{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Science Stories with Joe Johnson: Mars Clues, Cheese Evolution, and a Planetary Parade","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":601,"description":"This week on Science Stories with Joe Johnson, our resident science guy highlighted three fascinating developments—from NASA’s Mars rover discoveries, to evolving cheese molds, to a spectacular lineup in the night sky.NASA’s Perseverance Rover Finds Possible Biosignatures on MarsBig news came out of the September 10th issue of Nature and a NASA press conference this week. The Perseverance rover, which has been exploring Mars since 2021, has made intriguing findings in Jezero Crater—an area believed to have once been a lake about 28 miles across and up to 100 feet deep.The rover is now studying the Bright Angel Formation, a site of fine-grained, light-colored mudstone. Early analysis revealed organic carbon, the type that forms bonds typical in living systems. Using a powerful microscope, NASA scientists observed tiny nodules nicknamed “poppy seeds.”Tests with an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer showed these nodules contain iron, phosphorus, zinc, and phosphate minerals. On Earth, such structures can form either from high-temperature chemical reactions or as byproducts of microbial activity.“This is not proof of life,” Johnson emphasized, “but it’s a possible biosignature worth studying.” Samples collected by Perseverance may eventually be returned to Earth for deeper analysis. So far, the rover has secured about 30 samples with six collection tubes still empty.Cheese Mold Evolution in VermontCloser to home, scientists from Tufts University studied microbial changes at Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont, known for its Bailey Hazen Blue cheese.Originally, the cheese rind grew green mold from the Penicillium genus. But when researchers returned years later, the rind had turned white. DNA sequencing revealed that a mutation disrupted a key gene, ALB1, which normally drives melanin production.Without the pigment, the mold stopped expending energy on coloration—giving the white variant an advantage in dark cheese-aging caves. Interestingly, the green strain still outperforms...","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}