Based outside of Seattle, Valid Cycles specializes in handcrafted bamboo bicycle frames. For bamboo to be bike-ready, it must be cooked in an oven, stripped, and sealed. But after that, the founders of Valid Cycles say the bikes last as long as metal ones. We stopped by their workshop -- a barn in Woodinville, Washington -- to see how the bikes are put together.

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For many of us, there are few creatures more nefarious and loathsome as leeches. But do these parasites deserve their bad reputation as mindless bloodsuckers? Dr. Mark Siddall a.k.a. "The Leech Guy," exposes our many misconceptions of these carnivorous worms and details his on-going research at the American Museum of Natural History into each species' unique cocktail of anti-clotting blood poisons.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Additional Footage and Stills by Dr. Mark Siddall Shutterstock, Derek Morisson (C.C. 3.0), Alan Kuehner (C.C. 3.0), Rebecca VO (C.C. 3.0) Leo Kenney / Vernal Pool Association Steven Johnson, William Moser, Landcare Research – Manaaki Whenua

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.

Ira Flatow reads fan mail from Larkspur, Ca. He's in for a sweet surprise.

Reporting in Science, Gabriel Villar and colleagues say that tiny water droplets can be engineered to work together sort of like cells -- moving in concert, passing electrical signals. Villar built a machine that fabricates these pseudo-cellular networks while he was getting his Ph.D. in the departments of chemistry and physics at Oxford. He says that water droplet networks (with some major advancements) could be made into artificial tissues.

Study: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6128/48

More videos
Dive into the Physics of Splashing: http://www.sciencefriday.com/v....ideo/02/06/2009/dive
Lab-Raised Heart: http://www.sciencefriday.com/v....ideo/06/10/2011/lab-
March of the Immune Cells: http://www.sciencefriday.com/v....ideo/10/15/2010/marc

In 2004, pediatric audiologist Allyson Sisler-Dinwiddie plunged into a world of silence after a car accident damaged her hearing. Under the care of hearing researcher Rene Gifford, she became one of the first test subjects of a new technique to improve cochlear implants, devices that use electrodes to stimulate cells in the inner ear. Since then, Sisler-Dinwiddie and Gifford have worked together to restore other patients' hearing. Watch the pair and their team at Vanderbilt University as they develop a resounding remedy to help people hear again.
A film by Science Friday. Produced in collaboration with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Produced by Emily V. Driscoll and Luke Groskin
Directed by Emily V. Driscoll
Filmed by Jeff Nash
Edited by Erika Sutter
Music by Audio Network
Photographs by Vanderbilt University, Rene Gifford, Allyson Sisler-Dinwiddie
Hearing and Cochlear Implant Animations provided by MED-EL Jack Noble, and Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center

Vanderbilt Team and Patients: Stephen Ball, Tim Davis, David Haynes, Kendall Hill, David Lewellen, Jack Noble Alejandro Rivas, and Morgan Stansberry

Project Advisors: Laura A. Helft, Laura Bonetta, Dennis W.C. Liu and Sean B. Carroll - Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Special Thanks to Rene Gifford, Allyson Sisler-Dinwiddie, Keli S. Lawrence, Kate Carney, Charles Johnson, Christian Skotte, Danielle Dana, Ariel Zych, and Jennfier Fenwick

Science Friday/HHMI © 2016

Bridging the Rift: Oculus' Answer to Virtual Reality-- With their clunky designs and nauseating displays, truly immersive virtual reality devices used to be the stuff of science fiction—think The Matrix or Tron. However, recent technological and design advances by Oculus VR allow for dynamic and enjoyable virtual reality experiences (in the real world). Oculus VR’s founder, Palmer Luckey, details some of the key innovations inside the company’s headset, the Rift, and explains why virtual reality is finally ready for a mass-market debut.
Produced by Christian Baker and Luke Groskin.
Music by Audio Network.
Game Footage by Elite: Dangerous provided by Frontier Developments
World of Diving provided by Vertigo Games
Lucky's Tale provided by Playful Corp
Additional footage by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory

It's crunch time for the 'balloonatics' at Macy's Parade Studio. The balloons themselves, which are designed and fabricated in a warehouse in New Jersey, are getting their final checkup before the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. John Piper and Jim Artle take us around the studio and spill the secrets of inflation, explain how to calculate whether your balloon will float, and explain why the balloons look better after a little time in the sun. (Broadcast Nov 2011)

