Science Friday Video Podcast

Science Friday, as heard on NPR, is a weekly discussion of the latest news in science, technology, health, and the environment hosted by ...
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Desktop Diaries: Mi...
494 Views
15:10:00 05/20/11

Theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku takes us on a tour of his office, where he writes his bestsellers and records his radio shows. The futuristic 1950s ...

Desktop Diaries: Michio Kaku

Added 05/20/11
494 Views

Desktop Diaries: Michio Kaku

[LESS INFO] 494 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 05/20/11
Theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku takes us on a tour of his office, where he writes his bestsellers and records his radio shows. The futuristic 1950s TV show Flash Gordon jump-started his interest in science. Watching it as a kid, Kaku realized that it was the problem-solving scientist, not the chiseled crimefighter Flash, who was really the hero.

Magnified Sun Burns
472 Views
15:10:00 05/13/11

A magnifying glass looks harmless. But combine it with a nice sunny day and you have a weapon of ant destruction and a fire hazard. Even if cheap pyrotechnics isn'...

Magnified Sun Burns

Added 05/13/11
472 Views

Magnified Sun Burns

[LESS INFO] 472 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 05/13/11
A magnifying glass looks harmless. But combine it with a nice sunny day and you have a weapon of ant destruction and a fire hazard. Even if cheap pyrotechnics isn't your thing, the optics of how this works is relevant to anyone with eyes.

Rock Stars
524 Views
15:10:00 05/06/11

In 1968, the New Jersey Senate decreed the town of Franklin a geological wonder: "The Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World." Over 350 different minerals have b...

Rock Stars

Added 05/06/11
524 Views

Rock Stars

[LESS INFO] 524 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 05/06/11
In 1968, the New Jersey Senate decreed the town of Franklin a geological wonder: "The Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World." Over 350 different minerals have been found in the area, ninety of which glow brilliantly under ultraviolet light.

Ant Rafts And Cater...
453 Views
15:10:00 04/29/11

Drop a clump of fire ants into water and they will assemble into a raft that stays afloat for weeks, according to a new study. In other breaking bug news, research...

Ant Rafts And Caterpillar Robots

Added 04/29/11
453 Views

Ant Rafts And Caterpillar Robots

[LESS INFO] 453 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 04/29/11
Drop a clump of fire ants into water and they will assemble into a raft that stays afloat for weeks, according to a new study. In other breaking bug news, researchers are investigating how caterpillars roll away from prey as inspiration for the design of a jointless, soft-bodied robot.

Candy Corn In Space
438 Views
15:10:00 04/22/11

Astronauts are allowed to bring special “crew preference” items when they go up in space. NASA astronaut Don Pettit chose candy corn for his five and a half month ...

Candy Corn In Space

Added 04/22/11
438 Views

Candy Corn In Space

[LESS INFO] 438 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 04/22/11
Astronauts are allowed to bring special “crew preference” items when they go up in space. NASA astronaut Don Pettit chose candy corn for his five and a half month stint aboard the International Space Station. But these candy corn were more than a snack, Pettit used them for experimentation.

Water Balloons In S...
145 Views
15:10:00 04/22/11

About ten years ago, two scientists had a little extra time on board NASA's low gravity aircraft and came up with the idea of popping water balloons. Mechanical en...

Water Balloons In Space

Added 04/22/11
145 Views

Water Balloons In Space

[LESS INFO] 145 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 04/22/11
About ten years ago, two scientists had a little extra time on board NASA's low gravity aircraft and came up with the idea of popping water balloons. Mechanical engineers Seth Lichter, of Northwestern University, and Mark Weislogel, of Portland State University, use the floating water balls to explain some basic principles of physics.

An Astronaut In Space
335 Views
15:10:00 04/22/11

Astronaut Jeff Hoffman made five space flights. (Now he's a professor at MIT.) In 1985, Hoffman made his first trip on orbit in space shuttle Discovery. Go on a sp...

An Astronaut In Space

Added 04/22/11
335 Views

An Astronaut In Space

[LESS INFO] 335 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 04/22/11
Astronaut Jeff Hoffman made five space flights. (Now he's a professor at MIT.) In 1985, Hoffman made his first trip on orbit in space shuttle Discovery. Go on a spacewalk with Hoffman and find out what a yo-yo does in zero gravity.

Physics Of The Ride...
490 Views
15:10:00 04/15/11

It looks like magic. A bike traveling at the right speed will steer itself--popping back up when it starts to fall. But why? A new paper challenges the conventiona...

Physics Of The Riderless Bike

Added 04/15/11
490 Views

Physics Of The Riderless Bike

[LESS INFO] 490 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 04/15/11
It looks like magic. A bike traveling at the right speed will steer itself--popping back up when it starts to fall. But why? A new paper challenges the conventional wisdom of what's required for bike stability.

How Rats Feel: A Wh...
378 Views
15:10:00 04/08/11

Many mammals have whiskers but not all whisk. Cats don't. Rats do. To whisk, rats use special muscles in their face to brush their whiskers against an object. From...

