Science Quickly
1,930 episodes — Page 20 of 39
Nobelist: Harness Evolution as a Problem-Solving Algorithm
Frances Arnold, the Caltech scientist who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, says evolution can show us how to solve problems of sustainability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Unread Books at Home Still Spark Literacy Habits
Growing up in a home filled with books enhances enhances intellectual capacity in later life, even if you don't read them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kid Climate Educators Open Adult Eyes
A study finds that kids, especially daughters, are effective at teaching their parents about climate issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Penguin Poop Helps Biodiversity Bloom in Antarctica
Ammonia from penguin poop gets carried on Antarctic winds, fertilizing mosses and lichens as far as a mile away. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ancient Whiz Opens Archaeology Window
The residue of ancient urine can reveal the presence of early stationary herder-farmer communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
U.S. Coral Reefs Do $1.8 Billion of Work Per Year
By dampening the energy of waves, coral reefs protect coastal cities from flooding damage and other economic losses. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Could Air-Conditioners Help Cool the Planet?
Researchers want to outfit air conditioners with carbon-capture technology. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chemists Investigate Casanova's Clap
In his memoirs, the womanizing writer Giacomo Casanova described suffering several bouts of gonorrhea—but researchers found no trace of the microbe on his handwritten journals. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Software Sniffs Out Rat Squeaks
Algorithms learned to sift ultrasonic rat squeaks from other noise, which could help researchers who study rodents’ emotional states. Lucy Huang reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
New Model Aims to Solve Mystery of the Moon's Formation
Scientists propose that the moon could have formed when a Mars-sized object slammed into an Earth covered in magma seas. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Cats Recognize Their Names—but May Not Respond
Felines move their ears, heads and tails more when they hear their names compared to when they hear similar words. Jim Daley reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Science News Briefs from All Over
A few brief reports about international science and technology from Liberia to Hawaii, including one on the discovery in Northern Ireland of soil bacteria that stop the growth of MRSA and other superbugs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hurricane Maria Rain Amount Chances Are Boosted by Climate Change
The likelihood of an event like Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and of its massive precipitation, is fivefold higher in the climate of today than it would have been some 60 years ago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Harder-Working Snakes Pack Stronger Venom
Snake venom toxicity depends on snake size, energy requirements and environmental dimensionality more than on prey size. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
River Dolphins Have a Wide Vocal Repertoire
Freshwater dolphins are evolutionary relics, and their calls give clues to the origins of cetacean communication in general. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Honeybees Can Put Two and Two Together
The tiny brain of a honeybee is apparently able to calculate small numbers' addition and subtraction. Annie Sneed reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
4/20 Traffic Accidents Claim Curbed
A deeper data dive calls into question a 2018 study that found a spike in fatal traffic accidents apparently related to marijuana consumption on this date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hyena Society Stability Has Last Laugh
Female hyenas keep their clans in line by virtue of their complex social networks. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Gluten-Free Restaurant Foods Are Often Mislabeled
One in three gluten-free dishes tested at restaurants contained gluten—especially GF pizzas and pastas. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What Chickens Can Teach Hearing Researchers
At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, neuroscientists James Hudspeth and Robert Fettiplace talked about the physiology of hearing and the possibility of restoring hearing loss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nobelist Says System of Science Offers Life Lessons
At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, economist Paul Romer talked about how the social system of science offers hope for humanity and for how we can live with each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Squeezed Potassium Atoms Straddle Liquid and Solid
At extreme pressures, potassium atoms can be both liquid and solid at the same time, a phase of matter known as "chain melt." Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Urban Coyote Evolution Favors the Bold
Coyotes become fearless around people in just a few generations—which isn’t good for their longterm co-existence with humans in cities. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Computers Turn an Ear on New York City
NYU’s “Sounds of New York City” project listens to the city—and then, with the help of citizen scientists, teaches machines to decode the soundscape. Jim Daley reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Whitening Strips Alter Proteins in Teeth
Hydrogen peroxide in whitening treatments penetrates enamel and dentin, and alters tooth proteins. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Infrared Light Offers a Cooler Way to Defrost
