Science

Scientific topics, research, and discoveries

165 episodes Page 5 of 9

#5028: What 670nm Red Light Actually Does for Sleep

670nm is a badge, not a mechanism. Here's how to actually shop for a sleep light.

circadian-rhythmlighting-designhardware-engineering

#5027: The 670nm Sleep Light Myth: What That Number Really Means

That "670nm" on your sleep light isn't about melatonin at all. It's about copper atoms in your mitochondria — and the dose is probably fictional.

circadian-rhythmlighting-designsensory-processing

#5010: Why Vegetables Beat Fruit and Supplements

Vegetables do things fruit and supplements can't — from gut microbiome diversity to triggering your body's own antioxidant systems.

digestive-healthgut-healthpharmacology

#5009: How the Brussels Sprout Got a Makeover

The vegetable your grandmother served isn't the same one on your plate today. Here's why.

sensory-processingneurodivergenceplant-breeding

#4995: What a Bad Thermostat Teaches Us About Control

How phase lead, decay, and knowing when to do nothing fix the oscillation problem.

automationcontrol-systemsfeedback-loops

#4981: The Void That Doesn't Heal

Why the grief of not having supportive parents feels different — and what neuroscience reveals about it.

neuroscienceneuroplasticityadhd

#4953: What Actually Drives Crime Rates?

Youth bulges, alcohol, lead exposure — the surprising science of what makes crime rise and fall.

public-healthneurosciencechild-development

#4877: Hunting the Year-Round Swamp Climate

Where on Earth is it always hot, humid, and buggy? And what does the body do when sweat stops working?

environmental-healthrespiratory-healthatmospheric-science

#4867: Greenland's Coldest Inhabited Place: How 646 People Survive

Qaanaaq, Greenland, endures weeks below -40°C. How do 646 people survive the planet's most consistently lethal cold?

architecturestructural-engineeringsustainability

#4866: How Aircraft and Skyscrapers Survive Lightning Strikes

How do planes and buildings take million-volt hits and keep working? The engineering is surprisingly different.

structural-engineeringaerospace-engineeringelectrical-engineering

#4859: Why We Miss 60 Earthquakes for Every One We Feel

The Earth moved under Daniel's falafel and he felt nothing. That tiny quake reveals a staggering fact about our planet.

sensory-processingmicroseismicitygutenberg-richter-law

#4855: What Turbulence Actually Does to a Plane

How climate change is increasing clear-air turbulence — and why your plane can handle far more than you feel.

aviation-technologyaerospace-engineeringatmospheric-science

#4835: How Math Took Over Your Prescription Bottle

Dosing wasn't always science. Before 1937, it was guesswork. Here's how equations conquered medicine.

pharmacologymedical-historypharmacokinetics

#4816: Can Your Body Learn to Tolerate a Swamp?

Why 32°C in Tel Aviv feels worse than 35°C in Jerusalem — and how fast your body can adapt.

sensory-processingcircadian-rhythmenvironmental-health

#4805: How a Pig Bladder Became a P100 Filter

From Roman miners using animal bladders to 3M's electrostatic breakthrough — the strange history of breathing protection.

respiratory-protectionrespirator-standardselectrostatic-filtration

#4798: Why Knots and Baby Carriers Break Your Brain

Why you can build a PC but freeze up on a baby carrier — the cognitive science of mechanical reasoning.

neurodivergenceadhdchild-development

#4793: Fibre Isn't a Trick — It's the Thing the Trick Was Trying to Approximate

The glass in the ground is already 40 years old — and it's barely breaking a sweat.

fiber-opticsinfrastructuretelecommunications

#4788: How Weather Prediction Became a Science

From hand calculations to chaos theory to machine learning — the full arc of forecasting.

high-performance-computingaviation-technologylogistics

#4771: The Nine Dials That Tell Us If Earth Is Still Working

Six of nine planetary boundaries are already crossed. Here's what the dashboard says about our safe operating space.

sustainabilityenvironmental-healthplanetary-boundaries

#4744: Lyme Disease: Facts, Myths, and Tick Safety

What Lyme actually is, why Storrs is ground zero, and how to stay safe outdoors without spiraling.

public-healthhealthchild-development