Ancient Kangaroos
The largest kangaroos once walked - instead of hopped - across ancient Australia.
Programming Plants
Researchers strive to engineer plants with the same precision they use to design microchips.
Monarch Genetics
Scientists have identified the genetic underpinnings of monarch butterfly migration.
Coffee Genome
Scientists decode the complete genome of a popular species of coffee plant.
Podcast for 1 August 2014
LESSONS FROM THE DEAD (Encore Presentation) - Scientists attempt to bring back an extinct frog. Mummies showing signs of heart disease make researchers rethink assumptions about lifestyle and diet. The mysterious death zone within African "fairy circles" explained. Also: a miniature laboratory under the skin monitors blood chemistry.
Transgenerational Obesity
Did now-banned pesticides contribute to the obesity epidemic across generations?
Gene Drives
Genetic modifications in the wild could limit the impact of pest species.
Domestication Syndrome
A new hypothesis ties domestication in mammals to “cute” physical features.
Friendship Genetics
Your friends may be as closely related to you as a fourth cousin.
Fighting Counterfeit Eggs
Common cuckoos trick other birds into raising their young. But the hosts have evolved some defenses.
Podcast for 18 June 2014
CHANGING BRAINS (Encore Presentation) - Why London taxi drivers have bigger brains, how eye movements reveal what we've really seen, and why emulating the eye movements of experts produces better surgeons. And, what long-dead brains can tell us about mental illness. Also: how violent video games could be changing young men's brains.
Baby Birds & Dinosaurs
The way baby birds use their wings helps reveal how early winged dinosaurs used theirs.
Y Chromosome Origins
Researchers have traced the origin of the sex-determining Y chromosome in mammals.
DNA in Amber
Could scientists really get dinosaur DNA from insects preserved in amber?
EVOLUTION & EXTINCTION
EVOLUTION & EXTINCTION - (Encore Presentation) What really happened to Australia's missing megafauna, how carnivores lost their sweet tooth, why lovelorn fruit flies resort to alcohol, strategic miscarriages in monkeys, and a new frog species is discovered in plain sight.
Elephant Ears
Elephants can discriminate between human voices that pose a threat to their safety and those that do not.
Huntington’s Drugs
Scientists are screening drugs that could help delay the onset of Huntington’s disease.
ENCORE PRESENTATION
WHEN SCIENCE MEETS HISTORY (Encore Presentation) - Ocean temperature records from a 19th century research ship confirm global warming. Reviving plants hidden under glaciers for centuries. Tracing the genetic origins of the blight that started the Irish Potato Famine. And uncovering evidence of lead pollution in Spain from 4,000 years ago.
Toxic Seeds & Birds
A Hawaiian bird faces extinction because its favorite food is threatened.
Cretaceous Flowers
A sprig of eighteen flowers has been preserved in amber for 100 million years.
Podcast for 6 December 2013
LIFE ON THE EGDE - The challenges facing endangered California Condors when they return to the wild. Could armadillos help end blindness? How scientists can tell that sharks really are what they eat. Fuel from the sea. And, unraveling the mysteries of glowing blue slime.
Reviving Extinct Species
Using frozen DNA, researchers have created early-stage embryos of an extinct frog.