Please support our video productions: http://www.patreon.com/scifri

The idea of mining Mars, the moon, or an asteroid for its mineral or water resources isn't far-fetched. NASA, the ESA, and several commercial enterprises already have missions in various stages of planning - all to test technologies and probe off-planet terrain for resource extraction. But before you go and land your finely-tuned space drill on an asteroid and suck out the water and carbon, you need to test it out here on earth. And before you do that, you need something to stand in for the rocks and soil of these interplanetary bodies. Using existing data from previous missions, a pinch of geology and chemistry, and and whole lot of jerry-rigged pressure cookers, researchers at Deep Space Industries are cooking up these simulants by the bucket full.
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Videography and Production Assistance by Brook Eschenroeder
Additional Videos, Stills and Animations by Shutterstock, Brandon Swanson, Deep Space Industries, Brian Versteeg, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Kennedy Space Flight Center, Goddard Space Flight, Johnson Space Center, Resource Prospector Mission , JAXA Hayabusa Mission, European Space Agency
Special Thanks to Philip Metzger, Danielle Dana and Ariel Zych

Chris Tack made seven trips to Goodwill to get rid of his stuff, before moving into the 140-square-foot home he and his wife Malissa Tack designed and built. Constructed on a trailer bed and parked in Snohomish, Washington, the house is more than enough space for them, the couple says. And one advantage of a home on wheels, the 29-year-olds say, is that you can always move.

By 1982, fewer than two dozen California condors lived in the wild. By 1985, only one wild breeding pair was known to exist. That's when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service decided to capture any remaining condors and bring them to live--and breed--in captivity. The Peregrine Fund, in Boise, Id., houses the largest California condor breeding center in the U.S.--with nearly sixty California condors living on site. Bill Heinrich and Taiana Carvalho take us "behind the enclosure" for a tour of the condor compound.

Given their outlandish names and traits, imaginary companions might be dismissed as nostalgic relics of our ephemeral youth. Yet, research by psychologists has revealed that imaginary companions can provide glimpses into the development of critical creative, social, and cognitive skills of children. In the third episode of The Real Guide to Imaginary Companions, we'll see how developmental psychologist Tracy Gleason uses imaginary companions to study how children form relationships. We'll also learn how developmental psychologist Stephanie Carlson tests the role of pretend play, such as creating an imaginary companion, in a child's ability to exercise self-control.
Produced by Science Friday with generous support from the John Templeton Foundation
Produced, directed, and narrated by Luke Groskin
Filmed by Katie Graham, Luke Groskin and Patrick Pelham
Editor by Erika Sutter
Animations by Gabe Darling and Candice Aquino
Music by Audio Network
"Fairy Godmother" voiced by Annie Nero
Additional footage provided by
Pond5.com
Carlson Lab Experiment Footage Courtesy of Mind in the Making, Bezos Family Foundation.

They look cuddly, but don't be fooled: red-eyed treefrogs (Agalychnis callidryas) have a secret dark side. When Michael Caldwell, of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, filmed the frogs under infrared light he saw a behavior had hadn't seen before -- the frogs started vigorously shaking the branches they were sitting on. Caldwell and colleagues, decode the meaning of the shakes.

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.

This summer, the #SciFriBookClub   is reading Tracy Kidder’s 1981 true-tech tale of computer engineering heroism, The Soul of a New Machine. Join three of the engineers profiled in Soul, as they remember the effort to bring  ‘Eagle’ to life. Ask a question using the Google Hangout Q&A feature, or tweet using the hashtag #SciFriBookClub  

Learn more about #SciFriBookClub  at http://sciencefriday.com/bookclub

Can you predict which song is going to be a hit? The answer may be yes.

In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick pieced together the structure of DNA — the now-famous double helix. To celebrate the release of a new annotated and illustrated edition of his 1968 book, The Double Helix, James Watson reflects on the groundbreaking discovery. Broadcast Nov. 16, 2012.

Listen to the full interview: http://bit.ly/Sx0s2A

At the Northeast Mycological Federation's 36th Annual Foray, some 15 crafty people learned how to use wool roving to create a mushroom-themed felt pillow. Cornelia Cho, a pediatrician and the president of the Mushroom Club of Georgia led the class. Meet Cho and her fellow felters, and get a taste of mushroom needle-felting technique, in the video below.

Join Science Friday for a live online discussion on April 28th at 6 p.m. EST to discuss strategies for addressing resistance to evolution instruction from students, staff, parents, and the community. Inspired by "The Pot-Stirrer," a video by Science Friday's The Macroscope, this panel will bring together experienced science educators from across the country to answer your questions about evolution in the classroom. Panelists will share their approach to introducing evolution concepts, classroom and community strategies for coping with resistance, and favorite evolution curriculum resources. Come as you are, and bring questions, ideas, and resources of your own to share in this Google Hangout On Air.

In honor of #CephalopodWeek, Science Friday's annual celebration of all things tentacled, come join a live panel discussion with real cephalopod and ocean experts from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and E/V Nautilus.

Learn what it's like to study these creatures, both in captivity and in the wild, and why cephalopods are worth studying... and saving. Plus, you'll be able to ask your own questions!

Learn more about #CephalopodWeek  at http://cephalopodweek.tumblr.com.