The Formation of Stars and Planets

09/15/15 How stars and their planetary systems form, and what the New Horizons mission to Pluto will reveal about the "fossil record" of our own solar system. Scott J. Kenyon

Explaining and Measuring the Expanding Universe

08/28/20 The universe is expanding at an incredible rate, and dark energy is thought to be the cause. Astronomers observe and measure this mystery with very sophisticated equipment. Paul Martini

Exploring the Dark Matter of the Microbial World

10/18/16 All life depends on a microbial foundation. So does development of new antibiotics. But 99 percent of microbes are unknown. Slava Epstein

Reconstructing the Ancient Viking Colonies

05/31/22 How do archaeologists reconstruct the far-flung colonies of the ancient seafaring Norsemen/Vikings? Douglas Bolender

The Science --and Oft-Ignored Side Effects --of Geoengineering

04/24/18 An important critique of geoengineering, including cautions about misinformation. Daniel Cziczo

Accelerated Climate Change: Can Nature Adapt?

10/09/12 Changes in habitat and breeding patterns due to rapid climate change.......... Richard Primack

Stem Cell Research and Communicating Science

10/03/23 A distinguished pioneer in stem cell research for oral conditions, wound healing and diabetes explains the issues and the advances in this field, and the importance of science communication for the public. Jonathan Garlick

Revealing the Brain through States of Unconsciousness

11/15/11 Important insights into the brain from research on anesthesia, coma and sleep. Emery N. Brown

Designing Sustainable Urban Development

11/25/19 How the world-class Sustainable Design Lab at MIT combines architecture, engineering, physics --and creative genius-- to design the optimal urban environment. Christoph Reinhart

The D-Lab at MIT: The People's Engineering Team

05/29/13 The award-winning D-Lab's unique approach to improving lives in the poorest nations. Amy Smith

Today's Featured Contributors

Featured Author

John Quackenbush, Ph.D.

A very engaging discussion of the human genome project by one of the researchers involved

Featured Guest

Mercedes Lopez-Morales, Ph.D.

A astrophysicist who investigates the atmospheres of planets outside our solar system