Science Friday

05/24/2026

Want to learn or teach about 290-million-year-old vomit?

Check out our newest educational resource! We break down how scientists study regurgitalites to find out what prehistoric creatures ate and which species shared ecosystems. Plus our free worksheet helps kids to think big about fossilized vomit. Made for grades 6–8.

https://bit.ly/3RYVo0B

Learn how paleontologists study fossilized vomit to explore what prehistoric predators ate.

05/23/2026

We're working on an episode about alcohol and want to hear your questions!

Why does tequila always make me dance? Why can I handle vodka but not whiskey? Is "beer before liquor, never sicker" actually true?

Whatever your question is, we want to hear it AND the story behind it. Call us at 877-4-SCIFRI.

05/22/2026

Why do old abandoned houses freak us out and feel “spooky”?

Psychologist Rodney Schmaltz talked with Flora about his new study, and how infrasound might cause people to feel unsettled in “haunted” places.

Hear the full conversation and other science stories today on your local public radio station from 2-4pm ET.

Or listen to our podcast right now: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/infrasound-haunted-house-explanation/

05/21/2026

Did this video make you yawn?

Yawning is not only very contagious, but a new study has discovered that it helps clear deoxygenated blood and waste products in the cerebrospinal fluid from our skulls.

Biomechanical engineer Lynne Bilston, an author on the study, talked with Flora about the findings and what they could mean for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Listen to the podcast now: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/why-we-yawn-brain-waste-cleaning/

P.S. Our social media manager yawned no less than 50 times while making this post. We do apologize for all the extra yawning we may have caused.

Videos provided by:
Adam D. Martinac, Stean Waters, Robert A. Lloyd, Lynne E. Bilston, Biomechanics of contagious yawning: Insights into cranio-cervical fluid dynamics and kinematic consistency, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology, Volume 343, 2026, 104575, ISSN 1569-9048, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resp.2026.104575.

05/19/2026

Space is the next frontier in cancer research.

On Sunday, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft delivered new science experiments to the International Space Station. In our , hematologist Catriona Jamieson and her team at UC San Diego are holding one of those experiments: cancer cells.

In the microgravity of space, tumors can grow much faster, sometimes tripling in size in just 10 days. That rapid growth gives scientists a rare opportunity to study how cancers develop, spread, and respond to treatments in ways that are hard to replicate on Earth. Researchers hope these experiments could uncover new drug targets and speed up the search for more effective therapies.

Listen to our podcast to hear how space-based experiments is changing cancer research and what we’ve learned so far: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/cancer-research-space-microgravity-tumors/

Photo credits
1. Sanford Stem Cell Institute
2. SpaceX

05/16/2026

Turns out pretend tea parties can be a science experiment.

We sat down with cognitive scientist Amalia Bastos to talk about what inspired her to conduct this study with Kanzi and what scientists know so far about imagination in other species.

Listen to the podcast now: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/apes-use-imagination-bonobo-tea-party/

Video provided by Amalia Bastos and Christopher Krupenye

Amalia P. M. Bastos, Christopher Krupenye ,Evidence for representation of pretend objects by Kanzi, a language-trained bonobo.Science391,583-586(2026).DOI:10.1126/science.adz0743

05/15/2026

Do these songs sound familiar? Do they make you feel like your laundry just finished?

Joel Beckerman, who has composed for Roomba, and Audrey Arbeeny, who has developed songs for washing machines, talked with Science Friday about what goes into creating those little sounds and and which ones they secretly can't stand.

Hear more appliances and the whole conversation today on your local public radio station from 2-4pm ET.

Or listen to our podcast right now: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/appliance-sounds-sonic-designer-explains/

05/14/2026

Calling all parents! We want to know what your parenting challenges are.

Can’t get your kids to wear shoes? Can’t get them to eat broccoli? Tell us all about it!

We’re doing an episode with an animal expert who may have some creative solutions from the animal kingdom that we can all try.

Call us at 877-4-SCIFRI

05/13/2026

Beavers are nature’s chaotic engineers!

By building dams and creating wetlands, they help filter pollution, create wildlife habitats, and even protect against wildfires.

Ecohydrologist Emily Fairfax studies how beavers reshape entire ecosystems. Plus, she was a science consultant on Pixar’s “Hoppers”, helping bring them to the big screen.

Emily sat down with Science Friday to talk about how we can coexist with beavers, plus she shared some fun beaver facts and what it was like working on “Hoppers.”

Listen to the full episode now: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/beaver-human-conflict-pixar-hoppers/

05/11/2026

A camera can capture a lot, but not everything.

In our , you can see the Artemis II astronauts working on their photography AND description skills before going to space. While NASA can attach cameras to uncrewed flights, having an astronaut document what they're seeing with written notes and voice memos is uniquely valuable for scientists. A human eye can see subtle color and lighting changes that aren’t noticeable in a photo.

Case in point: Apollo 17's Jack Schmitt saw orange soil on the moon that barely showed up in his own photos. He was able to collect that specific soil which helped scientists understand the moon’s past volcanic activity.

Dr. Kelsey Young, NASA's Artemis science flight operations lead, joined Flora to talk about the importance of visual descriptions from astronauts, the impact flashes that were seen during the Artemis II mission, and her career journey to mission control.

Listen the podcast now: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/artemis-2-moon-photos/

Photo description and credit:
1. NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander, Reid Wiseman (foreground), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist, practice lunar photography. Photo Credit: Kelsey Young

2. Astronaut Jeremy Hansen captures an image through the camera shroud covering window 2 of the Orion spacecraft. Photo Credit: NASA

3. Artemis science officers, from left, Kelsey Young, Trevor Graff, and Angela Garcia stand at the new SCIENCE console in the Mission Control Center. Photo Credits: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

05/09/2026

Have you heard of the cardiac blues? After a heart attack or heart surgery, deep sadness and anxiety can linger for months and researchers wonder if it could reveal something about our heart-mind connection.

Read our newest article to hear a heart attack survivor's personal experience with the cardiac blues and what patients wish they knew:

Many cardiac patients experience sadness or anxiety after leaving the hospital. Being prepared for the "cardiac blues" can make a difference.