This bird really can fly over Mount Everest, wind tunnel experiments reveal
Study confirms that the bar-headed goose may be the world’s highest flyer".
Metallurgy, Chemicals
Where our microbiome came from, and how our farming and hunting ancestors transformed the world
On this week’s show: A survey of microbes in Hawaii reveals how plants and animals get their microbiomes, and a crowdsourced map of how our early ancestors altered the world".
Searching for a lost Maya city, and measuring the information density of language
On this week’s show: Archaeologists search for a mysterious city that evaded Spanish conquistadors for a century, and linguists find that—no matter how complex their structure—many languages convey information at the same rate".
Studying human health at 5100 meters, and playing hide and seek with rats
On this week’s show: We hear about a gold mining town more than 5 kilometers above sea level, and learn why studying play behavior is important".
Cooling Earth with asteroid dust, and 3 billion missing birds
On this week’s show: How dust from an asteroid breakup might have triggered an ice age, and billions of North American birds have vanished".
Update: FDA issues speedy approval of innovative sickle cell drug
Critics note there’s no proof it reduces painful “crises” or other disease symptoms".
Watch a robot made of robots move around
Robot “swarm” can travel around, even though its individual parts cannot".
Privacy concerns slow Facebook studies, and how human fertility depends on chromosome counts
On this week’s show: Social scientists are waiting impatiently for a trove of Facebook data held up by privacy concerns, and fertility researchers examine why so many human eggs have the wrong number of chromosomes".
Watch AI help basketball coaches outmaneuver the opposing team
Program could predict moves of both offensive and defensive players".
