A few years ago, Science Friday, in collaboration with microbiologist Vince Fischetti and his lab at The Rockefeller University, conducted an experiment looking into a perennial holiday concern: will alcohol kill bacteria in homemade eggnog? We bring you the results. Please note: the sample size in this study is rather small, a single batch of nog.

http://www.patreon.com/scifri - Please Help Support Our Video Productions!
You’d think that bats and birds fly in similar ways—in fact, many scientists used to consider bat flight a minor variation of bird flight. But, with the aid of high-speed video, researchers have discovered that bat flight is much more complex than initially thought.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Footage ands Stills
Provided by Kenny Breuer and Sharon Swartz Joe Bahlman, Atilla Bergou, David Boerma, Rhea von Busse, Jorn Cheney, Nick Hristov, Tatjana Hubel, Nicolai Konow, Lauren Reimnitz, Andrea Rummel, Cosima Schunk, Dave Willis, Dan Riskin, Hamid Vejdani.
Bat Research supported by NSF, AFOSR and Brown University
All procedures involving animals were performed in an AAALAC-accredited facility in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and approved by the Brown University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

*** http://www.patreon.com/scifri - Please Help Support Our Video Productions ***
The Tuvan throat-singing band Alash Ensemble has toured the world demonstrating both their cultural heritage as well as their vocal mastery. Their incredible ability to sing low and high notes simultaneously has inspired wonder and a deep appreciation for their craft. But how they achieve these otherworldly sounds hasn't been extensively explored. With the help of speech pathologist Aaron Johnson, we'll look inside the human vocal tract to see how these talented singers create their signature sounds.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Audio Recording by Alexa Lim
Music by Alash Ensemble ( http://www.alashensemble.com )
Additional Stills and Video by
Steve Sklar / Skysong Productions - http://skysongpro.com/
Pond5
NYU Langone Voice Center
The Chevy Chase Show , Fox Network
Special Thanks to Rachel Bouton!

http://www.sciencefriday.com
Footage courtesy of Prelinger Archives, Bernard Wilets' "Discovering Electronic Music"
Music by Ego Plum and Paul Rothman
Produced by Luke Groskin
This video was not sponsored by LittleBits.

http://www.sciencefriday.com
Collisions between two spiral galaxies can be spectacular affairs, filled with drama and romance. Dr. Barry Rothberg of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam, details how the massive events play out and why the fate of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, could already be sealed.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Footage and Galaxy Visualizations Courtesy of NASA; ESA; and F. Summers, STScI;
G. Besla, Columbia University; and R. van der Marel, STScI

Patrik Jonsson, Greg Novak and Joel Primack, UC Santa Cruz, 2008
V.Springel, Heidelberg University, Germany
T.J. Cox, Voxer
Phillip Hopkins, California Institute of Technology
Lars Hernquist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Large Binocular Telescope Corp., Barry Rothberg and the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics, Potsdam

http://www.sciencefriday.com
Have you ever noticed that it's easier to walk without spilling a foamy beer versus walking around with regular cup of coffee? Have you ever wondered why? To solve this everyday physics phenomenon, a team of fluid mechanics researchers at Princeton University's Complex Fluids Lab investigate the anti-sloshing abilities of foam.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Additional Footage Provided by Alban Sauret, Emilie Dressaire, Francois Boulogne, Howard Stone, Jean Cappello
Dusty Wobbls (C.C. 3.0), and Jake Millie (C.C. 3.0)

Carve first, scoop later--that's just one of the tips from Maniac Pumpkin Carvers Marc and Chris. Based in Brooklyn, these professional illustrators switch to the medium of pumpkin during October. They carve hundreds of pumpkins each fall, which go for a few hundred bucks and rarely end up on stoops. They gave us some tips for how to bring our pumpkins to the next level this Halloween.

http://www.sciencefriday.com
Produced by Luke Groskin. Wine and location provided by Corkbuzz. Music by Audio Network
Additional photos and footage provided by Finger Lakes Wine Program/James Monahan, Shutterstock, Patricia Lynch, Tom Mack, Christina Sookdhis, Bodegas Delea a Marca, and Gironde Tourism
From smoky to citrusy to peppery, the unique flavor profiles of wines are scrutinized and celebrated perhaps more than any other beverage. In the first episode of our wine science series, Dr. Gavin Sacks of Cornell University's Viticulture and Enology Program, details the chemical composition of wine and explains why you detect the faintest aromas of oak, flowers, or green pepper in your glass.

