Artificial intelligence takes on Diplomacy, and how much water do we really need?
On this week’s show: Meta’s algorithm tackles both language and strategy in a board game, and measuring how much water people use on a daily basis
First up this week on the podcast, artificial intelligence (AI) wins at the game Diplomacy. Freelance science journalist Matthew Hutson joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about the advances needed for an AI to win a game that requires cooperation and trust between human and AI players.
Next, we hear about how much water people need to stay hydrated. It’s not the eight glasses a day recommendation we’ve heard so much about. Herman Pontzer, a professor in Duke University’...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - November 24, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Artificial intelligence takes on Diplomacy, and how much water do we really need?
On this week’s show: Meta’s algorithm tackles both language and strategy in a board game, and measuring how much water people use on a daily basis
First up this week on the podcast, artificial intelligence (AI) wins at the game Diplomacy. Freelance science journalist Matthew Hutson joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about the advances needed for an AI to win a game that requires cooperation and trust between human and AI players.
Next, we hear about how much water people need to stay hydrated. It’s not the eight glasses a day recommendation we’ve heard so much about. Herman Pontzer, a professor in Duke University’...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - November 24, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Mammoth ivory trade may be bad for elephants, and making green electronics with fungus
On this week’s show: The potentially harmful effects of prehistoric ivory on present-day elephants, and replacing polymers in electronics with fungal tissue
First up this week on the podcast, we hear about the effect of mammoth and mastodon ivory on the illegal elephant ivory trade. Online News Editor Michael Price joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss how as melting permafrost has uncovered fossilized ivory from these extinct creatures, more has entered the ivory trade. The question is: Does the availability of this type of ivory reduce the demand for ivory from elephants, or does it endanger them more?
Next, making elec...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - November 17, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Mammoth ivory trade may be bad for elephants, and making green electronics with fungus
On this week’s show: The potentially harmful effects of prehistoric ivory on present-day elephants, and replacing polymers in electronics with fungal tissue
First up this week on the podcast, we hear about the effect of mammoth and mastodon ivory on the illegal elephant ivory trade. Online News Editor Michael Price joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss how as melting permafrost has uncovered fossilized ivory from these extinct creatures, more has entered the ivory trade. The question is: Does the availability of this type of ivory reduce the demand for ivory from elephants, or does it endanger them more?
Next, making elec...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - November 17, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Kurt Vonnegut ’s contribution to science, and tunas and sharks as ecosystem indicators
On this week’s show: How sci-fi writer Kurt Vonnegut foresaw many of today’s ethical dilemmas, and 70 years of tunas, billfishes, and sharks as sentinels of global ocean health
First up this week on the podcast, we revisit the works of science fiction author Kurt Vonneugt on what would have been his 100th birthday. News Intern Zack Savitsky and host Sarah Crespi discuss the work of ethicists, philosophers, and Vonnegut scholars on his influence on the ethics and practice of science.
Researchers featured in this segment:
Peter-Paul Verbeek, a philosopher of science and technology at the University of Amsterdam and...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - November 10, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Kurt Vonnegut ’s contribution to science, and tunas and sharks as ecosystem indicators
On this week’s show: How sci-fi writer Kurt Vonnegut foresaw many of today’s ethical dilemmas, and 70 years of tunas, billfishes, and sharks as sentinels of global ocean health
First up this week on the podcast, we revisit the works of science fiction author Kurt Vonneugt on what would have been his 100th birthday. News Intern Zack Savitsky and host Sarah Crespi discuss the work of ethicists, philosophers, and Vonnegut scholars on his influence on the ethics and practice of science.
Researchers featured in this segment:
Peter-Paul Verbeek, a philosopher of science and technology at the University of Amsterdam and ...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - November 10, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Cities as biodiversity havens, and gene therapy for epilepsy
On this week’s show: How urban spaces can help conserve species, and testing a gene therapy strategy for epilepsy in mice
First up on the podcast, we explore urban ecology’s roots in Berlin. Contributing Correspondent Gabriel Popkin joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss turning wastelands and decommissioned airports into forests and grasslands inside the confines of a city.
Next, we hear about a gene therapy strategy for epilepsy. Yichen Qiu, a recently graduated Ph.D. student and researcher at University College London, talks about introducing a small set of genes into neurons in mice. These genes detect hyperactivity ...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - November 3, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Cities as biodiversity havens, and gene therapy for epilepsy
On this week’s show: How urban spaces can help conserve species, and testing a gene therapy strategy for epilepsy in mice
First up on the podcast, we explore urban ecology’s roots in Berlin. Contributing Correspondent Gabriel Popkin joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss turning wastelands and decommissioned airports into forests and grasslands inside the confines of a city.
