Ten News Top 5: Summer Science Stories🦠
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Episode 123 Description
🔭 Lots to catch up on before science classes start. Hear our picks for the top science stories of the Summer! 🌙 Did you know that the moon is getting ready to wobble and that Alaska had quite a shake? 🪲 Also, correspondent Laine Farber takes us back to the start of the Summer and the invasion of the cicadas! 🧪 Test your science smarts in today’s Trivia on the Ten! 🧐
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TRANSCRIPT:
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Bethany Van Delft 0:06
I'm Bethany Van Delft. And, this is The Ten News where we get the lowdown on what's up in the world. It's Tuesday, August 17th. Science has been making big headlines this summer, from climate change reports to wobbling moons. Today we're putting on our lab coats and examining the science stories of the summer. Let's get caught up.
Bethany Van Delft 0:35
From wildfires to a fire in the actual ocean. Yes, that really happened. This has been a tough summer for our dear planet Earth. Here are the headlines that really got our attention. Number one, lots of shaking. The biggest earthquake to strike the United States in the last 50 years was recorded off the coast of Alaska on July 28th. We're talking 8.2 on the Richter scale, which is really big, so big that a tsunami warning was issued as far away as Hawaii. The good news is the quake struck deep below the surface of the earth and far away from populated areas. That's incredible. Number two supersized comets. Graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania announced that they have discovered the biggest comet to date, as big as 1,000 times the size of any other comet astronomers have ever seen. Whoa! And, it's headed our way. Like not straight for us, but the giant comet will be visible from Earth in 2031. So, mark your calendars. Number three, a wobbly moon. Scientists at NASA also revealed that the moon will wobble in its orbit sometime in the middle of the next decade. This is nothing new. The moon wobble was first supported in 1728 and it happens every 18.6 years. But, because the moon affects ocean tides, its next wobble is expected to cause major flooding in coastal areas where sea levels have risen because of climate change. Number four, surprising stinkers. Limiting the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is key to stopping climate change in its tracks. One major source of greenhouse emissions are wait for it... wild pigs. Yes, you heard that correctly. New research shows that wild pigs release as much carbon into the atmosphere in a year as a million cars. What are those pigs eating? Number five, a big F. That is what grade the latest climate change report from the United Nations gives us humans for our impact on climate change, an F. The massive report is 3,964 pages long and looks at 14,000 different climate studies in eight years of changes in climate science. Keep listening to The Ten News this fall for more coverage of the report's findings and ways that you can take action to help our planet.
Bethany Van Delft 3:42
At the start of the summer, lots of places got loud and dark. And it wasn't from summer thunderstorms, it was from an invasion of cicadas. Back in May, Nature Nerds Laine Farber helped us understand these noisy visitors.
Laine Farber 4:01
They're small, they're loud, and they grow underground. I know what you're thinking. And no, this is not a story about magical singing plants. Oh man, this is a story out of something even cooler. A wonderful little bug. Well, billions of wonderful little bugs. Today we're talking about cicadas. But, what makes these noisy little critters so news-worthy? Well, this month, a group of rare cicadas are making their debut and covering 15 states in billions of buzzing bugs. The group of cicadas is called brood 10 and they only appear once every 17 years. Wow. Now to understand what makes brood 10 so special. Let's learn some basics about these fabulous flying insects. And to help us with that. Let's hear from my friend and insect expert Zach Lemon.
Zach Lemon 5:00
Cicadas are insects that belong to a big group called Hemipterans. You may be familiar with some other cicada relatives like aphids and leafhoppers.
Laine Farber 5:09
Zach is an animal curator at the Audubon Butterfly Garden And Insectarium down in New Orleans, Louisiana. He knows a lot about bugs.
Zach Lemon 5:18
All Hemipterans have piercing and sucking mouthparts so they don't chew food. They usually poke this mouthpart through a plant stem and suck the juice out of the plant.
Laine Farber 5:27
There are over 3,000 different species of cicada. Each species has its own special traits that make it unique, like color patterns, calls, and diet. Despite their differences, all cicadas start life the same way. They begin their journey as a tiny little egg on a leaf. Once the egg hatches, the baby cicada, called a cicada nymph, wiggles its way down to the ground, and burrows under the dirt for a tasty snack.
Zach Lemon 5:58
The nymphs of cicadas will pierce the roots of plants, usually trees, and suck fluid from the roots. They stay underground for at least a year. Most cicada species take three or four or five years living underground to develop.
Laine Farber 6:15
Once the ground reaches a certain temperature. The nymph digs itself out of the dirt, sheds its exoskeleton for the final time, and takes to the sky. You can see some types of cicadas flying around every year. These frequent fliers are called annual cicadas because they come out annually. But, some special cicadas, like those in brood 10 need more time underground. Scientists call these periodical cicadas because they only come out periodically. While billions of bugs emerging from the ground might seem a little bit scary, these friends can't harm you. Cicadas don't bite people, only plants, Phew. But, these buzzing beauties might drive you a little bit batty. Cicadas are loud and proud. They're buzzing can get up to 100 decibels. That's louder than a motorcycle.
Zach Lemon 7:15
Cicadas are famous for singing. Males have structures on the underside of their body called tymbals and they can vibrate these tymbals in such a way as to produce sound.
Laine Farber 7:26
Male cicadas chirp out these love songs to attract partners. And while their rhythms might not sound pleasant to human ears, they sure do make female cicadas swoon. So, buckle up for a summer of cicada songs and get outside to explore these fascinating little critters.
Bethany Van Delft 7:51
It's time for...
Various Voices 7:53
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 7:56
Trivia on The Ten. We've mentioned some pretty cool scientists on the show this year. And one that really stood out to us is Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, what is Dr. Corbett known for? Is it a) creating a new electric car, b) working on the Mars rover, or C) developing the COVID vaccine?
Bethany Van Delft 8:25
Did you get it? The answer is c) developing the Moderna vaccine. Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett or as Dr. Anthony Fauci told us last December, known as Kizzi to her coworkers and friends, was the lead scientist on the team that developed the Moderna vaccine. As the only woman and the only black woman on the team. Dr. Corbett is a major role model for young scientists and at 35 years old, has made a major impact on public health and vaccine science.
Bethany Van Delft 9:05
Time's up! But, before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and extras on Saturdays. You can go deeper into today's stories by visiting thetennews.com. The Ten News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcast is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team is using their microscopes and includes Kate Hill, Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, and Andrew Hall. Laine Farber contributed to this episode. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. Filling in my calendar for a giant comet in 2031 I will be....years old. How old will you be?