http://www.sciencefriday.com
For over 70 years, no one had seen the oblong rocksnail. Declared extinct in 2000, the species was considered to be another native Alabaman mollusk gone and forgotten. But one day in the spring of 2011, biology grad student Nathan Whelan picked up a tiny rock and got a big surprise.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Additional Stills and Photos by Shutterstock, Thomas Tarpley, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center, Nathan Whelan, Boris Datnow, Alabama Power, Annals of Lyceum, Wild Side TV, Paul Johnson, Masood Lohar, Bermuda Conservation Services, Jefferson County Environmental Services

When Tim White isn't hunting for the remains of our ancestors or working on those fossil-finds at the National Museum of Ethiopia, he's stationed in a museum-like office at the University of California, Berkeley, where he directs the Human Evolution Research Center. From snake skins to ancient skulls, White's office is not short on artifacts.

http://www.sciencefriday.com
For centuries, maple syrup producers across New England and Canada harvested sap by drilling into the bark of fully grown wild trees. While commercial syrup producers have adopted vacuum pumps and plastic tubing to aid these efforts, recent experiments at the University of Vermont's Proctor Maple Research Center may further pull the industry from its pastoral roots. By vacuum-sucking sap directly from the cut tops of juvenile trees, the researchers increased syrup production 5 to 6 times per acre compared to the traditional sap collecting methods.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Additional Video and Stills by Kieth Silva © Across the Fence, Abby van den Berg, Mark Isselhardt Shutterstock, Leonora Enking, Ben Ramirez, Sally McCay, Jim Hood, Kevstan

http://www.sciencefriday.com
Fireflies communicate with a "language of light" that scientists still don't completely understand. James Lloyd and Marc Branham of the University of Florida, Gainesville, discuss unique flash patterns and times for some of the 2,000 types of fireflies that light up the summer nights.
Produced by Emily V. Driscoll

Filmed by
Sakuma Fumio
Rei Ohara
Stavros Basis

Narrated by Ira Flatow

Additional Stills by
Joyce Gross
Bruce Marlin
Shutterstock
YikrazuulMusic by Audio Network

Special Thanks
Marc Branham
"Brilliant Darkness" movie funded by the Zoological Lighting Institute.
James Karl Fischer
Luke Groskin
Misa Kimura
James Lloyd
The Zoological Lighting Institute (http://www.zoolighting.org/)

http://www.sciencefriday.com
Produced by Luke Groskin
Wine and location provided byCorkbuzz
Music by Audio Network.
Additional photos and footage provided by Shutterstock by Shutterstock, Juan Carlos, Institute Andaluz del Patrimon Historico
Actors - Christopher Intagliata, Leese Katsnelson
Wine Wrangler - Sam Flatow
In the second episode of our wine science series, Out of the Bottle, Dr. Gavin Sacks of Cornell University's Viticulture and Enology Program translates popular wine jargon such as "breathing," "corked," and "wine tears" into chemistry you can understand. He'll also give you some tricks you can use to experience the versatility of wine.

These aren't your ordinary garden snails. Tiny cone snails may boast delicate and gorgeous shells, but they pack a powerful—and lethal—punch. The snails' venom can be fatal to various fish and even humans.


But it could also offer a potential cure.

Mandë Holford, a biochemist at Hunter College and the American Museum of Natural History, works with a team to investigate the snails' venom and look for compounds that could be used to treat pain and cancer. Ancient cultures have traditionally used their natural environment to look for cures for the things that ail them, she explains. Now, researchers are investigating how "nature's deadliest cocktail" could create new pathways for treating old problems.

A film by Science Friday

Produced in collaboration with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Produced by Emily V. Driscoll and Luke Groskin

Directed and Edited by  Emily V. Driscoll 

Filmed by  Christian Baker and Dusty Hulet 

Animations by M. Gail Rudakewich and Luke Groskin

Music by Audio Network

Additional Photos and Video by
Olivera Lab, Shutterstock, Pond5, NatureFootage, BioPixel, iBiology, Mandë Holford, Gregory S. Herbert
Guillaume van den Bossche, The National Library of Medicine
 
Project Advisors:
Laura A. Helft, Laura Bonetta, Dennis W.C. Liu and Sean B. Carroll - Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Special Thanks to
American Museum of Natural History, Hunter College, Olivera Lab at the University of Utah
Baldomero "Toto" Olivera, Talia Amador, Devin Callahan, Sean Christensen, Mandë Holford
Gregory S. Herbert, My Huynh, Terry Merritt, Aubrey Miller, Kendra Snyder, Danielle Dana, 
Chistian Skotte, Ariel Zych and Jennifer Fenwick

Science Friday/HHMI © 2017

http://www.patreon.com/scifri - Please Help Support Our Video Productions!
“If you're a cephalopod, you're super easy to eat,” says Sarah McAnulty, a squid biologist. “You're basically a swimming protein bar.” McAnulty studies a species of cephalopod called the Hawaiian bobtail squid. While most cephalopods have flashy adaptations to stay off predators’ dinner menus this particular squid relies on something that many other cephalopods don’t—its bacteria BFF.



