NOVA Now

You may think of insects as creepy-crawly pests. But for at least 2 billion people on the planet, they’re a source of nourishment. Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, has been around for thousands of years. But it isn’t a global practice today; cuisine in Europe and the U.S. tends to exclude insects. Could that change? The culinary case for insects is a compelling one—but it’s not the only one. A 2013 UN food and agriculture report proposed insect consumption as a possible solution to global food insecurity and a mitigator of climate change. Lately, efforts by scientists and entrepreneurs have pushed this agenda forward. To learn more about edible insects and what it might take for insects to take a more prominent place on people’s plates, Dr. Alok Patel speaks with two entomologists and tours a Bay-Area based company specializing in protein-packed insect-based treats.

For tens of thousands of years, humans have pondered eternal questions like “How does our world even exist?” and “Where did we come from?” Now, more than ever, scientists are finding answers within the Big Bang theory. About 13.8 billion years ago, in a fraction of a fraction of a second, the universe expanded into being. The event, astronomers believe, was less of an explosion than a transformation of energy into matter: As this so-called inflation slowed, it gave way to matter, radiation, and all we know today. But more questions loom. To learn how scientists came up with the Big Bang theory, Dr. Alok Patel hears from a physicist and a cosmologist about the forces that shaped our early universe and the tools researchers use to peer back in time. And, he learns what scientists’ understanding of the universe’s origins can tell us about its ultimate end.

Hey folks, it’s been a minute. But now we’re back and breaking down the science behind the headlines. This week, we’re stretching it out and exploring the science of exercise and—after more than a year of unexpected interruption—getting back in the game. Dr. Alok Patel checks in with an expert in exercise physiology and an Olympic athlete, biomechanist, and chiropractor. Together, they talk about training under lockdown, what happens to the body and mind when taking time away from intense training, and how us amateurs can safely ease back into exercise—just in time to watch the 2021 Olympic games.

The cannabis industry has flowered into a billion-dollar industry in the last decade. Now, cannabis is easier than ever to legally access for medical or recreational use in the majority of U.S. states. But does legalization mean that cannabis is actually safe to use? After all, cannabis is still federally classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, defined by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a substance with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” (Though the Senate’s Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act proposes to end cannabis’s federal prohibition.) But even under current restrictions, some researchers have interrogated assumptions about the addictive potential of cannabinoids, the chemical compounds of the cannabis plant, and investigated their therapeutic properties. With the help of leading cannabis researchers, host Dr. Alok Patel explores current studies to find out what science can tell us about the therapeutic potential, risks, and long-term effects of cannabis on your body and brain.

The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is half-way through and, like 2020, is expected to be another above-normal Atlantic hurricane season as estimated by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. As of September 14, 2021, there have been over a dozen named storms, including three major hurricanes, Grace, Ida, and Larry, that reached Category 3 status or higher. Climate computer models predict that rising ocean temperatures—warm water being fuel for hurricanes—impact storm activity; but does this mean that as our planet warms, hurricanes are actually becoming stronger and more destructive? Alok Patel speaks with climate scientists and a hurricane researcher to get inside the anatomy of tropical storms, and to better understand what the evidence shows, and what we can expect for the future.