Science Friday

The solar eclipse provides an opportunity for scientists to study the solar atmosphere and polar plumes. Plus, in the driest deserts, hardy bacteria cling to the underside of translucent rocks, eking out an existence where nothing else can.

Physicist Richard Garwin has played a prominent role in fields ranging from nuclear weapons, personal computing technology, and science policy. Plus, a look at the state of our transportation infrastructure, and the secrets of the star-nosed mole.

A fossil find in California makes the case for human settlement of the Americas 130,000 years ago–€”more than 100,000 years earlier than previously believed. But not all anthropologists are convinced. Plus, a new TV series based on a biography of Einstein. And a mathematical artist and his never-ending blooms.

A CSI lab tracks the birds that strike airplanes. The species that hits most often? Not the one you might guess. Plus, practical tools to save some of your online privacy. And a look at how scarce resources and the pressure to publish undermine quests for cures.

The March for Science makes history as science and advocacy come together.

Journalist Dave Levitan provides a guide to cut through the deceptive arguments politicians use to undermine scientific evidence. Plus simulating Mars missions, and news from Enceladus about the moons hydrothermal activity.

An older-than-expected archaeological dig in British Columbia is building the case for a long-inhabited Pacific coast. Plus, psychiatrist Gail Saltz explores the unique abilities of those with mental disorders. And the physics of your shoelaces.

Michael Mann discusses his participation on the latest House Committee on Science hearing on climate change. Plus a visit to the playground where Mars rovers are put through their paces, and how one researcher peers deep inside sneezes to answer questions about disease transmission.