Paper Boys Episodes

Episode 92 - What happened to the mice of Universe 25? (Bonus episode)

The strange true story that inspired the Rats of NIMH...
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Episode 91 - Is solar reflective pavement the cure for hot cities?

This simple solution has a surprising unintended consequence.
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Episode 90 - What’s inside a Martian meteorite?

Organic compounds in a meteorite from Mars reveal its history.
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Episode 89 - Is eating sugar a gut instinct?

A new Nature paper shows why artificial sweeteners just don't cut it.
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Episode 88 - What happened in the Stanford Prison Experiment? (Bonus episode)

And how did this experiment find its way into so many conversations?
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Episode 87 - Did Oumuamua come from a destroyed planet?

This interstellar asteroid’s origins may have been cataclysmic.
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Episode 86 - Does traffic spread like a virus?

What do traffic and COVID-19 have in common?
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Episode 85 - Why is Uranus losing its atmosphere?

Voyager 2 discovered a plasmoid with a story to tell.
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Episode 84 - Why do water balloons pop?

There's advanced science behind this playground activity.
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Episode 83 - How can we suppress COVID-19?

Suppression methods could play a critical role in alleviating the virus’ impact.
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Episode 82 - Why do gray whales strand during solar storms?

A stunning correlation that asks more questions than it answers.
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Episode 81 - What has InSight discovered on Mars?

The lander has uncovered Marsquakes, dust devils, and more.
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Episode 80 - Can you stimulate consciousness?

Brain implants could put you in and out of deep sleep.
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Episode 79 - Why do extragalactic “fast radio bursts” repeat

A new discovery has been made about these mysterious deep space signals.
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Episode 78 - Do penguins speak like humans?

Penguin songs surprisingly follow some universal linguistic laws.
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Episode 77 - How should you talk to babies?

'Parentese' is not just baby talk, it actually boosts child development.
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Episode 76 - How did Mount Vesuvius' victims die?

The ancient volcanic eruption caused more suffering than previously thought.
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Episode 75 - How fast is the world's fastest spin?

A tiny grain of sand got going 300 billion RPM, but why?
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Episode 74 - Does tongue fat cause sleep apnea?

New research shows a simple way to improve sleep apnea.
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Episode 73 - What's OSIRIS-REx doing at asteroid Bennu?

This 'groundbreaking' satellite is already changing the way we see asteroids.
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Episode 72 - The Best of Science 2019

The papers we didn't get to in 2019...
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Episode 70 - Does Europa actually have water plumes?

We finally directly observed this elusive discovery.
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Episode 69 - Why does Enceladus have "tiger stripes"?

Saturn's icy, life-promising moon has some intriguing scars.
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Episode 68 - Is eating healthier better for the planet?

Changing your diet could be a win-win situation.
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Episode 67 - How does hibernation work genetically?

Bears undergo some serious internal changes throughout the year.
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Episode 65 - Can we save the penguins?

Are the goals of the Paris Climate enough to save their breeding grounds?
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Episode 64 - Can lasers hack your voice device?

Lasers might trick your smart home devices and impersonate you.
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Episode 63 - Did Google really achieve quantum supremacy?

A bold claim that could change the future of computing.
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Episode 62 - Could Skin-On make your smartphone ticklish?

You've heard of touch screens, get ready for skin interfaces.
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Episode 61 - Can physical exertion lead to mental burnout?

Training too hard could actually affect your brain function
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Episode 60 - Nobel Prize edition: what was the first exoplanet?

The far-out research behind the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics
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Episode 59 - Is "Planet 9" actually a black hole?

New research proposes this strange, exciting possibility...
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Episode 57 - What’s the difference between vegetarians and meat-eaters?

The surprising healthy and unhealthy effects of going meatless
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Episode 54 - Are self-citations a problem for science?

How can you really track the impact of research?
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Episode 53 - How does an artificial tongue taste whiskey?

And how well can it differentiate between drinks?
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Episode 50 - How is Neuralink hacking the brain?

The company's first paper released many new details...
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Episode 49 - Was Stonehenge built using pig fat?

Neolithic people sure knew how to play with their food.
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Episode 48 - Can your brain see into the future?

Well, it all depends on how you define future...but yeah!
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Episode 46 - Does caffeine make you burn fat?

Activation of a special type of fat by caffeine molecules could hold the answer...
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Episode 45 - Can seals learn to sing and talk?

How did spoken language evolve? Seals may hold some of the clues...
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Episode 44 - Is the Critical Brain Hypothesis Correct?

