Science
"Wannabe," by the Spice Girls, is the catchiest song in the U.K., according to a new study. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Ashley Burgoyne, a computational musicologist from the University of Amsterdam.
Obese Women Make Less Money, Work More Physically Demanding Jobs
A 65 percent increase in a woman's weight is associated with a 9-percent drop in earnings. A recent study investigated what's behind that "obesity penalty," and why it hits women harder than men.
In Space, No One Can Hear You Sample
NASA just released a collection of sound effects from both this world and deep, intergalactic space into the Public Domain. They are now available for all of us to enjoy and perhaps use to make music.
The Ancient Art Of Cheese-Making Attracts Scientific Gawkers
In England, cheese-making is an art stretching back hundreds of years. But recently, scientists have become interested in the microbes that make the country's artisan cheeses so tasty.
Still Unknown In Virgin Space Crash: How Pilot Got Out
NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks to science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel about last week's tragic loss of the Virgin Galactic spaceship.
Can A Smell-Emitting Fork Alter How We Savor Flavor?
Flavor is a combination of taste and aroma. So can a scent-emitting fork trick our brains into thinking we're tasting something, when we're only just smelling it? The Salt team tests it out.
Your Brain... A Social Network?
SciWorks Radio is a production of 88.5 WFDD and SciWorks, the Science Center and Environmental Park of Forsyth County, located in Winston-Salem.
Human made items tend to be engineered and built. We look at them from a reductionist point of view. For example, a car engine is made up of many parts, but if you remove one part the car isn't going to run. Traditionally we have looked at the human brain with the same point of view; each part has its own specific role and if you damage one part you lose that function. However, Dr. Paul Laurienti from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and his team are using what's known as “Complexity Science” to take a different approach.
How Boy Bits First Came To Be
Certain birth defects in male children are on the rise, and nobody knows why. Scientists say basic research into how external genitalia evolved in reptiles and rodents might offer a few clues.
Battle Lines Drawn After Texas Town Bans Fracking
Residents of Denton, Texas, voted Tuesday to ban hydraulic fracturing in their city. It's the first time a city in the state — where energy is king — has voted to ban fracking.