Produced by Luke Groskin
Edited by Erika Sutter
Music by Audio Network
Additional Footage and Stills Provided by Sarah McAnulty, Nyholm Lab, Pond5
Sacrificial Hemocyte Research Conducted by the Ruby-McFall-Ngai Lab

Learn more and find out how you can take part at wnyc.org/streets.
Find out about this National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Study here :
Avoiding belligerent bus drivers or unwitting tourists popping out of taxis are just a few of the more obvious risks of riding a bike through city streets.Yet there could be another inconspicuous and nearly unavoidable danger that could take a toll on your health: air pollution. Identifying how hazardous exercise can be in an urban environment filled with noxious particles in the air is the goal of a new study by Columbia University researchers Steven Chillrud and Darby Jack. Using biometric sensors, a wearable pollution monitor, and GPS, the study will detail participants' exposure to toxins as they cycle through city streets.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Additional Stills and Video Provided by Zev Ross Spatial Analysis, Jen Connor, Recios Media Crew (C.C. 3.0), NACTO (C.C. 3.0), Vimeo User GCM (C.C. 3.0) , WNYC , Michael Phillips (C.C. 3.0), Darby Jack, Brewbooks EPA, Edison-Hannigan Lab

In perhaps the cutest study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, psychologist Marcel Zentner and Tuomas Eerola found that babies will spontaneously boogie when they hear music and other rhythmic sounds. The findings suggest babies are not great dancers, but they smile more when they do hit the beat.

Originally published on ScienceFriday.com on March 19, 2010.

http://www.patreon.com/scifri - Please Help Support Our Video Productions!
Brian Haus watches as the still air stirs into over 150 mph winds. The flat turquoise water suddenly churns a series of endless crashing waves of white frothy foam. Thankfully, Haus does not have to actually weather these powerful storms. Instead, he gets a close view from a safe distance at the Surge Structure Atmosphere Interaction Facility (or SUSTAIN Laboratory, for short). With a flip of a switch and a large diesel generator, the lab can concoct hurricanes on command in a box—a very large box stretching 75 feet long and 6.5 feet high—mimicking some of the most intense hurricanes that have ever been observed. By brewing these contained storms, Haus and his team can study the complex interactions between the air and the surface of the sea under extreme conditions, and use the information to improve intensity forecasting.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Edited by Sarah Galloway
Music by Audio Network.com
Additional Footage and Stills Provided by
SUSTAIN LAB, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
University of Miami, POND 5, NASA GOES Project, NASA ISS,
Lt. Rob Mitchell/NOAA

*** We're now on Patreon! http://www.patreon.com/scifri - Please Help Support Our Video Productions! ***

Some say that beauty's only skin-deep. But one veterinary surgeon and his team look beneath the surface...literally. Scott Echols says that we don't actually know very much about the anatomy of animals because haven't had a way to properly visualize it. But now, with the help of a new imaging technology called BriteVu, researchers have access to a trove of data on animal anatomy.

After an animal has been euthanized, researchers inject a compound into its blood vessels that allows them to take a CT scan and create multiple 3-D images, which allow researchers to analyze the intricate anatomy that lies below the skin. They can see every blood vessel in the body, from capillaries to the arteries, and everything in between.

Produced by Luke Groskin
Filmed by Dusty Hulet
Music by Audio Network.com
CT Scans and Video provided by Scarlet Imaging, Anatomage, University of Utah,
and the staff & owners of Parrish Creek Veterinary Clinic, Centerville, Utah
Sketches by Ludwig Bojanus, Johannes Sobotta, Herbert Spencer Jennings,
V. Ghetie, Frank E Beddard
Special Thanks to Shane Richins and Robert Groskin.

http://www.sciencefriday.com
Shots of Sandra Bullock floating through the Internation Space Station in "Gravity," inspired astronaut Don Pettit to share some of his own ISS footage.