Cells in your brain may always be on the verge of an "avalanche"...
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Episode 43 - Does human endurance have a hard limit?

Just how much energy can the human body exert?
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Episode 42 - Did supernovae make us walk upright?

Could radiation from stars have prompted ancient humans to walk upright?
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Episode 41 - How deep does bomb carbon go?

How deep must we go in the ocean before we no longer see human traces?
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Episode 40 - Are synthetic genomes in our future?

Can we change the building blocks of life and create synthetic organisms?
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Episode 39 - Are moonquakes reshaping the Moon?

There's been renewed interest in the moon, but what do we still have left to learn about it?
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Episode 38 - How bad is the Replication Crisis?

Science depends on the repeatability of experiments, but it turns out many high-profile studies are not repeatable...
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Episode 37 - Is there a wrong side of the time zone?

Daylight Savings Time gets a bad rap every year when it's time to turn the clocks forward, but DST has a friend no one warned you about...
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Episode 36 - Can you bring a dead brain back to life?

Within minutes after death, brain tissue begins to degrade...but could new techniques extend their life?
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Episode 35 - Do mosquitoes hate Skrillex?

Dubstep could make a great bug repellant.
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Episode 34 - How do you image a black hole?

The incredible science behind this groundbreaking photo.
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Episode 33 - Are eggs really bad for you?

This breakfast controversy keeps getting worse.
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Episode 31 - Did F-words come from a change in diet?

A new study is shaking up the field of linguistics.
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Episode 30 - Why does pain hurt?

Your grunting and whining could be coming from just a few neurons.
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Episode 29 - Is Titan's organic atmosphere coming from its core?

The only known moon with an atmosphere has remained mysterious for decades.
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Episode 28 - How did tardigrades become immortal?

These resilient little creatures may hold the keys to human longevity.
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Episode 27 - Are female brains really 'more youthful'?

Male brains may age sooner than their female counterparts.
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Episode 26 - Can you understand talking brain waves?

You may one day be able to speak using only your thoughts.
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Episode 25 - How did the Curiosity rover weigh a mountain on Mars?

Scientists converted a simple instrument into a scale for mountains.
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Episode 24 - How can 3D printed filters improve chemotherapy?

A breakthrough technology could make chemo less harmful and more effective.
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Episode 23 - What's making Maine's giant ice disk spin?

A 300-foot ice disk is spinning in a river and scientists aren't sure why.
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Episode 22 - Can an LED control your nervous system?

A new field called Optogenetics could revolutionize human gene therapy.
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Episode 21 - Did Leonardo da Vinci have strabismus?

A rare eye condition may have helped the genius with painting.
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Episode 20 - How often did humans breed with Neanderthals?

Our ancestors did the cross-species deed, and it's in your DNA.
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Episode 19 - Does negative mass explain dark matter?

95% of the universe is "dark matter," but what is that exactly?
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Episode 18 - How does an ion plane actually fly?

A new plane design from MIT could revolutionize aerospace.
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Episode 17 - Did climate change cause the Great Dying?

The foreboding science behind history's worst mass extinction event.
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Episode 16 - Can you prove you're human in one word?

A new "minimal Turing test" is harder to beat than you think.
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Episode 15 - How hard was the Insight landing on Mars?

The "6 minutes of terror" came from years of work.
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Episode 14 - Is paralysis a thing of the past?

Spinal stimulation may be able to work miracles.
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Episode 13 - Is Oumuamua an alien spacecraft?

A controversial Harvard study that I want to believe.
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Episode 12 - Does cloud seeding work?

A simple technique lets scientists alter the weather.
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Episode 11 - How many faces do you know?

If you're bad with faces, you may have a new scientific excuse.
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Episode 10 - Should we kill all the mosquitos?

Genetic engineering puts scientists in a moral dilemma.
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Episode 9 - Can we terraform Mars?

The red planet may be less hospitable than you hoped.
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Episode 8 - Can you hear meteors?

When you wish upon a star, keep your ears peeled.
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Episode 6 - What are microwave weapons?

The scary science behind the US embassy attacks in Cuba.
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Episode 5 - Can goats read your face?

Goats may be able to recognize human emotions.
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Episode 3 - Saturn is whistling to Enceladus

The "song of the summer" comes from deep space.
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Episode 2 - How to find water on Mars

Don't plan a beach trip yet though...
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Episode 1 - How do spiders fly?

Who even knew spiders could fly?
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