It’s no secret that rivers winding through major cities have been reshaped by human hands. Where wildlife and marshes once existed, gray sidewalks and bleak straight-lined tributaries have blossomed. Now, some cities are implementing floating wetlands — native plant life on a body of biodegradable materials that bobs on top of the water — to addres…

Meet the newest robotic police officer in town: the Knightscope K5. This “Robocop” completed a two month trial period in New York City’s Times Square subway station from September to November of 2023, recording video and monitoring the station. But despite city officials promising its safety, people were understandably nervous about a robotic polic…

Boredom under COVID quarantine led many to pursue some strange side hobby, but for 24 mathematicians and artists, it resulted in Mathemalchemy — a collective of mathematically (aesthetically, too) charming pieces of art — from cryptographic quilts, huge parabolas of embroidered spheres, crochet theta curves caught in fishing nets, and murals of Oct…

Oysters have been a New York City culinary staple for centuries. Hundreds of years ago, when the Indigenous Lenape people lived in the region prior to European colonization, the harbor teemed with shellfish. But by the early 20th century, pollution, urban development and overharvesting erased nearly 350 square miles of oyster beds.Fast forward to t…

When you imagine a dam, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s the hulking concrete wall of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River or the Grand Coulee on the Columbia. Large barriers on large rivers, looming large on the horizon.But colossal structures like these make up only a fraction of the dams that chop up waterways across the United States. The nation’…

Growing up in Houston, Marina Watowich was no stranger to hurricane seasons. This familiarity now drives Watowich’s research in genomics, where she seeks to understand how the environment affects the aging process. She isn’t studying aging in humans — but in a unique population of monkeys in Puerto Rico. These monkeys live on an isolated island off…

Chimpanzees are nearing extinction in many countries. Of the four subspecies of these great apes, western chimpanzees are the most endangered. Experts estimate that their distribution is now extremely patchy, with 80% of their numbers having declined in the last 20 years. The largest-remaining population is found in the Ivory Coast in Western Afric…

Thinking about climate change can be overwhelming, even paralyzing. Attempting to solve this global crisis will take enormous efforts by politicians, companies and local leaders to reverse the negative effects on our planet. On this global stage, where can artistic expression fit into our response and communication efforts? Enter climate change the…

What do Tiger Woods, Michelle Williams and President Joe Biden all have in common? Like around 3 million people in the United States, they are all people who stutter.Stuttering commonly develops around childhood and most people stop stuttering by the time they reach adulthood. However, stuttering persists for some adults and researchers haven’t bee…

The Central Park Running Club meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 in the morning. Not much stops them from starting their days together with an early morning jaunt through the park — not cold, not rain and not even January’s big snowstorm. What’s so special about exercising together that it gets these intrepid Central Park runners out of bed an…

The Republic of Tuva, located in the Russian Federation, is known across the world for its music. If you’ve ever heard Tuvan vocalists sing, you’ll understand why. A piercing whistle hovers over a deep, buzzing drone — two very different sounds coming from the same singer’s vocal tract as he harmonizes with himself.So how do these master vocalists …

Sometimes, being a “material girl” comes with a downside. An endless cycle of fashion trends doesn’t only weigh on your wallet; it takes a toll on the planet too. In 2020, the fashion industry accounted for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions, which is more than the oceanic shipping and international flight industries combined. If current practices…

Have you ever wondered how the universe will end? Chances are that the answer is “yes”; humans tend to have an innate curiosity when it comes to morbid questions.Scientists, of course, are no different. Cosmologists have pondered the ultimate fate of the universe, and many have converged on a theory: the “heat death of the universe,” also known as …

Today, many charcuterie boards, servings of buffalo chicken and cobb salads feature blue cheese and possibly even a glass of beer. New evidence shows that humans’ taste for a cheese flavored by fungi may have begun as early as 800 B.C.The Hallstatt salt mines in the Eastern Alps preserved excrement left behind by the workers who extracted salt from…

Like many other volunteers, Brooklyn resident Hailee got involved with feral cat care by accident. After seeing cats in need around her neighborhood, she adopted some, found veterinary resources for others and joined a community of cat-savvy neighbors. Throughout New York City a network of volunteers and professionals are working to compassionately…

