Phone Power-Ups, Poop Concrete & Fire-Baked Pottery! (9.16.26)

0:00Pouring in curiosity, activating podcasts, let's ignite the experiment! You're Recha! Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today is September 16th, 2026, and we've got some really good stories. It's Play-Doh Day. Play-Doh was originally invented as a wallpaper cleaner before becoming a kids toy. There are today's top stories. MediaTek just launched its Dimensity 9600 Pro Chip, which is set to boost gaming and AI features on high-end phones. It's the company's first chip using a 2nm process, meaning it packs more power into a smaller space while using less battery. This new chip will compete with Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors, which power most Samsung phones in the US. Dimensity 9600 Pro is expected to set a new standard for flagship smartphones chips.

1:00Also in the news, scientists just figured out how neurons read genes that stretch over 2 million base pairs. That's way longer than normal. Your brain cells need to read these super long genes to build the connections between neurons that let you think and move. But here's the thing. Reading a gene that long takes tons of time, and it's easy for things to go wrong. So researchers found that neurons have special tricks to keep this process stable and accurate. Next up, wildfires might have accidentally taught ancient humans how to make pottery. Here's the idea. Fires cleared plants, then heavy rains washed hard and clay into valleys where people lived. Amos Frumkin from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem studied two periods in the Jordan Rift Valley, one around 120,000 years ago, and another about 9,000 years ago, and found the same pattern both times. He thinks people saw nature baking clay and thought, hey, we could do that ourselves. That's how one of humanity's most useful inventions might have started.

2:04Pop quiz. Ready? This one's from the stories we just heard. Who studied the wildfires and pottery patterns in the Jordan Rift Valley? Is it a Benjamin Franklin from the American Pottery Society? Is it B, Dr. Clay Baker from Oxford University? Is it C, Amos Frumkin from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem? Or is it D, a team of ancient humans who invented fire? You have five seconds to think about your answer. Analyzing data. Observing results. Time's up. The answer is C, Amos Frumkin from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Jordan Rift Valley stretches over 6,000 kilometers from Syria all the way down to Mozambique in Africa. If you got that right, you were really listening.

3:08Still more to talk about? Here's one I thought was interesting. The Great Salt Lakes Lakebed has shrunk so much that over 800 square miles are now exposed. And that's a problem because toxic dust could blow into nearby communities. Researcher Kevin Perry from the University of Utah says about 70 square miles posed the biggest risk for dust storms. Here's the good news. The report gives Utah officials specific data on which areas need dust control measures first and what they'd cost. Perry says the state can be strategic, protecting the highest risk neighborhoods while working to bring the lakes water levels back up. Up next, here's what's wild. Physicists can't agree on the universe's biggest mysteries. Researchers pulled thousands of experts worldwide and discovered no majority back to the standard model of cosmology, any leading dark matter theory, or a single approach to quantum gravity. 68% said the Big Bang doesn't necessarily mark the beginning of time itself.

4:11Niaesh Afshorty at the University of Waterloo says the divisions show how unsettled physics frontiers remain. Also making headlines? Here's what's wild. Researchers in India figured out how to turn dried human poop into a material that makes concrete stronger. They heat the waste to over 600 degrees Fahrenheit without oxygen to create biochar, which is a carbon-rich powder. When it's mixed into concrete to replace 5% of cement, it makes the concrete tougher. That's a big deal because it could cut pollution from cement production while putting sewage waste to good use, so it's basically solving two problems at once. Okay, one more. This one comes from our latest batch of stories. How many square miles of exposed lake bed pose the biggest risk for dust storms at the Great Salt Lake? About 800 square miles? B, more than 200 square miles.

5:11C, about 70 square miles? Or D, enough to cover my entire bedroom in dust bunnies. Five seconds on the clock. What do you think? Analyzing data. Observing results. Let's see. The answer is, see about 70 square miles. That's roughly the size of Washington, D.C., which means dust control efforts can focus on a manageable area rather than the entire exposed lake bed. That's a tricky one. Well done if you knew it. Time for our discussion question. Fuh. Would you use a public bathroom if you knew the toilet was helping make the concrete for your school's new building? There's no wrong answer. Just talk about it. Today we're saying hello to Maywood Elementary School in Chico, California. Thanks for being part of the show.

6:15If you want your school on the show, leave us a review and tell us your school name. Vocab Time. Here's a word to add to your toolbox. Today's word is, comradery. Mutual trust and friendship among people who spend time together. Here it is in a sentence. The Wolfpack's comradery helps them work together to hunt and survive in the frozen wilderness. Now you've got a new word in your vocabulary. Nice. Here's your fact of the day. There are an estimated two trillion galaxies in the observable universe. I love that one. Wow. Before we go, here's one to make you laugh. What animal can jump higher than a building? Any animal that can jump? Buildings don't jump, silly. I'll be here all week. Today we covered MediaTek's new gaming chip. How neurons read super long genes. Wildfires possibly sparking ancient pottery.

7:17Dust risks at the great salt lake. Physicists disagreeing on how the universe works and turning human waste into stronger concrete. That's the show. Catch you tomorrow on Science Kids News Flash. Science is happening all around us every single day. And there's always something new to discover. Keep being curious and we'll see you tomorrow with more mind-blowing science. Thanks for joining us on Science Kids News Flash. This podcast was brought to you by Kids News Flash Universe. Be sure to check out our other podcasts. Kids ask history, space kids news flash, animal battle royale, AI Kids News Flash, and the daily catcast. Experiment concluded. Curiosity preserved. Until our next discovery.