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Today’s Pulse rundown
India Cricket Win
Transcript: What if you had to wait over a century to play on the biggest stage? India's women's cricket team just won their first Test match at the famous Lord's cricket stadium in London. They secured a massive 270-run victory against England on the fourth and final day of the match. This historic moment comes one hundred and forty-two years after the ground hosted its first men's Test. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her team celebrated the win by thanking the pioneer players who started the Women's Cricket Association of India back in 1973. Who is your favorite athlete of all time?
Rusty Lark Found
Transcript: Imagine looking for a bird that nobody has seen in almost a century! Two French birders in Chad just photographed a rusty lark, a species that scientists have not recorded since 1931. The small bird is native to the Sahel region, but it has been missing for ninety-four years. The team was actually looking for a different bird when they spotted the fifteen-centimeter-tall rusty lark hopping on the ground. They quickly snapped the first-ever pictures of it before it hopped away. Finding this lost species gives experts hope for protecting the area's wildlife. What rare animal would you love to discover?
Artificial Blood Vessels
Transcript: How do you convince a tiny blood vessel to grow exactly where you want it? Engineers at MIT have discovered that they can control the growth of artificial blood vessels by mechanically stretching them. The team placed human cells inside a gel with a tiny magnet. By using an external machine to jostle the magnet back and forth, the simple mechanical action stimulated the main artery to sprout smaller capillaries. Stretching the gel by five percent created many new vessels! This could eventually help doctors grow healthy replacement tissues for patients. Have you ever stretched a rubber band to see how it changes?
AI Jet Engine
Transcript: Could a computer program help you build a jet engine? Thirty-one students at MIT recently had four weeks to design and build a real gas turbine aero engine using artificial intelligence as their copilot. The seven teams used tools like ChatGPT to summarize textbooks and write code. But when it came to the actual physical design, the AI struggled and made mistakes. The students learned that while artificial intelligence is great for organizing information rapidly, human engineering judgment is still required to build safe hardware. What kind of machine would you try to build for a school project?
AI Toys
Transcript: What if your favorite teddy bear could talk back and answer your questions? A new wave of artificial intelligence toys and robots are being built to act as companions for kids. But Dana Suskind, an expert at the University of Chicago Medical Center, warns that these smart toys might carry hidden risks. Social interactions engage the brain in ways passive media does not, helping open the social gate and facilitate learning. Suskind says that while AI is a cool tool, young brains still need real back-and-forth conversations with human beings to develop properly. Do you think a robot could ever be a true friend?
Nuclear Disk
Transcript: How fast did the very first galaxies in the universe actually grow? Astronomers at Durham University used the James Webb Space Telescope to discover a massive, star-forming nuclear disk that existed just four and a half billion years after the Big Bang. This dense, rotating disk of stars sits at the very center of a distant galaxy. The researchers found that stellar bars act like cosmic engines, driving gas and stars toward the center and helping new structures form. This proves that early galaxies matured much faster than scientists previously thought! If you had a space telescope, where would you point it?
Teens and AI
Transcript: How do students actually feel about using artificial intelligence in the classroom? NPR recently interviewed seven teenagers across the country to find out what it is like growing up in the age of AI. A fifteen-year-old from Ohio said he uses chatbots to have intelligent discussions, while an eighteen-year-old from New Jersey called it a helpful private tutor. But a sixteen-year-old from Texas worried that relying on computers makes human thinking optional. The interviews showed that young people are excited about the technology, but also cautious about how it might change their future jobs. How often do you use AI for your homework?
Jake Xerxes Fussell
Transcript: Have you ever tried to mix two completely different songs together? Musician Jake Xerxes Fussell just announced a brand new album called The Old Beloved Path, coming out this fall. To kick things off, he released a fresh take on a traditional American song called Rock Island Line. But instead of just singing the normal lyrics, he combined the classic tune with an old English nursery rhyme! By blending these two different histories together, he created a beautiful acoustic track that brings traditional folk music alive for modern listeners. What two songs would you mash up into a single track?
Hunt for Gollum
Transcript: Are you ready to return to Middle-earth? Warner Bros. Pictures just released the first behind-the-scenes footage of the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie, The Hunt for Gollum. Actor Andy Serkis is directing the film and returning to play the iconic character. The new footage shows him back in his silver motion-capture suit on a stage in New Zealand, getting into his famous crouch and yelling action! The movie is scheduled to hit theaters in 2027, and will explore the timeline between Bilbo's one hundred and eleventh birthday and Gandalf's return. Which fantasy world would you want to visit?
UK Emergency Prep
Transcript: Do you know what to do if the power goes out in your neighborhood? The UK government is launching a public awareness campaign later this year to help citizens prepare for emergencies. Cabinet Office Minister Darren Jones announced that the public will be urged to take small but important steps to get ready for severe weather or cyber-attacks. The country will also run a multi-day defense exercise next year to test its crisis plans. By planning ahead, the government hopes to keep people safe if digital systems or water supplies ever fail. Does your family have an emergency kit at home?