If you’re a parent, you might have the opinion that video games are a waste of time. But the U.S. Department of State, educators and other experts think that gaming might actually be the best way to engage students — especially during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic — on important issues, like where the food we eat comes from and how agricul…

Right in the heart of New York City is the East River, separating Manhattan and the Bronx from Brooklyn, Queens and the suburbia of Long Island. For many New Yorkers, the river is just water running under the many bridges they cross over during their daily commute. But before the confluence of the Hudson River and the harbor became New York City, t…

In the last few decades, the study of exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — has exploded. Since the first one was spotted in 1992, scientists have found thousands of different exoplanets in their own unique systems, each of which has told us something new about the cosmos.Hidden among planets made of diamond and systems that we didn’t thi…

Last year, plenty of people took up the new hobby of baking sourdough. What better to do when you can’t leave the house? And, since sourdoughs are based on cultivating a microbial community of yeast and bacteria in what’s called a “starter,” these bakers had to learn how to care for the billions of microbes with which they now shared a kitchen.But …

In the 1980s, Mark Temple was the drummer for the indie pop band The Hummingbirds. He toured the world and saw his music played on MTV, but eventually left the band and returned to school. When the university where he teaches shut down earlier this year, Temple used his time at home to rekindle his pastime: He turned the coronavirus genome into mus…

As long as humans have been around, we’ve relied on plants for our survival: as food, fuel, shelter, medicine — and to produce the oxygen we breathe. Ethnobotanists are scientists who study and catalog these complex interactions between people and plants. Yet ethnobotany has a complicated history of its own, with roots in European colonial expediti…

2020 was another record-breaking year of storms and wildfires in the United States. Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, reports of fiery skies above California and “unsurvivable” storm surges in Louisiana can feel like apocalyptic icing on a hellish cake.So how do meteorologists decide what to say about extreme weather? And as the cli…

Watching for resident and migratory birds has provided an outlet for people to go outside during the COVID-19 shutdowns.Photo: Migratory birds like this magnolia warbler pass through New York City each year, and the pandemic hasn’t stopped them. [Jean-Guy Dallaire | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 ]Music by: Chuck Fresh, JahzzarFor more information about this epis…

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted economies across the globe. With international travel on hiatus, the toll on tourism has been immense. So where does that leave the communities — and animals — that depend on money from travelers?Von Scienceline

It’s literally in the name — folk culture depends on groups of people. Whether they’re attending a folk dance or a jam session, members of folk communities gather together to engage in a group experience. Or at least, that’s how it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.Von Scienceline

Grieving is difficult. Grieving during a pandemic even more so.In the Islamic tradition, a person's passing is marked with an elaborate and symbolic funeral. But what happens to those traditions when the world is put on pause, and when tragedy seems never-ending?Von Scienceline

June felt different this year. The month, usually filled with technicolor LGBTQ Pride celebrations, fell quiet due to coronavirus lockdown measures. Many pride organizers adapted by hosting online pride events, which allowed queer folks from across the globe to meet while increasing the chance of homophobic cyberattacks. And these attacks did occur…

In this podcast, Scienceline speaks with Fred Rubino, a postdoctoral researcher at New York University, who studies Wolbachia and their survival in fruit flies. Also, Cameron Simmons, Director of Impact Assessment at the World Mosquito Program, talks about how Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are made, deployed, and the current challenges of both thes…

In this podcast, Scienceline speaks to philosophers David Chalmers, Philip Goff, and biologist Karl Niklas to discuss whether atoms, plants, and bacteria are conscious.Von Scienceline

Can you be a pro at isolation? If anyone could be, it seems like it would be Garrett Fondoules. Normally, he travels across the Appalachian Trail, working to map its landmarks and boundaries. Sometimes, he scarcely sees another human face. Wouldn’t a little more isolation be nothing new? Yet like everyone, Fondoules’ life has been upended by the CO…

As artists harness the powers of technology for their art, several essential questions arise. What does it mean to create art with artificial intelligence? Are these techniques truly new? And why do we even need art that uses algorithms? This seven-minute episode will explore these questions, among others.…

