Episodes
3 days ago
3 days ago
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
Friday Sep 20, 2024
Gorilla Dicks, Life After Death, And Earth's New (Mini) Moon
Friday Sep 20, 2024
Friday Sep 20, 2024
This week in Break It Down: Earth's about to get a new mini-moon (if only for a while), ancient rock art may have been based on a fossil, "third state" identified between life and death, a truly supermassive black hole with jets spanning 23 million light-years, there's a new blood group, and the remarkable reason why giant gorillas have tiny penises.
So sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...
Links:
Earth’s new mini-moon: https://www.iflscience.com/asteroid-2024-pt5-is-set-to-be-a-mini-moon-of-earth-for-two-months-75955
Fossil rock art: https://www.iflscience.com/african-rock-art-may-show-extinct-animal-that-lived-millions-of-years-before-humans-76015
Life after death: https://www.iflscience.com/the-third-state-that-lies-beyond-the-boundaries-of-life-and-death-75985
Giant space jets: https://www.iflscience.com/truly-supermassive-black-hole-has-jets-spanning-23-million-light-years-the-biggest-ever-seen-76006
New blood group: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-solve-50-year-old-mystery-and-discover-an-entirely-new-blood-group-76000
Gorilla dicks: https://www.iflscience.com/gorilla-dicks-are-absolutely-tiny-the-reason-why-is-fascinating-76004
We Have Questions: https://www.iflscience.com/podcasts
Solar System: https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2023/professor-brian-cox-solar-system
Are the drugs of the future coming from the deep ocean: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-are-the-drugs-of-the-future-coming-from-the-deep-ocean-75958
Antimicrobial resistance deaths: https://www.iflscience.com/antimicrobial-resistance-forecast-to-increase-by-almost-70-percent-by-2050-threatening-millions-76025
Friday Sep 13, 2024
Pyramid Plasma, “Killer” Whales, And An Illegal Spacewalk?
Friday Sep 13, 2024
Friday Sep 13, 2024
This week on Break It Down, the first-ever private spacewalk makes history and also maybe a crime, a plasma bubble over the pyramids is spotted by snazzy Chinese tech, a new Neanderthal lineage lived in isolation for 50,000 years, a chance encounter on Google Maps leads to a new discovery, the recipient of a face and eye transplant has a major breakthrough, and we take a deep dive into whether orcas are really the “killer” whales they’d made out to be.
So sit back, relax, and Break It Down...
Links:
Private Spacewalk: https://www.iflscience.com/polaris-dawn-crew-makes-history-with-first-ever-private-spacewalk-75929
Space Crime?: https://www.iflscience.com/did-everybody-just-watch-a-live-stream-of-billionaires-breaking-space-law-75925
Space Law Interview: https://www.iflscience.com/how-to-create-your-own-space-civilization-according-to-a-space-lawyer-72934
Plasma Bubble: https://www.iflscience.com/chinese-radar-spots-plasma-bubbles-over-the-pyramids-of-giza-75896
Neanderthals: https://www.iflscience.com/meet-thorin-a-cave-dwelling-population-of-neanderthals-were-isolated-for-50000-years-75910
Google Maps Structure: https://www.iflscience.com/man-finds-unusual-spherical-structure-while-browsing-google-maps-it-could-be-a-huge-discovery-75869
Face And Eye Transplant: https://www.iflscience.com/worlds-first-eye-and-face-transplant-1-year-later-eye-now-responds-to-light-75873
Do Orcas Attack People?: https://www.iflscience.com/do-orcas-attack-humans-reports-from-the-wild-are-very-rare-75898
Dino Sex: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-how-did-dinosaurs-have-sex-75489
We Have Questions Trailer: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_vg7J6iola/
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Introducing 'We Have Questions' Our New Science Podcast
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Coming soon: join IFLScience as we explore the questions nobody thought to ask but everyone wants the answers to. Get the behind-the-scenes conversations from CURIOUS magazine’s We Have Questions interviews, as we hunt down the experts to answer some of science’s stranger questions.
Until then, catch up with the E-magazine here: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine
Friday Sep 06, 2024
Tossing Puffins, Python Vs Python, And Homeopathy. Is. Not. Science.
Friday Sep 06, 2024
Friday Sep 06, 2024
This week on Break It Down, “dangerous” asteroid Apophis has a slightly increased risk of hitting Earth, a pig in Hong Kong undergoes an operation by a team in Switzerland, people in Iceland are throwing puffins off cliffs, an asteroid impact over the Philippines just made history, a python somehow managed to ingest another python, and we take a closer look at why homeopathy isn’t all it's cracked up to be.
So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Asteroid Apophis: https://www.iflscience.com/the-chance-of-asteroid-apophis-hitting-earth-may-be-slightly-higher-than-we-thought-75797
Pig Surgery: https://www.iflscience.com/a-pig-just-had-surgery-by-a-team-operating-9000-kilometers-away-75803
Pufflings: https://www.iflscience.com/why-are-people-in-iceland-throwing-baby-puffins-off-of-cliffs-75820
Asteroid in the Philippines: https://www.iflscience.com/meteor-that-burned-up-over-philippines-is-just-ninth-ever-detected-before-earth-impact-75836
Python eating python: https://www.iflscience.com/in-world-first-burmese-python-is-found-eating-reticulated-python-75787
Homeopathy isn't real: https://www.iflscience.com/how-we-know-homeopathy-isnt-real-science-75811
How Did Dinosaurs Have Sex?: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-how-did-dinosaurs-have-sex-75489
Friday Aug 30, 2024
Killer Whale Pirates, Hunting Aliens, And Flying Spaghetti Monsters
Friday Aug 30, 2024
Friday Aug 30, 2024
This week on Break It Down: orcas disable another boat as a new theory is put forward for the behavior, bacteria pass “memories” of perturbed genes to descendants, SETI scans 2,880 galaxies for advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, what you need to know about human parvovirus B19, flying spaghetti monsters sighted on a sea mount expedition, and how to avoid the nonsense that plagues the wellness industry.
So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Killer whale pirates: https://www.iflscience.com/orcas-strike-a-boat-in-spain-as-a-new-theory-arises-to-explain-the-destruction-75750
Bacteria memories: https://www.iflscience.com/bacteria-pass-memories-of-perturbed-genes-to-their-descendants-75733
Hunting aliens: https://www.iflscience.com/seti-starts-looking-for-highly-advanced-extragalactic-civilizations-in-2880-galaxies-75751
Human parvovirus B19: https://www.iflscience.com/human-parvovirus-b19-is-increasing-in-the-us-heres-what-to-know-75695
Flying spaghetti monsters: https://www.iflscience.com/flying-spaghetti-monsters-and-20-potential-new-species-spotted-at-sea-mounts-75696
Long stringy thingy: https://www.iflscience.com/the-curious-case-of-the-long-stringy-thingy-spotted-in-australia-55635
Wellness nonsense: https://www.iflscience.com/theres-a-lot-of-misinformation-and-pseudoscience-in-the-wellness-industry-heres-how-to-avoid-it-75723
The Big Questions: https://www.iflscience.com/podcasts/the-big-questions
Gymnastic springtails: https://www.iflscience.com/watch-springtails-backflip-more-than-60-times-their-body-height-into-the-air-75748
Join our Instagram broadcast: https://www.instagram.com/channel/AbYsC7WjVRHwwaW-/
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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