Science, Spoken
WIRED
Get in-depth coverage of current and future trends in technology, and how they are shaping business, entertainment, communications, science, politics, and society.
Episodes
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Feb 23, 2022 • 7min
Huge Sponges Are Eating an Extinct Arctic Ecosystem
Thousands of years ago, hydrothermal vents fed worms deep below the ice. Scientists have found 300-year-old sponges feeding on the worms’ fossilized remains.
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Feb 22, 2022 • 9min
They Lived in a Pandemic Bubble. Now Covid Has Arrived
Some remote Pacific island nations haven't had a single case of Covid-19 for the past two years. Now they're reopening to the world, but can they handle an outbreak?
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Feb 21, 2022 • 8min
Astronomers Want to Save Dark Skies from Satellite Swarms
The International Astronomical Union launched a new organization tasked with limiting reflected light and radio interference from big satellite networks.
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Feb 18, 2022 • 9min
The Brutal Reason Some Primates Are Born a Weird Color
When species have babies with conspicuous fur, it can attract good attention—or bad. A new theory could explain why.
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Feb 17, 2022 • 8min
How the Physics of Resonance Shapes Reality
The same phenomenon by which an opera singer can shatter a wineglass also underlies the very existence of subatomic particles.
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Feb 16, 2022 • 8min
A New Database Reveals How Much Humans Are Messing With Evolution
Some animals and plants are rapidly adapting to our warming, polluted world. How alarming that is depends on your perspective.
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Feb 15, 2022 • 8min
Extreme Heat in the Oceans Is Out of Control
More than half of the sea now logs temperatures once considered extreme, threatening countless species, livelihoods, and the air we breathe.
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Feb 14, 2022 • 8min
Maybe Green Energy Needs ‘Information Batteries' Too
Researchers are exploring whether tech giants can precompute certain data when the grid is humming with solar or wind power, then stash it away for later use.
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Feb 11, 2022 • 10min
How to Deal With Rocket Boosters and Other Giant Space Garbage
As an errant SpaceX rocket booster careens toward the moon, here are some of the ways space agencies and companies are trying to deal with huge pieces of debris.
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Feb 10, 2022 • 7min
Kombucha Cultures Could Be the Key to Better Water Filters
A study found that filtration membranes formed from SCOBYs are more effective at preventing bacterial growth than commercial equivalents.
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