How Rats Feel: A Whisker's Tale

Added 04/08/11
378 Views

How Rats Feel: A Whisker's Tale

[LESS INFO] 378 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 04/08/11
Many mammals have whiskers but not all whisk. Cats don't. Rats do. To whisk, rats use special muscles in their face to brush their whiskers against an object. From the bending bristles, rats seem to be able to decode an object's shape and texture and Mitra Hartmann wants to understand how.

Bug Out
401 Views
15:10:00 04/01/11

Crocuses, robins, spring peepers aren't the only creatures to signal spring. We visited the "Insect Compactor" at the American Museum of Natural History in New Yor...

Bug Out

Added 04/01/11
401 Views

Bug Out

[LESS INFO] 401 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 04/01/11
Crocuses, robins, spring peepers aren't the only creatures to signal spring. We visited the "Insect Compactor" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York to learn about which bugs to look out for as the weather warms. Keep your eyes on the willow trees--that's where early bees like to hang out.

A Spacesuit Ballet
475 Views
15:10:00 03/25/11

Of the suit he wore on the moon, Neil Armstrong wrote, “it was tough, reliable, and almost cuddly.” But that cuddly suit, made by the company Playtex, had some sti...

A Spacesuit Ballet

Added 03/25/11
475 Views

A Spacesuit Ballet

[LESS INFO] 475 VIEWS | ADDED 15:10:00 03/25/11
Of the suit he wore on the moon, Neil Armstrong wrote, “it was tough, reliable, and almost cuddly.” But that cuddly suit, made by the company Playtex, had some stiff competition (literally) from rival rigid, metal designs. This video features archival NASA footage of mobility tests for several spacesuit prototypes. Music is from the band One Ring Zero’s album "Planets".

Destination Mantle
258 Views
14:10:00 03/25/11

Doug Wilson, a geophysicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, explains what we'd encounter if we drilled 6000 meters below the seafloor to the Earth'...

Destination Mantle

Added 03/25/11
258 Views

Destination Mantle

[LESS INFO] 258 VIEWS | ADDED 14:10:00 03/25/11
Doug Wilson, a geophysicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, explains what we'd encounter if we drilled 6000 meters below the seafloor to the Earth's mantle. The crust is made up of three layers--lava flows, sheeted dikes and gabbro--all formed from magma that seeped up from the mantle.

An Orchid Explosion
419 Views
14:10:00 03/18/11

The male orchid flowers in the genus catasetum evolved an unusual pollination program. They propel a package of pollen onto the backs of visiting bees. The bees en...

An Orchid Explosion

Added 03/18/11
419 Views

An Orchid Explosion

[LESS INFO] 419 VIEWS | ADDED 14:10:00 03/18/11
The male orchid flowers in the genus catasetum evolved an unusual pollination program. They propel a package of pollen onto the backs of visiting bees. The bees endure the blow (which would be like a 150-pound person getting hit with a few bowling balls) in exchange for orchid aromas that the bees use to attract mates.

Robot Invades NYC B...
465 Views
14:10:00 03/11/11

But it's a nice robot. McNally Jackson in New York is one of a growing number of bookstores that can print-on-demand. They've just installed an "Espresso Book Mach...

Robot Invades NYC Bookstore!

Added 03/11/11
465 Views

Robot Invades NYC Bookstore!

[LESS INFO] 465 VIEWS | ADDED 14:10:00 03/11/11
But it's a nice robot. McNally Jackson in New York is one of a growing number of bookstores that can print-on-demand. They've just installed an "Espresso Book Machine," a printer that can produce books to order.

Priming The Mind's Eye
473 Views
14:10:00 02/25/11

French philosopher Henri Bergson has a famous quote: "The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." Bergson probably meant it metaphorically, but it ...

Priming The Mind's Eye

Added 02/25/11
473 Views

Priming The Mind's Eye

[LESS INFO] 473 VIEWS | ADDED 14:10:00 02/25/11
French philosopher Henri Bergson has a famous quote: "The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." Bergson probably meant it metaphorically, but it seems to be literally true according to research by psychologist Martin Rolfs and colleagues. Rolfs studies the role of rapid eye movements in visual perception.

Secret Life Of Burr...
571 Views
14:10:00 02/18/11

Get up close and personal with burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia). Mac Stone, wildlife photographer and field biologist for the National Audubon Society, hid his ...

Secret Life Of Burrowing Owls

Added 02/18/11
571 Views

Secret Life Of Burrowing Owls

[LESS INFO] 571 VIEWS | ADDED 14:10:00 02/18/11
Get up close and personal with burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia). Mac Stone, wildlife photographer and field biologist for the National Audubon Society, hid his camera in a traffic cone and set it up outside of an owl burrow to capture these beauty shots of the birds. The video is a time-lapse of their daily movements and behaviors.

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Clone This Smile

Show: Science Friday Video Podcast

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Clone This Smile
11/13/09

Like a digital video puppet, the facial expressions of one person can be cloned in real time and mapped onto the digital face of another person.