Think about a song you like. Regardless of the genre, the song probably includes either reverberation, distortion or both. These add texture to the music that we tend to crave. But how do they work? As a guitar player, I thought I knew. But I’d never taken a pause to think about the details. To find out what exactly reverberation and distortion are…

Perhaps you were woken up today by the calls of a singing bird — perhaps trying to mate, or simply to communicate. In an Anthropocene world, those birdsongs are changing. Songbirds today, many of whom live in the midst of human cities, are singing into increasingly noisy skies. Their songs must compete with the din of planes, trains, and automobile…

We all know smoking is bad for your health. So is second-hand smoke. It turns out, even a leftover cigarette butt could be bad for you as well. Most butts are made with plastic and are not biodegradable. Scientists know nicotine and other toxins leach out of these ubiquitous plastic waste products, but recent research shows they could expose us to …

Corryn Wetzel speaks with a professor of ethnic studies, a civil rights organization and an infectious disease expert to understand how rhetoric around COVID-19 has impacted Americans.Von Scienceline

As the world faces unprecedented climate disasters — from the months-long bushfires in Australia to the rapidly melting ice-sheets of Greenland and Antarctica — teams of scientists from around the globe are busying themselves to come up with new climate solutions.Von Scienceline

Climate change could soon leave a bad taste in your mouth.Von Scienceline

Scientists expect climate change will make storms more intense, so the city must amp up its defensesVon Scienceline

Shells, often overlooked on the sea shores, tell professor Geerat Vermeij a story about evolution that spans millions of years. Vermeij, a leading geologist and creator of the famous escalation theory, has been captivated by shells since a young age. His is the story of pursuit of passion despite an obstacle that might deter others. You see, profes…

Despite perceptions that the Hudson is not fit for swimming, it is perfectly safe in many places. But how do you know where?Von Scienceline

Hablemos en Español byVon Scienceline

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Maria Paula Rubiano started wondering about how personal space boundaries differ across cultures. She followed that curiosity, and here’s what she found.Von Scienceline

Earlier this year, the world learned that Barbara Streisand had cloned her beloved pet dog, Samantha. As a news item, it was a weird novelty that got a fair amount of attention. But I wanted to know: How exactly do you clone a dog? In this podcast, I dug into the science of cloning to figure it out. Along the way, I learned a bit about why people c…

In the far reaches of the South Pacific lies the country of Vanuatu, a small cluster of islands about 1600 miles east of Australia. This hard-to-reach archipelago covers an area smaller than the size of Hawaii. Despite its minute size, the islands are immensely diverse. The country has one of the highest language densities in the world (112 to be p…

Whether it takes place onstage, at karaoke, or in the shower, singing is a special activity unique from speech. And since it uses a lot of the same machinery (mouth, tongue, voice box, etc.), at least some of that difference must lie in the brain. This podcast looks at the mental phenomenon of song from both sides. Bernadine Gagnon, a Columbia spee…

PODCAST: Cooking up Conservation byVon Scienceline

It’s a bird! It’s a plane? No, wait, you can hear that it’s a bird. Tracking bird migration can be tricky, especially in a dark sky. But when individual species of birds talk with each other through flight calls, researchers can listen in to determine exactly what species are flying overhead. And now, researchers are developing a computer system — …

Prescription drugs seep from Manhattan into the Hudson River, where they can wreak havoc on unsuspecting fish. A recent study found drugs at several points along the river, providing one more piece of evidence in a trend found across the nation. Dan Shapley, one of the study’s authors, explains how the drugs made their way into the river, and Jim M…

Robert DeCandido, or Birding Bob as he is known by his legions of fans, is infamous in New York’s birding community for his boisterous antics and extreme enthusiasm. Experts and novices alike flock to him (pun intended) to lead them through Central Park’s surprisingly abundant avian wildlife. In this podcast, I follow along on his tour to learn how…

Humans begin as tiny clumps of cells. Somehow, we evolve into mature individuals with unique personalities. I wanted to dissect that process and discover how babies develop a sense of identity. In this podcast, I speak with Peter Gordon at Teacher’s College, Columbia University and Catherine Tamis-LeMonda at New York University to learn about the m…