Light tuned to a specific frequency warms ice more than water—which could come in handy for defrosting delicate biological samples. Adam Levy reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Spider Monkeys Optimize Jungle Acoustics
The monkeys lower the pitch of their "whinnies" when they're far from the rest of their group, which might help the calls travel further through jungle foliage. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tennessee Whiskey Relies on Missing Ingredients
Food chemists precisely measured how charcoal filtration contributes to Tennessee whiskey's smoother flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There's a Word for Today
English lacks some words that other languages pack with meaning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Bumblebee Queens Prefer Layovers to Nonstop Flights
Scientists tracked bumblebee queens with radar when they emerged from hibernation and found the bees take only brief flights en route to a new nest. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Scenic City Sights Linked to Higher Happiness
Tracking the location and mood of 15,000 people, researchers found that scenic beauty was linked to happiness—including near urban sights like bridges and buildings. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tech's Brain Effect: It's Complicated
We don't yet know what the immersion in technology does to our brains, but one neuroscientist says the answer is likely to be that there's good, there's bad, and it's complex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Daylight Brings Toxic Beetles Together for Safety
During daylight hours, hundreds of bombardier beetles of multiple species will congregate together to more effectively ward off any predators not afraid of a lone beetle's toxic spray. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Solar Jets Cause Standing Waves in Earth's Magnetic Field
When jets of charged particles from the sun hit our magnetosphere, some of the ensuing ripples travel toward the northern and southern poles and get reflected back. The resulting interference allows standing waves to form, like on a drumhead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sing Solo for Higher Fidelity
By tracking duetting choir singers, researchers found that when an individual singer's pitch drifts off tune their partner’s tend to too. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Edible Insect Breeding Led to Larger but Not Necessarily Better Larvae
Researchers aiming to lower the cost of mealworms were able to double the worms' size, but the larger larvae had fewer eggs and weaker offspring. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Busting Earth-Bound Asteroids a Bigger Job Than We Thought
A new model suggests smashing killer space rocks with insufficient force could let gravity pull the pieces back together. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Weekday–Weekend Sleep Imbalance Bad for Blood Sugar Regulation
Weekday sleep deprivation with weekend make-up sleeping seems to be worse for blood sugar control than even chronic sleep deprivation alone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Warm-Blooded Animals Lost Ability to Heal the Heart
Thyroid hormone, which helps warm-blooded animals regulate body temperature, also appears to put a halt on heart regeneration. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Animal Migrations Track with Wikipedia Searches
By analyzing nearly 2.5 billion Wikipedia page views, researchers found species searches reflect seasonal animal migrations and plant blooming. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Baseball Commish Talks Big Data
At a sports technology conference, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred addressed issues including an automated strike zone and advanced analytics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Background Music Might Stifle Creativity
Volunteers who listened to music solved fewer word puzzles than others who worked in silence. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Science News Briefs from around the Globe
A few brief reports about international science and technology from Greenland to Palau, including one on the discovery of a trove of mummified cats in Egypt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Budding Yeast Produce Cannabis Compounds
Biologists have taken the genes that produce cannabinoids in weed and plugged them into yeast, making rare and novel compounds more accessible. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Who Has "the Right Stuff" for Mars?
Humans traveling to Mars will be required to operate with a degree of autonomy human astronauts have never had, due to communication delays. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Grandma's Influence Is Good for Grandkids
Grandmothers can enhance the survival of grandchildren. That is, unless grandma’s too old or lives too far away. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Should Robots Have a License to Kill?
Artificial intelligence experts, ethicists and diplomats debate autonomous weapons. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Warming Climate Implies More Flies—and Disease
The incidence of foodborne illness could jump in a warming world, due to an increase in housefly activity. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Light-Skin Variant Arose in Asia Independent of Europe
A new genetic study of Latin Americans provides evidence that gene variants for lighter skin color came about in Asia as well as in Europe. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Teach Science Process over Findings
Seismologist and policy advisor Lucy Jones says science education needs to teach how science works more than just what it finds out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices