An air purifier made of spider webs, a toilet insert that captures estrogen and a cactus-like water harvester; these are just a few of the projects presented at the first bio-design challenge in New York City. Science Friday has the story.

Scientist Richard Axel answers the question: How do we smell?

Scientists in North Carolina’s Great Smokey Mountains National Park are studying how Carolina Chickadees build their nests in different climates. They hope to use this research to understand how songbirds will adapt to climate change in the future.

For more than a hundred years, neuroscientists have argued over a single seemingly simple question: how many different areas make up the brain? A team of scientists at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri have charted what may be the most accurate map of the brain to date. Andrea Vasquez talks to neuroscientists Matthew Glasser and David Van Essen via Google Hangout.

After its launch, Pokemon Go swept the nation in popularity. Mark Skwarek, director of New York University’s Mobile Augmented Reality Lab joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss how the game put the spotlight on augmented reality, technology that superimposes virtual elements on top of thephysical world.

In San Antonio, Texas, there’s a special place where teenagers who otherwise might not have access to technology and the internet can explore the digital world.

A plant nursery and non-profit organization is cleaning the air in Volusia County classrooms. The Orange City brothers have donated indoor air purifying plants to schools, along with lessons on plant care, to help improve air quality.

Can you imagine having taste buds on your feet? Octopusses depend on taste buds in their suction cups to determine whether foreign objects are edible. Science Friday takes us “Inside the Lab” with Frank Grasso of Brooklyn College to share some insights about these curious creatures.

Last year more than a million migrants and refugees fled from places like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, searching for safe places to settle. CNET senior writer Ben Fox Rubin joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss how mobile phones, apps, social media and other technologies are part of this global story.

Epidemiologists in North Carolina are tracking the evolution and geographic spread of the Zika virus, from when it was first identified in 1947, to today.

A team of researchers from North Carolina Central University are studying how products like deodorants and antiperspirants change the makeup and diversity of the bacteria in the human underarm.

Geological findings indicate that 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the earth in an impact so strong that it lead to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Now, researchers are studying the asteroid’s landing site off the coast of Mexico, in search of clues about how life recovered after the impact.

Web description: Advancements in technology have taken elections beyond fundraisers, debates, and polling booths. Serial entrepreneur Brian Hecht joins Hari Sreenivasan to talk about trends in election tech.

Beneath Death Valley lies a massive seed bank of desert wildflowers, and when heavy winter rains soak deep into the soil, these hidden wonders spring to life. Some call it a beautiful revolution against the tyranny of the desert, while others simply refer to it as a “superbloom.”

Despite well-known storms like Superstorm Sandy, the intensity of hurricanes has actually decreased significantly in the past 20 years. A team of researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey is using underwater robots, satellites and high frequency radar systems to investigate this phenomenon.

Eukaryotic cells make up all living things, and they almost always have a power-generating organ called the mitochondria - or so we thought. Now, the discovery of a cell without a mitochondria is showing scientists how flexible living organisms can be.

Humanity’s passion for discovery has been exemplified by scientists and philosophers like Galileo and Einstein. But how have their scientific ideas shaped our understanding of the cosmos today? Theoretical physicist and Yale University professor, Priyamvada Natarajan, joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the scientific theories and how they gain acceptance.

There are no cattle left on the Pine Creek Conservation Area in Central Oregon. But there’s plenty of barbed wire fence. Now, a group of back country volunteers are determined to remove the dangerous, derelict fencing from the area before it becomes federally protected wilderness.

What if you could hear climate change? Physicist Robert Davies and the Fry Street Quartet are blending music and the science of sustainability to educate audiences and spur public action.