Podcast
How spiders avoid getting caught. Plastic that's as strong as steel. A purpose for the appendix? And more.
Ultrastrong Plastic
Engineers have created a plastic that's as strong as steel, but lighter.
Non-Stick Chewing Gum
A non-stick chewing gum may eliminate some major cleaning headaches.
Whale Energy
The shape of humpback whale flippers could make wind energy more efficient.
Hot Ice Roundup
Science fiction becomes science fact: Researchers have invented ice that won't melt and a way to make people invisible.
Podcast
Ice that won't melt. Finches driven to cheat. How music effects the brain. Increased carbon dioxide produces super weeds.
HPV and cancer in men.
Teflon Antibiotics
Combining Teflon chemistry with natural antibiotics could lead to powerful drugs.
Useful Bacteria Roundup
Scientists are finding novel ways to put bacteria to good use.
Hill-Climbing Robots
Scientists are teaching a robot how to climb hills.
Podcast
Do women really talk more than men? Insects that explode to foil predators. Energy from vibrations. What happens to our brains when we get thirsty. A skin test to predict behavioral problems.
Harvesting Vibrations
New devices generate power from environmental vibrations.
Podcast
How the solar system formed, determining the standard for the kilogram, how brain damage affects art, cancer drugs from trees, protecting ports with underwater using sound.
Podcast
How supernovas make heavy elements, why teenagers have angst, some fierce arachnids get cuddly, why tanning is addictive, and the thinnest material ever made.
Thinnest Material
A new material is so thin it makes tissue paper look like a brick.
Antique Roundup
Both a sky calculator from ancient Greece and steel from the ancient Middle East used some pretty advanced technologies.
Podcast
The truth about star naming, a practical plan for getting rid of fossil fuels, imitating gecko feet, worms in your diet, and why we have a bias against foreigners.
Podcast
Deciphering horses' whinnies, how apes plan ahead, the science of Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, getting really mad over little things, and whether booze can cure a cold.
Invisibility Cloak
Harry Potter's invisibility cloak may not be completely fictional for much longer.
Podcast
Flat light bulbs, teens with migraines, what makes cells alive, reversing cell division, and how the garlic mustard plant kills trees.
Podcast
Emailing in your sleep, a lost planet, the risks of marketing remedies, a laser that zaps fat, and new developments in nanotechnology.
Detecting Plastics
A new device for detecting plastic explosives could be coming to an airport or a public building near you.
No-Fog Glass
Fogged-up eyeglasses and windshields can be nuisances. Science reporter Bob Hirshon reports on an innovation that could rid us of these annoyances for good.