Science Friday

Is memory manipulation the stuff of Hollywood, or a glimpse into the near future? Plus, long dead dinosaurs have plenty to teach us about the future of Earth. And new research indicates that even animals as simple as jellyfish have the need to doze.

Paleontologists are piecing together the bones of giant fish and ancient reptiles that inhabited the long-dried North American inland sea. Plus, great recyclers: dung and carrion beetles. And how anthropologists use genetic information and found artifacts to piece together how the first Americans populated the continent.

Biologists wait to assess the damage done to a delicate ecosystem by Irma. And in 13 years, the Cassini orbiter showed us lakes on Titan, geysers on Enceladus, and a new understanding of all things Saturn.

Astronomer and SETI co-founder Jill Tarter reflects on her career as an alien hunter. Plus, simple exercise seems to be an effective way to keep the tongue muscles toned, and a look under the skin of aging aircraft.

In her new book Big Chicken, journalist Maryn McKenna uncovers how the overuse of antibiotics created the current chicken industry. Plus, on the western prairies, black footed ferrets face an invasive plague, limited food, and the work of staying alive.