This artistic rendering shows the distant view from Planet Nine back towards the sun. The planet is thought to be gaseous, similar to Uranus and Neptune. Hypothetical lightning lights up the night side. (Caltech/R. Hurt/IPAC)

Evidence of a distant ninth planet in our solar system, electronic implants that can monitor brain injury then melt away, and how more sleep may reduce diabetes risk. Rabiah Mayas of the Museum of Science and Industry is back to review some of the hottest stories in the world of science.

A new high-tech analysis of the fossilized jaw bone of Haramiyavia clemmenseni, one of our earliest ancestors, is shedding new light on the mammalian family tree. University of Chicago paleontologist Neil Shubin was one of the lead authors of the study and he joins us in studio to talk us through the findings.

Simulating the evolution of the cosmos. A local physicist is here to talk about using supercomputers to delve into the mysteries of the universe.

Gavin Van Horn

Chicago is not defined solely by its human residents. It’s a city with a living, evolving "ecological web of interactions" between man and animal, according to Gavin Van Horn. He joins "Chicago Tonight" to talk about "City Creatures," a book which details urban wildlife history through essays, poetry, photography and paintings.

(Courtesy of Science@NASA)

What can a mutant fruit fly can tell us about sleep? Why might forests in Alaska be contributing to climate change? And is Jupiter's Great Red Spot shrinking? University of Chicago paleontologist Neil Shubin is back to discuss these stories and more.

A new baseball statistic that could help the Chicago Cubs win, a new tool that could revolutionize the surgical removal of cancerous tumors and new images of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. Museum of Science and Industry director of science and integrated strategies Rabiah Mayas joins us with these stories and more.

An ambitious new government-led research initiative aims to fully map the human brain. The goal is to advance understanding of how the brain works and develop treatments for crippling neurological diseases. But for researchers, the Holy Grail is to understand the origins of human consciousness. Two leading neuroscientists join us to talk about this potentially groundbreaking project.

After a year of delays, the Array of Things urban data sensor project is back on track and prepping to collect all sorts of information on Chicago's streets by early next year. Joining us to discuss the initiative are the project’s lead scientist Charlie Catlett and author Lori Andrews.

A juvenile California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) holds onto the walls of her aquarium with her flexible, sucker-lined arms. (Photo Credit: Michael LaBarbera)

This month in Nature, an international team of researchers released some of their key findings after a first-of-its-kind study of the genome of the California two-spot octopus. The team found a massive and unusually arranged genome, with many genes unique to the octopus that could provide clues to the unusual animals. One of the researchers, University of Chicago neurobiologist Cliff Ragsdale, joins Chicago Tonight to discuss the ongoing project.

This unknown frog species is one of 11 discovered during a Field Museum inventory. (Giuseppe Gagliardi-Urrutia / The Field Museum)

Recent reports in science journals point to a mass extinction currently underway. Field Museum senior conservation ecologist Doug Stotz joins us to discuss the phenomenon and his work in South America with the museum's Science Action Center. He'll also share specimens of extinct birds from the Field collection, including the passenger pigeon and the Carolina parakeet.

A corpse flower at the Chicago Botanic Garden is set to bloom in August.

It's an exciting time for nature lovers. The world's largest flower – along with its notoriously horrible odor – is about to bloom for the first time ever in the Chicago area. Over at Montrose Beach, a rare carnivorous plant has taken root. Chicago Tonight digs deeper into these mysteries of Mother Nature.

Printing 3-D Food, Health Benefits of Trees, & Smartphones' Impact on Commuting

Is food printing tipped to become the killer app that puts 3-D printers in every kitchen? Rabiah Mayas is back to discuss printed pizza and other developments in the world of science.

Its Tevatron particle collider may have been superseded by the Large Hadron Collider in Cern, Switzerland, but Fermilab remains at the cutting edge of research into the origins of the cosmos.

Perfect Pitch, Trap-Jaw Ants, Virgin Births & Shrinking Mount Everest

Once thought impossible, new research suggests people can learn perfect pitch. University of Chicago paleontologist and science explainer extraordinaire Neil Shubin is back to discuss that, the unique way trap-jaw ants avoid predators, “virgin births” in sawfish, and the shrinking of Mount Everest.

Scientist Neil Shubin is back to tell us why the U.S. Military is so interested in the bombardier beetle, why taking a hands-on approach is a better way to learn science, and why astronomers may want to avoid using the microwave when heating their lunch.

The World Health Organization warns that the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria or "superbugs" means that we could be on the brink of a "post-antibiotic era" in which common infections and minor injuries can once again kill. They say the situation is "so serious that it threatens the achievements of modern medicine." We talk with two experts about the scale of the threat and what we can all do to try and contain it.