It's podcast sweeps week, so we're going to slip a few ratings-boosting plot points into this episode.

Mark and guest star George Clooney introduce us to liquid armor, Mike's story about the perils of light pollution has a surprise twist ending, and Joe demonstrates fibers that hear and sing with the help of some half-naked fashion models. Other stories that are big with the 18-24 demographic include ancient species below the Great Barrier Reef, keeping steel rust-free with recycled cigarette butts, and malaria-proof mosquitos. How could you not tune in for all that?

What we didn't get to: why Japan is surprisingly low-tech, a 15 million year old marsupial death pit, and teaching yourself synaesthesia.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at sciencetastic.net.)

Bad news. We've just learned that there is no such thing as podcast ratings sweeps. Please don't tell our advertisers.

What do Calvin Coolidge, Bill Withers and Geraldo Rivera have in common? Besides the fact that none of them have ever been in my kitchen (I wouldn't let Geraldo past the foyer), they share a birthday with America. In this scienceTASTIC we stick a sparkler in a cupcake and salute them all with the greatest gift we know to give - science news. Speaking of birthdays, Mark reveals that there's a genetic indicator in people that live to be 100. Mike (who himself recently celebrated his day of birth) reports that sharks use complex math concepts to hunt. And appropriate to the day, Joe explains how recent analysis has revealed an interesting edit Thomas Jefferson made in writing the Declaration of Independence. The parade of gifts continues as we track the health of Labrador Retrievers, discuss living spaceships, and share the first photo of an planet outside of our solar system. Homemade presents are always the best.

What we didn't get to: nuclear explosions in space, harnessing the power of light to store quantum information, and predicting penalty kicks.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at sciencetastic.net.)

As soccer fans we're shin guard deep in World Cup action, so this episode of scienceTASTIC has some extra international flair. We've picked our teams to back, and not only laid down a cash bet on the tournament winner, but also decided to get stories from our drafted countries. Mike takes us to Australia where a rather dry lake is now brimming with life. Mark introduces us to a lovely German man who can increase your World Cup enjoyment by filtering out the sound of vuvuzelas. Joe knows that New Zealand is not only celebrating its 1-1 draw with Italy, but also their carnivorous ocean sponge that has cracked the top ten new species of the year. The globe trotting continues with a researcher from Denmark who is probing for life below the ocean floor, a study from the Netherlands that shows coffee and tea may protect against heart disease, and a team of Spanish researchers that have recorded sprites and elves in storms. We hate to ruin your clean sheet, but this episode is a GOOOOooooaal!

What we didn't get to: Australian elephant seals collecting data from the ocean around Antarctica, a Portugese scientist who developed software to measure soccer success, and German study that shows the whiskers of harbor seals are as good at detecting fish as echolocation.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at www.sciencetastic.net.)

What do you mean you didn't celebrate National Doughnut Day? It's the first Friday of every June! Thankfully it's never too late to laud those delicous fried rings of dough, but we say skip the chocolate frosted and try one of these scienceTASTIC flavors: Mark does more than hint at hints of life on a Saturn moon, Mike (appropriately) breaks the bad news that coffee may not be giving you that pick-me-up you're looking for, and Joe introduces us to the man who conceptualized the Minority Report computer interface... and then actually made the darn thing. But wait! The Hot Light is on, so even more fresh stories are coming your way. A scientist infects himself with a computer virus, consumer decisions are effected by store flooring, and even the thought of money spoils enjoyment. A half dozen, assorted variety. Scrumptious!

What we didn't get to: floating cities, the sound of the hottest matter ever, and regrowing teeth with dental scaffolding.

Breaking News! Check out our buddy Andrew on Podcast Squared, a brand new show of podcast reviews and interviews. The premier episode features a chat with our very own Joe. What could they possibly talk about? I'll give you a hint: it's podcasts.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at sciencetastic.net.)

Wouldn't it be great if here at scienceTASTIC we didn't report the coolest science news, but actually made the news? Then we could tell you that Mike was killing the world's most ancient frogs for a bit of coal, Mark is able to hack your car's computer with ease, and Joe has successfully sent information over ten miles using quantum teleportation. Alas, we're just a trio of know-nothings telling you that male antelopes lie to females to get a little more lovin', the Japanese have launched a probe with a interesting secondary mission, and pencils will make our computers 1000 times faster. Maybe we should have actually used our childhood chemistry sets for experimentation instead of just dumping everything into an empty mayonnaise jar and make a foamy, purple mess?

