Episodes
5 days ago
5 days ago
This week on Break It Down: turns out the one time we saw Uranus it was having an uncharacteristically windy moment, new meanings behind the Amazon’s most incredible rock art, the world’s largest coral found lurking off the Solomon Islands, a ~35,000-year-old saber-toothed baby comes complete with fur, whiskers, and toe beans, and amber found in Antarctica for the first time ever. Plus, can we phase out animal testing? Science is trying.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Friday Nov 08, 2024
A Murder Solved From The Grave, Chernobyl Frogs, and Cat Physics
Friday Nov 08, 2024
Friday Nov 08, 2024
This week in Break It Down: clues inside Pompeii victims' casts reveal they're not who we thought they were, the frogs of Chernobyl are doing just fine, cat physics and a crime of authorship, the North Atlantic is getting saltier and saltier, good news for double jabs, and a DNA scientist who picked up the research that would solve her own murder.
So sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...
Links:
Friday Nov 01, 2024
Quantum Cats, Drunk Monkeys, And Happy Birthday Godzilla
Friday Nov 01, 2024
Friday Nov 01, 2024
This week on Break It Down: a quantum cat experiment breaks a record for surviving over 23 minutes, Voyager 1 encountered a glitch but fixed itself with some old school tech, fossils from the Ordovician are a glittering new species, animals are getting drunk more than we thought, though we’re not quite sure why, kyawthuite is the rarest gemstone of them all, and we wish happy birthday to a giant, city-destroying lizard who has much more cultural impact than meets the eye.
Links:
Annie Jacobson Curious Live Interview
Spooky Season Content
How Is Climate Change Affecting Polar Bears?
Rats Wearing Vests
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Tiniest Dino Eggs, Hungry Black Holes, And Why People Believe In Ghosts
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Friday Oct 25, 2024
This week on Break It Down: the discovery of the smallest-ever dinosaur eggs reveals teeny tiny bones, first black hole triple is changing our understanding of giant star death, the longest venomous snake is now four separate species, a rare bit of positive carbon capture news, how a new overdose implant can save lives, and why do people believe in ghosts? We asked an expert.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
How many times could the Earth fit in the Sun?
Why do people believe in ghosts?
Can Fear Be Fun? CURIOUS October issue
We Have Questions: What’s It Like Working In A Human Tissue Bank
Friday Oct 18, 2024
Solar Storm Season, Dolphin Breath, And Resurrecting The Thylacine
Friday Oct 18, 2024
Friday Oct 18, 2024
This week on Break It Down: the Sun has entered its solar maximum bringing new auroras and geomagnetic storms, a chance find of a thylacine head in a jar could be the next step in the de-extinction of the species, microplastics have been discovered in the breath of wild dolphins for the first time, why Neanderthals never improved their spear-throwing, how high-potency THC could leave markers on your DNA, and does the page you’re reading this on look blurry? We explore what astigmatism is.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Microplastics In Dolphin Breath
Friday Oct 11, 2024
Fusing Jellies, Bad Robot Jokes, And Elephants Evolve Before Our Eyes
Friday Oct 11, 2024
Friday Oct 11, 2024
This week on Break It Down: two comb jellies become one, how Hurricane Milton grew so intense, superpowered scans reveal COVID’s impact on the brain, a humanlike robot’s jokes fail to impress his friend, Lucy the Australopithecine might have used tools 3.2 million years ago, and Mozambique’s elephants offer modern-day proof of evolution.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Hurricane Milton NASA animation
Florida coastline after Milton
Friday Oct 04, 2024
Glowing Crystals, Radioactive Storms, And A “Google Maps” For The Brain
Friday Oct 04, 2024
Friday Oct 04, 2024
This week on Break It Down: resurrecting Cold War spy planes to explore radioactive storms, the most detailed brain wiring diagram we've ever seen, mystery “skyquake” sounds have the world perplexed, plus grinning dolphins, glow-in-the-dark gemstones, and can you really feel when you’re being watched?
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Friday Sep 27, 2024
Biblical Seeds, World’s Oldest Cheese, And A Fish With Tongues For Legs
Friday Sep 27, 2024
Friday Sep 27, 2024
This week on Break It Down: the major African civilization the world forgot, the world’s oldest cheese gets found on mummies, blasting asteroids with X-rays, a fish that’s basically got tongues for legs, the resurrection of a biblical seed, and why no one can decide how fast the universe is expanding.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
African civilization: https://www.iflscience.com/five-thousand-years-ago-africa-had-a-major-civilization-we-forgot-76094
World’s oldest cheese: https://www.iflscience.com/the-worlds-oldest-cheese-has-been-found-rubbed-on-a-bunch-of-mummies-76096
Blasting asteroids: https://www.iflscience.com/the-latest-idea-for-deflecting-threatening-asteroids-x-ray-pulses-76077
Tongue-legged fish: https://www.iflscience.com/this-winged-fish-uses-strange-tongue-like-legs-to-taste-the-seafloor-yes-really-76120
Biblical seeds: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-revive-1000-year-old-biblical-tree-from-seed-found-in-a-judean-cave-76095
Hubble tension: https://www.iflscience.com/hubble-tension-solved-astronomers-race-to-save-standard-model-of-cosmology-74306
IFLScience YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IFLScienceOfficial
IFLScience Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iflscience
IFLScience - Break It Down
Your bite-size guide to this week in science. Join hosts Eleanor Higgs and Rachael Funnell as they discuss the biggest news stories of the week with guests from the IFLScience team and maybe even a surprise expert or two. So, let’s Break It Down