Science
A team of behavioral scientists has been studying low-cost, easy interventions — text message reminders, how an envelope looks — to improve efficiency and access to federal programs.
No, Yes, Definitely: On The Rise Of 'No, Totally' As Linguistic Quirk
The New Yorker's Kathryn Schulz has a theory for what's behind the use of the phrase "No, totally" as a way to agree with someone. She points to an English word that we've lost: "Nay."
How Research On Sleepless Fruit Flies Could Help Human Insomniacs
Research on fruit flies with different types of insomnia has revealed the same brain pathways that interfere with sleep in people. The result may be better sleeping pills that don't leave you groggy.
What Happens When You Get Your Period In Space?
Scientists spent decades arguing that women weren't suited for space travel because of menstruation. Even now, a lot of us are wondering how astronauts manage that time of the month.
Volkswagen Used 'Defeat Device' To Skirt Emissions Rules, EPA Says
The agency says some 480,000 diesel-powered Volkswagens have sophisticated software that detects emissions testing — and "turns full emissions controls on only during the test."
British Scientists Seek Permission To Edit DNA In Human Embryos
After Chinese scientists announced in April that they had edited the genes in human embryos, many researchers said it shouldn't be done. Scientists in London say they want to do it for research only.
The 2015 Ig Nobels: Studies That Make You Go 'Huh?'
This year's prizes honored, among others, the brave researcher who subjected himself to 200 bee stings to determine where it was most painful.
Planets Transit The Desert In 7-Mile Scale Model Of The Solar System
In this solar system, Jupiter is about the size of a miniature watermelon. The sun is a small weather balloon. And the orbits, traced onto a dry lakebed, are huge.
Harvard Honors Scientific Researchers With Ig Nobels
Winners included Michael Smith who created a pain scale for bee bites. The award for literature went to two colleagues for discovering that the word "huh" is used in languages around the world.
Evolution & The Club Tail . . .
SciWorks Radio is a production of 88.5 WFDD and SciWorks, the Science Center and Environmental Park of Forsyth County, located in Winston-Salem. Follow Shawn on Twitter @SCIFitz.
Dinosaurs dominated the earth for more than 130 million years until 65 million years ago. As a kid, not quite so long ago, I made my mom read the same dinosaur book, over and over. The one with a Godzilla-like T. Rex and the now-defunct brontosaurus. And they were all the color of elephants. It's mind-blowing what we've learned since then. I now know that my favorite book showed some of the last of the non-bird dinosaurs. Many of these were found in the North American northwest, which has changed a bit since.