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b'Scientists Reach Breakthrough In Nuclear Fusion\\nThis week, researchers announced a big breakthrough in the field of nuclear fusion. Scientists have been slamming atoms into each other for decades in the hope that they will fuse together, and release more energy than was put in. And for the first time ever, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory did just that in early December, using very powerful lasers.\\nBut just how quickly will the mission to develop scalable nuclear fusion become a reality? Ira talks with Casey Crownhart, climate reporter at MIT Technology Review, about that and other top science news of the week, including an uptick in methane, an investigation into telehealth data sharing practices, and the newly-identified snake clitoris.\\n\\n\\xa0\\nA Promising New Treatment Emerges For Multiple Myeloma\\nMultiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that affects cells inside a patient\\u2019s bone marrow. Nearly all multiple myeloma patients will relapse at some point in their treatment, becoming resistant to first one, then another frontline intervention.\\nBut a new kind of therapy, a bispecific antibody called Talquetamab, has been showing promise in clinical trials\\u2014both in treating the cancer, and keeping patients in remission longer. A bispecific antibody works as a kind of bond between a T-cell that might otherwise not be doing its job and the myeloma cell itself, forcing the T-cell to attack the cancer.\\nIra talks to Dr. Ajai Chari, who is leading the clinical trials of Talquetamab, about the historic difficulty of treating multiple myeloma, and why this new therapeutic approach may lead to more patients living longer lives.\\n\\n\\xa0\\nGrowing Christmas Trees In A Warming World\\nFor those who celebrate Christmas, the decision over a Christmas tree can be hotly debated. For those who hold out for a real tree, there are dozens of species available for American consumers\\u2014catering to Douglas fir aficionados, Fraser fir fans, and Noble admirers. But climate change could soon affect the selection at a tree lot near you.\\nChal Landgren, a Christmas tree specialist at Oregon State University, manages a program that for decades has bred and developed seedlings raised to become Christmas trees. Oregon is responsible for growing 25% of all Christmas trees in the country, but heatwaves and drought have made this future tenuous. \\u201cMy kind of anecdotal information is that between this summer and the heat dome, we probably lost 50% of the seedlings that were planted,\\u201d Landgren told Science Friday.\\nRead more at sciencefriday.com.\\n\\n\\xa0\\nReady, Set, Play: 2022\\u2019s Best Science Fiction Games\\nThere were many exciting science fiction and science gaming titles released this year. Whether you enjoy video games, board games, learning about mendelian genetics, getting immersed in hard tactical sci-fi, or just want to be a cat wandering around a gorgeous cyberpunk city, we have you covered. Joining us to discuss our favorite sci-fi and science-y games this year (and the slightly recent past) are Maddy Myers, Deputy Editor of Games at Polygon and co-host of the gaming podcast Triple Click, and Mandi Hutchinson and Suzanne Sheldon of Salt And Sass Games.\\n\\xa0\\nSee the full list at sciencefriday.com.\\n\\nTranscripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on\\xa0sciencefriday.com.'