In this offering of Yackety Science, Uncle Doctor Traveling Matt reports on his excursion to the Land of Ice and Fire. What is the difference between Pāhoehoe and ‘A‘ā lava? How do you predict the next eruption and thus avoid being dispatched by Pāhoehoe and ‘A‘ā? How do glaciers (and ice skaters) actually move? What creature showed up in Iceland for the first time in 2025? How do you pronounce the word narwhal? How long can Matt talk about Vanadium batteries? Find out the answers to all of these Icelandic questions and more on the latest episode of Yackety Science.

Got a question, comment, or correction? Yack right back at us at YacketyScience@gmail.com. And please follow us on Spotify, Instagram (@yacketysciene), Facebook (Yackety Science), and YouTube (@YacketyScience).

Episode Art: Photo by Matt Smith. Modified by Brian Cross.

Theme music: “Funky Machine” (ID874) by Lobo Loco (Accessed through FreeMusicArchive.org.; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Production help provided by Scott Gregory.

Yackety Science is recorded at the studios of Public Radio Tulsa, Kendall Hall, University of Tulsa, and at the Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College.

Links:

Geology of Iceland

• Natural Science Institute of Iceland (https://www.natt.is/en/geology)

Predicting Volcanic Eruptions:

• FJiaxuan Li et al. Minute-scale dynamics of recurrent dike intrusions in Iceland with fiber-optic geodesy. Science 388,1189-1193(2025). DOI:10.1126/science.adu0225

Moskítófluga (Mosquitoes in Iceland):

• The Arctic’s growing mosquito problem. Sciencen392,235-235(2026). DOI:10.1126/science.aeh9505

Marine Heat Waves and Their Effects

• Karl Michael Werner et al. Major heat wave in the North Atlantic had widespread and lasting impacts on marine life. Sci. Adv.12 ,eadt7125(2026). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adt7125

  
  

Ourobookos, A Yackety Science Book Club

Next Book Selection:

The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack

“. . . a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know.”

In this episode of Yackety Science, screwworm maggots wriggle and bore their way back into the U.S. Embryo editing takes a giant leap forward. Matt comes out as a Titanium fanboy. And Brian visits with Mo O’Leary of the Tulsa Zoo about chimp politics, bullfrog bartering, and of course, the size of Bonzo’s balls.

Got a question, comment, or correction? Yack right back at us at YacketyScience@gmail.com. And please follow us on Spotify, Instagram (@yacketysciene), Facebook (Yackety Science), and YouTube (@YacketyScience).

Episode Art: Image by B. Cross.

Theme music: “Funky Machine” (ID874) by Lobo Loco (Accessed through FreeMusicArchive.org.; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Production help provided by Scott Gregory.

Yackety Science is recorded at the studios of Public Radio Tulsa, Kendall Hall, University of Tulsa, and at the Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College.

Links:

Screwworm Redux:

• Find out more about screwworm biology and the current status of the U.S. outbreak, go to Screwworm.gov.

Gene Editing:

• Efficient base editing and development in human embryos without chromosomal alterations. Jerabek et al. 2026 (bioRXiv Preprint)

Guest: Maureen “Mo” O’Leary of the Tulsa Zoo

Mo O’leary is one of the most experienced primate keepers anywhere in the world. She has worked with Chimpanzees at the Tulsa Zoo for over 30 years.

For more information about the Captive Primate Safety Act, click here.

Ourobookos, A Yackety Science Book Club

Next Book Selection: The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack

“. . . a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know.”

Screwworm Redux:

Gene Editing:

In this episode of Yackety Science, the team takes on the domesticating effects of abundant trash, and they dig deeper into ice cores, climate science, and the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. Matt continues his pun-filled rampage across the periodic table with a look at scandium. And finally, Brian scans the brain (metaphorically speaking) of Dr. Evan White to find out more about his work at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research.

Got a question, comment, or correction? Yack right back at us at YacketyScience@gmail.com. And please follow us on Spotify, Instagram (@yacketysciene), Facebook (Yackety Science), and YouTube (@YacketyScience).

Episode Art: Image by B. Cross with raccoon taxidermy by Black Moth.

Theme music: “Funky Machine” (ID874) by Lobo Loco (Accessedthrough FreeMusicArchive.org.; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Production help provided by Scott Gregory.

Yackety Science is recorded at the studios of Public Radio Tulsa,Kendall Hall, University of Tulsa, and at the Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College.

Links:

●Beyond EPICA: Ancient ice core could help explain mysterious shift in Earth’s ice ages by Elise Cutts (Science 7 May 2026)

● Trash Panda Domestication: Apostolov et al. 2025. Tracking domestication signals across populations of North American raccoons (Procyon lotor) via citizen science-driven image repositories. Front Zool. 22(1):28.

The Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR)

Dr. Evan White

“Dr. White’s laboratory aims to establish and advance neuroscientific understanding of cultural factors that are protective against poor mental health among American Indians utilizing a strength-based framework. A focus of this research is implementing multi-modal neuroscience and psychophysiology with a particular emphasis in electroencephalography/event-related potentials. . .”

Click here to find out more about participating in a neuroscience study at LIBR.

Ourobookos, A Yackety Science Book Club

Next Book Selection:

The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack

“. . . a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know.”