NSF's Discovery Files U.S. National Science Foundation

Prior to European arrival, the Maya peoples built a civilization in the inhospitable lowland jungles of Middle America. David Lentz, professor of biological sciences and executive director at the University of Cincinnati Center for Field Studies, joins to discuss his archeological findings from ancient Mayan cities.

Advancing tools and techniques are revealing more about black holes, but they also raise more questions that continue to capture the imaginations of people everywhere. Joe Pesce, an astrophysicist with the U.S. National Science Foundation, joins to answer some popular questions.

With applications across the sciences and beyond, quantum information science is revolutionizing the world around us. We are joined by Scott Aaronson, Schlumberger Chair of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin and director of its Quantum Information Center, to discuss quantum computers, how to understand quantum mechanics and how artificial intelligence is misunderstood.

Over six million people get bacterial infections that develop into biofilms every year, but what if you could cut off the bacteria before infection occurs? We are joined by Amber Doiron, assistant professor in the University of Vermont Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, to discuss developing biofilm-resistant wound dressings, the problems with treating bacteria, and how exciting it can be to mentor the next generation.

Tattoos have been a part of human culture for a very long time, but what if your tattoo could help diagnose your health? We are joined by Dmitry Kireev, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to discuss developing graphene biosensors, how they're like a tattoo, and how this technology may impact the future of health monitoring.

For a few minutes on April 8, when the moon passed between the sun and Earth, millions of people in the path of totality from Maine to Texas experienced a total solar eclipse. We are joined today by Amir Caspi, a principal scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, who explains the Citizen Continental-America Telescope Eclipse 2024 and his role in the project, the unique opportunities for science that occur during an eclipse, and how anyone can be a scientist.