A recent study concluded that “a parachute is no more effective than an empty backpack.” While this might sound ridiculous, the researchers who designed the study did so to make a point about the importance of being critical consumers of research who do not accept findings without considering the research design. Listen to this story to hear more about why the study was done and discover the secret behind the surprising finding.
Story Length: 3:43
Socrative users can import these questions using the following code: SOC-1234
September 27, 2017
2:28
Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent each year on basic research. A new study shows that money is not wasted since there is a strong link between basic research and future patented inventions. Researchers studied 4.8 million patents issued by the U.S. Patent Office and 32 million scientific papers and found a strong link between new technologies and research. Listen to hear more about this link.
Read MoreApril 5, 2017
4:17
Traditionally, medical animal testing has been conducted primarily on male subjects. Several reasons have been cited, such as complications in pregnant animals and difficulties creating controlled experiments for both genders. Now, the National Institutes of Health is requiring the studies it funds to test male and female subjects. This new requirement is a response to inequalities in health outcomes between men and women. Many researchers believe that the higher incidence of negative reactions to medication found in women is a result of the gender bias in the testing phase. Listen to learn more about gender bias in animal testing.
Read MoreDecember 1, 2016
3:36
Scientific discoveries are rarely the result of a “eureka!” moment. A recent discovery in biotech, called CRISPR, is an example of a discovery made by many people in labs all over the world. In the CRISPR discovery, there are issues of identifying exactly what that discovery is: a way to cut and paste DNA, how to control that process, or how to make it into a tool. In science, the question of who should get the credit often depends on who gets a paper published first, and not who discovered it first. Listen to hear about the process of discovery.
Read MoreAugust 1, 2014
3:55
Lionfish in Florida cause anxiety for fisherman because they are invasive and have no known predators. But until a sixth grader did a groundbreaking science fair project, scientists assumed lionfish couldn't survive in fresh water. Her project proved the fish can survive in fresh water and her results caught the attention of a large science publication. Listen to this public radio story to learn how she did it.
Read More