Next, we hear about a gene therapy strategy for epilepsy. Yichen Qiu, a recently graduated Ph.D. student and researcher at University College London, talks about introducing a small set of genes into neurons in mice. These genes detect hyperactivity ...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - November 3, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Space-based solar power gets serious, AI helps optimize chemistry, and a book on food extinction
On this week’s show: Cheaper launches could make solar power satellites a reality, machine learning helps chemists make small organic molecules, and a book on the extinction of foods
First up on the podcast, space-based solar power gets closer to launch. Staff Writer Daniel Clery talks with host Sarah Crespi about how reusable rockets bring the possibility of giant solar array satellites that beam down gigawatts of uninterrupted power from space.
After that, we hear about small organic molecule synthesis. Making large organic molecules such as proteins and DNA can be a cinch for chemists, but making new smaller organic...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - October 27, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Space-based solar power gets serious, AI helps optimize chemistry, and a book on food extinction
On this week’s show: Cheaper launches could make solar power satellites a reality, machine learning helps chemists make small organic molecules, and a book on the extinction of foods
First up on the podcast, space-based solar power gets closer to launch. Staff Writer Daniel Clery talks with host Sarah Crespi about how reusable rockets bring the possibility of giant solar array satellites that beam down gigawatts of uninterrupted power from space.
After that, we hear about small organic molecule synthesis. Making large organic molecules such as proteins and DNA can be a cinch for chemists, but making new smaller organic...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - October 27, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Snakes living the high-altitude life, and sending computing power to the edges of the internet
On this week’s show: How some snakes have adapted to the extremes of height and temperature on the Tibetan Plateau, and giving low-power sensors more processing power
First up on the podcast, tough snakes reveal their secrets. Host Sarah Crespi talks with Staff Writer Liz Pennisi about how snakes have adapted to the harsh conditions of the Tibetan Plateau.
Next on the show, Producer Meagan Cantwell talks about moving more computing power to the edges of the internet. She is joined by Alexander Sludds, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Research Lab for Electronics. They discuss a faster...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - October 20, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Snakes living the high-altitude life, and sending computing power to the edges of the internet
On this week’s show: How some snakes have adapted to the extremes of height and temperature on the Tibetan Plateau, and giving low-power sensors more processing power
First up on the podcast, tough snakes reveal their secrets. Host Sarah Crespi talks with Staff Writer Liz Pennisi about how snakes have adapted to the harsh conditions of the Tibetan Plateau.
Next on the show, Producer Meagan Cantwell talks about moving more computing power to the edges of the internet. She is joined by Alexander Sludds, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Research Lab for Electronics. They discuss a faster...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - October 20, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Climate change threatens supercomputing, and collecting spider silks
On this week’s show: Rising waters and intense storms make siting high-performance computer centers a challenge, and matching up spider silk DNA with spider silk properties
(Main Text)
First up on the podcast this week, News Intern Jacklin Kwan talks with host Sarah Crespi about how and where to build high-performance computing facilities as climate change brings extreme conditions to current locations.
Spiders are creeping into the show this week. Kazuharu Arakawa, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Bioscience at Keio University, discusses his Science Advances paper on collecting spider silks and the genes...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - October 13, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Climate change threatens supercomputing, and collecting spider silks
On this week’s show: Rising waters and intense storms make siting high-performance computer centers a challenge, and matching up spider silk DNA with spider silk properties
(Main Text)
First up on the podcast this week, News Intern Jacklin Kwan talks with host Sarah Crespi about how and where to build high-performance computing facilities as climate change brings extreme conditions to current locations.
Spiders are creeping into the show this week. Kazuharu Arakawa, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Bioscience at Keio University, discusses his Science Advances paper on collecting spider silks and the genes...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - October 13, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Linking violence in Myanmar to fossil amber research, and waking up bacterial spores
On this week’s show: A study suggests paleontological research has directly benefited from the conflict in Myanmar, and how dormant bacterial spores keep track of their environment
First up on the podcast this week, Staff Writer Rodrigo Pérez Ortega joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss links between violent conflict in Myanmar and a boom in fossil amber research.
Also on the show this week, we hear about how bacterial spores—which can lie dormant for millions of years—decide it’s time to wake up. Kaito Kikuchi, an image analysis scientist at Reveal Biosciences, joins Sarah to discuss how dormant spores act a bit l...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - October 6, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
