We booped an asteroid

When scientists write their own rules for life, how do they know what could go wrong before it’s too late? This is the final episode of our new three-part series, Life from Scratch. Guests: Kate Adamala, associate professor at the University of Minnesota; David Relman, professor ...  Show more

Synthetic biologist Kate Adamala has been making major headlines as her lab creates cells that feed, divide, and grow — all from nonliving parts. It may sound like sci-fi, but Kate believes that these “not quite alive” cells are key to a renewable future. This is the second episo ...  Show more

If an asteroid were hurling through space, making a beeline straight to Earth, how would humans prevent it from doing what it did to the dinosaurs? Would we bomb it? Would we shoot lasers at it like a scene from Hollywood's latest sci-fi flick? Well, the folks at NASA have design ...  Show more

Last year’s NASA mission proved it was possible to knock an incoming near-Earth object off course. But that creates debris—which might also be a threat. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

If a big asteroid is heading our way, how does NASA prepare for the oncoming disaster? 

Unlike the dinosaurs, we have a space program. There are many ways we could steer an asteroid off its path towards Earth.