{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Science Stories with Joe Johnson","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":626,"description":"This week, our resident science guy Joe Johnson dives into a trio of surprising and thought-provoking discoveries—from an ancient agricultural marvel buried beneath Michigan forests to the latest in space exploration, and even the mystery behind wrinkly fingers after a swim. LiDAR Uncovers Massive Indigenous Agricultural Site in MichiganA new study published in the Journal of Science on June 5 has dramatically altered what researchers thought they knew about Indigenous farming in the Upper Midwest. Using advanced LiDAR technology, scientists mapped the terrain of the “60 Islands” area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—a site long known to be inhabited by the ancestors of the Menominee Nation.What the team uncovered was astonishing: an extensive network of raised garden beds spanning 95 hectares—the equivalent of roughly 230 acres. The discovery points to a sophisticated and large-scale farming system that operated between 1000 and 1600 AD.“These aren’t just remnants of subsistence gardening,” Johnson said. “This was a sustained agricultural operation.”Researchers confirmed that the gardens were used to cultivate maize, beans, and squash—known as the “Three Sisters” in Indigenous agricultural tradition—as well as melons and sunflowers. Evidence shows that the Menominee enriched their soils with compost and wetland materials, demonstrating advanced environmental management techniques.The study challenges long-held misconceptions that Indigenous people in this region were primarily hunter-gatherers. It also raises questions about the social organization and trade networks that may have supported such a large farming endeavor.Notably, the village site where the farmers lived has yet to be discovered.NASA’s Dragonfly Mission Takes Flight Toward TitanIn space exploration news, NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission has cleared a key development hurdle. The nuclear-powered rotorcraft is designed to fly across Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and explore its surface and...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}