for better treatments.

sciencefriday.com

“It really suited us to portray ourselves as this kind of pinnacle of human evolution,” says paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi, who hosts the BBC and NOVA PBS docuseries “Human.” She says Homo sapiens was actually an evolutionary underdog—and shares why Neanderthals get a bad rap.

What Did It Feel Like To Be An Early Human?

A new documentary puts viewers in the shoes of Neanderthals and early humans, giving an intimate glimpse into humans’ evolutionary history.

buff.ly

Get a dose of amazing and end the week on a high note! So much packed into this week's show. I'm really looking forward to Archaeologists recreating the tastes and smells of lost civilizations and hearing more about why many rodents have thumbnails similar to you and me.

Science Friday@scifri.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 🦋☀️ Learn more here: buff.ly/sHPBDCP

October 10: China's climate tech program, the drab (or bold) world of moths, a brand-new mission to the sun, and more.