In a major advance in science, DNA from Bronze Age skeletons is providing clues to modern medical mysteries. Carl Zimmer, who covers life sciences for The Times, explains how a new field of study is changing the way we think about treatments for devastating diseases.
Nov 24
The Autism Diagnosis Problem
<p>Once primarily limited to severely disabled people, autism began to be viewed as a spectrum that included children and adults far less impaired. Along the way, the disorder also became an identity, embraced by college graduates and even by some of the world’s most successful p ... Show More
32m 40s
Nov 23
Sunday Special: Wicked, Good?
<p>“Wicked” was one of the biggest movies of 2024. It was culturally ubiquitous, a box office smash and an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Now, a year later, “Wicked: For Good” arrives in theaters to finish the tale of the complicated friendship between Glinda the Good Witch and ... Show More
51m 44s
Jul 2018
a16z Podcast: The Scientific Revolution of Ancient DNA
<p>with Jorge Conde (@jorgecondebio), David Reich, and Hanne Tidnam (@omnivorousread)</p>
<p>Trying to reconstruct the deep past of ancient humans out of present-day people has until now been like trying to reconstruct a bomb explosion in a room from bits of shrapnel, says David ... Show More
31m 38s
Oct 2022
Donate Your Body To Science?
Halloween calls to mind graveyards and the walking dead, so, naturally, Short Wave wanted to know what happens when you donate your body to real scientists. Host Aaron Scott talked with journalist Abby Ohlheiser about their reporting trips to a Forensic Osteology Research Station ... Show More
13m 4s
Mar 2023
It's Boom Times In Ancient DNA
Research into very, very old DNA has made huge leaps forward over the last two decades. That has allowed scientists like Beth Shapiro to push the frontier further and further. "For a long time, we thought, you know, maybe the limit is going to be around 100,000 years [old]. Or, m ... Show More
13m 58s