Space-based solar power gets serious, AI helps optimize chemistry, and a book on food extinction

<p>On this week’s show: Cheaper launches could make solar power satellites a reality, machine learning helps chemists make small organic molecules, and a book on the extinction of foods</p> <p>First up on the podcast, space-based solar power gets closer to launch. Staff Writer Daniel Clery talks with host Sarah Crespi about how reusable rockets bring the possibility of giant <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/space-based-solar-power-getting-serious-can-it-solve-earth-s-energy-woes">solar array satellites that beam down gigawatts of uninterrupted power from space</a>.</p> <p>After that, we hear about small organic molecule synthesis. Making large organic molecules such as proteins and DNA can be a cinch for chemists, but making new smaller organic molecules is tough—partially because optimized general reaction conditions are hard to come by. <a href="https://moleculemaker.org/directory/nicholas-angello/">Nicholas Angello</a>, a graduate research assistant and Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate fellow in the Burke group at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, talks about an approach that uses<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adc8743"> robots and machine learning to better optimize these reaction conditions</a>.</p> <p>Also in the episode: the last in our series of books on food and agriculture. This month, host <a href="https://www.angelasaini.co.uk/">Angela Saini</a> talks with author Dan Saladino about his book <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/eating-to-extinction-the-world-s-rarest-foods-and-why-we-need-to-save-them/9780374605322"><em>Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them</em></a>.</p> <p>This week’s episode was produced with help from <a href="https://podigy.co/">Podigy</a>.</p> <p>[Image: NASA; Music: Jeffrey Cook]</p> <p>[alt: drawing of satellite solar panels with podcast overlay symbol]</p> <p>Authors: Sarah Crespi; Dan Clery; Angela Saini</p> <p>Episode page: <a href="https://www.