Science Friday

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3D images of galaxies will rock you (ft. Queen)

August 04, 2026

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see." There’s something about space that captures the imagination of scientists and artists alike. Just ask astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and astronomer Brian May (yes, THAT Brian May, guitarist of Queen). In their book "Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D," they turn flat images of the galaxies to three dimensional spacescapes that leap off the page. In Mar...

The evolution of an enzyme engineer who changed chemistry

August 03, 2026

In nature, enzymes are the catalysts that make much of biology work. They jumpstart chemical reactions that either wouldn’t happen, or would happen super slowly. They break down food, build other molecules, extract energy, and more. What if we could harness evolution to engineer designer enzymes that do other specific jobs that benefit us?  Putting that idea into practice changed the game for chemistry, and earned Frances Arnold the Nobel Prize prize in 2018. She called it “directed evolution...

Why is brain cancer so hard to treat?

July 31, 2026

Brain cancers are rare, but devastating. Patients face short life expectancies after diagnosis. Brain tumors are often impossible to remove completely. And radiation and chemotherapy don’t always stop them from spreading.  It’s a daunting class of disease to study, but that didn’t dissuade physician-researcher Michelle Monje from trying. She has spent two decades studying how brain tumors form and interact with healthy brain cells, and pioneered the field of cancer neuroscience.  Guest: Dr. M...