What we didn't get to: the creation of the first synthetic life form. You know, one of the biggest science news stories of the decade. Yeah, didn't have time for that.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at sciencetastic.net.)

In this episode of scienceTASTIC we do our best to stay on topic, sometimes to little avail. Mark covers hypersonic space tourism, Mike ratches it up a notch with even more hyper- hypersonic space flight, and Joe washes his hands clean of it all. A zig here, a zag there, and we continue on with smart dust, real-life tractor beams, and making it rain with lasers. It was a bit of a journey, but we got through it. Together.

What we didn't get to: waiting for Mt. Fuji to explode and watching supernovae in 3D.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at scienceTASTIC.net.)

Earth Day 2010 has just passed, and I'm sure we're all grateful we only have to care about the planet for one day out of the year. Even so, we tried to keep things a little green for this episode of scienceTASTIC. First, we cut back on resources by ditching one host. Then we moved on to the stories. Mike considers the ecological pros and cons of a new dam to be build in Brazil, Joe meets up with the inventor of the nPower PEG (Personal Energy Generator), a handy little device that will have you powering your mobile devices with your own kinetic energy, and we also encourage you to answer the White House's call to weigh in on what unsolved scientific challenges (including energy and environmental issues) the US government should tackle first. The rest of the stories aren't as earth-conscious, but we do try to conserve by at least making them shorter: dreaming about tasks to perform them better, improving your view with windows that are motion-tracking monitors, and a motorcycle helmet with a surprisingly low-tech rear-view system.

What we didn't get to: Mark doesn't respect our listeners enough to actually show up for this episode, but he still wants you to watch videos he found on the first images from NASA's new solar observer and GM's self-driving vehicle in action. Honestly, they're both rather cool. I'd check them out. 

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at sciencetastic.net.)

This episode of scienceTASTIC is so spirited all that's missing is some jazz hands. Mike dazzles us from the start with an ocean-exploring surfboard, Mark takes it to the next level with the news that Venus is (geologically) alive, and Joe adds a bit of panache that can only come from a new element with a terrible, terrible name. We also provide moxie, pep and pluck in the form of  China-built US railroads, near-death experiences caused by farts, and turning t-shirts into body armor. Thankfully those round out the show, because, frankly, I'm out of synonyms for "pizzazz."

What we didn't get to: the benefits of water on the moon, creepy Asian robots, and TVs with surround vision.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at www.sciencetastic.net.)

They say that no news is good news, and in this episode of scienceTASTIC we may prove that to be true. Mark tells us of a jellyfish that can live forever (obviously they'll be plotting to take over the world), Mike breaks it to us that green people are selfish, cheating thieves (what hope do we have left?), and Joe describes how the problem of waste disposal has gotten so bad in Beijing that all they can do is install giant deodorant guns to cut down on the stink. There is a bright side, I guess. The HeatSwell is a nifty - and ecological - alternative to cardboard coffee cup sleeves, there's a new satellite that throws itself away, and the next generation of RFID tags could have your cartload of groceries rung up in an instant. Things aren't so bad after all.

What we didn't get to: the world's only poisonous bird, controlling video games with the blink of an eye, and the must-see documentary The Elephant In the Living Room.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: On Saturday, April 12, celebrate humankind's first flight into space on Yuri's Night. If you can't make the party in Cleveland, find a celebration closer to home.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at sciencetastic.net)

We start off this show by knocking out a few science stories: using dead pigs to investigate oceanic "dead zones," harvesting geothermal energy while causing minor earthquakes (Popular Science, April 2010), and why pigeons would be good on "Let's Make a Deal." Then it's on to the main event - TriviaGanza, the science news quiz. Mark and Mike go head-to-head in a battle of (nit)wits, answering questions about even more breaking headlines. Best of all, a home listener will walk away with some cash-ola. Are you the big winner? Well, we learn so much in this episode I like to think we're all winners. (But, really, it's just one of you.)

What we didn't get to: drilling into the Earth's mantle (again, PopSci) and dinosaurs get even older.

(Links to the stories we cover are always available at scienceTASTIC.net.)