© 2026 Iowa Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Science

Brazilian microbiologist Mariangela Hungria was told she could never make a career researching environmental agriculture practices. Today, she is the 2025 World Food Prize Laureate. She joins the show to discuss how her groundbreaking research in soil microbiology and biological nitrogen fixation has transformed global agriculture. Hungria shares the impact her science-loving grandmother had on her life and explains how science and sustainability can coexist to feed the planet’s growing population. (This episode was originally produced on Oct. 20, 2025)
  • The International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. will feature the art of visual deception in its new exhibit, "Camouflage: Designed to Deceive." We hear about the new exhibit from the vice president of exhibits and collections, Katheryn Keane. Then, University of Northern Iowa camouflage expert Roy Behrens, who wrote the introduction to the exhibit, joins the program. Then, Isabel Muzzio grew up during a violent time in Argentina, but found that years later, some from her community viewed those events much differently. Today, she studies how memories are altered and joins the show to talk about how our politics impact our memories.
  • New research on outer space, including simulating driving on the moon and studying the white dwarf stars. Then, remembering Dr. William Foege, whose public health contributions were essential in eradicating small pox.
  • Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen celebrated the expansion of bioindustrial manufacturing in Iowa as they joined executives of BioMADE at the ISU BioCentury Research Farm Friday for a groundbreaking ceremony.