Science Quickly
1,930 episodes — Page 33 of 39
Better Gut Microbiome Census through Computing
Sophisticated computational techniques make it possible to analyze gene samples from all the bacteria in the gut at once to take a census of the species present. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sociable Chimps Get Richer Gut Microbiomes
When food is plentiful and chimps are more chummy, they harbor an increased number of different bacterial species in their bellies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mammoth Find Moves Humans in Arctic Back 10,000 Years
The remains of a clearly butchered woolly mammoth in Siberia date to 45,000 years ago, 10 millennia earlier than when humans were thought to have crossed north of the Arctic circle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
City Swans May Tolerate Humans Due to Gene Variant
More members of an urban swan population that lets humans get near have a particular genetic variant than do a rural swan group that tends to take off when humans approach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hippo Meat-Munching May Explain Their Anthrax Outbreaks
Hippos eat meat more than had been thought, a practice that could explain their susceptibility to anthrax die-offs when they consume infected animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Powerball Lottery Winning Made Inevitable (If Not Easy)
Some set of numbers will definitely be drawn in the $1.3-billion Powerball Lottery, so all you have to do is make sure you hold every possible combination of numbers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Iceman Ötzi Died with a Bellyache
Researchers were able to determine the genome of stomach bacteria that infected the famous Iceman at the time of his death, in the process giving us clues about ancient human migrations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Allergies May Have Been Bequeathed by Neandertals
Many non-African humans today have genes—which apparently made it into us via Neandertals—that ramp up resistance to pathogens, but bring on allergies, too. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Needle Exchange Programs Now Get Fed Support
More than a quarter century after the federal funding ban on needle exchange programs went into effect, it has quietly been almost completely lifted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Obama Notes Blocks of Gun Violence Research
In his announcement today that he was taking executive action to require more gun sellers to be licensed and to do background checks on gun buyers, Pres. Barack Obama also touched on the problems facing public health researchers who try to study gun violence and deaths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Big Cats and People Live in Close Quarters in India
The numbers of large carnivores, especially leopards, are increasing in private lands and lands outside the protected-area systems in India, bringing new challenges for coexistence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Asphalt Roads Could De-Ice Themselves
Researchers engineered bitumen—the sticky black stuff in asphalt—to release its own salt, to battle the formation of ice. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Race-Based Brand Preferences Found for Underage Drinkers
Twelve alcohol brands among the top 25 preferred brands for teen black drinkers don’t appear at all on the top 25 for young white drinkers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Baby Whales Pecked to Death by Gulls
Almost all southern right whale calves off the coast of Argentina’s Peninsula Valdez are being fed upon, some fatally, by kelp gulls, which was a rare occurrence four decades ago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Polar Bears Must Work Harder on Faster Sea Ice Treadmill
Thinner sea ice is getting pushed farther by Arctic winds, which makes polar bears walk more to stay in the same place, increasing their need for food. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Southwest's Conifers Face Trial by Climate Change
Using climate models and tree physiological data, researchers forecast a near-complete annihilation of evergreens in the southwest by the year 2100. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Superfast Computer Chip Transmits Data with Light
Researchers designed a chip that transfers data not with electrons but with photons—resulting in a potential 10-fold boost in speed. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Text Reminders Cut Binge Drinking in At-Risk Recipients
Heavy drinkers age 18 to 25 who got texts before and after each weekend about their weekend drinking plans cut their alcohol intake compared with those who got no texts or more perfunctory texts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Drugged Gut Microbiome Cuts Heart Risk in Mice
A compound found in extra virgin olive oil and red wine reduced mice’s risk of clogged arteries. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Antievolution Legislation Shows Descent with Modification
Nicholas Matzke, an American evolutionary biologist currently at the Australian National University in Canberra, performed a phylogenetic-style analysis of dozens of antievolution education bills in various state legislatures to track their relatedness Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Small Fish Takes Fast-Evolution Track
Stickleback fish in Alaska evolved from living in seawater to freshwater in just 50 years, with the help of freshwater traits in their genome. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Marion Nestle Talks "Soda Politics"
Marion Nestle, author of Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning), talked December 14 in New York City about Coca-Cola's attempt to fund research designed to find sugared soft drinks innocent in contributing to obesity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Teachers' Racial Biases Have Different Effects for High Versus Low Performers
In a study of first graders, teachers rated low-performing minority students more positively than low-performing white students, but they ranked high-performing minority students lower than white students at the same level Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Energy Secretary Talks Climate Challenge
A brief portion of the December 9 conversation during the climate talks in France between Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Scientific American’s David Biello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Cockroach Caca Contains Chemical Messages Made by Microbes
Roaches get the signal to gather together from pheromones produced by their gut microbes and released in the insects’ excrement. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
90-Nation Coalition Aims for Ambitious Climate Change Deal
Among its goals, the coalition of countries, including the U.S., wants an agreement that the world must aim as soon as possible to hold global warming to 1.5-degree Celsius and work toward a long-term low-carbon future Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
New African Highways Have a High Environmental Price
An analysis determines that many road-building projects in Africa would bring only modest benefits to people, while devastating the environment. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Protect the Right Places for Biodiversity
Scientists can provide the info to make sure that the correct areas are chosen for protection to help ensure the continued robustness of a region's biodiversity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Individuals' Blood Glucose Levels after Meals May Be Predictable
Closely tracking 800 people's blood glucose levels in response to meals allowed researchers to develop a predictive algorithm for individuals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Obese Dad's Sperm May Influence Offspring's Weight
Overweight men’s sperm undergo epigenetic changes that may alter a child’s brain development and appetite control. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Pollination Isn't Just for the Bees
Flies, beetles, butterflies and moths may account for some 40 percent of the world’s pollination. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Race Colors New Residents' Views of Local Businesses
Gentrifying residents in two Brooklyn neighborhoods view their new surroundings differently, depending on the race of those who traditionally live there. Erika Beras reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Espresso Machines Brew a Microbiome of Their Own
Researchers sampled 10 espresso machines and found that most of them harbored coffee residues rich in bacteria—including some potentially pathogenic strains. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Massive Survey Creates Amazon Tree Census
A tree survey in the Amazon by more than 150 researchers led to an estimate that up to 57 percent of Amazon trees could qualify for threatened species status by 2050 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People Pick Familiar Foods Over Favorites
A study found that the stronger a subject's memory of a particular food, the more likely they were to choose it again, even over foods they professed to enjoy more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Women Candidates Face Implicit Bias Hurdle
Volunteers taking an "implicit bias" test who were unlikely to associate images of women with leadership titles like executive or president were far less likely to vote for a woman in a race against a man of equal qualification Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Gut Bacteria Signal Your Brain When They're Full
Twenty minutes into a meal, E. coli pump out appetite-suppressing proteins, which could influence our feeling of hunger. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Vocal Cords Bioengineered from Starter Cells
Researchers took cells from donated vocal cord tissue and successfully grew them on a three-dimensional scaffold to produce new vocal cords that can produce sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sahara Reveals Remains of Ancient River
Using a satellite-born sensor system that can penetrate through several feet of dry surface sediments, researchers found the dry remains of an ancient river system winding for hundreds of miles below the Saharan sands Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Your Brain Can Taste without Your Tongue
Stimulating the "taste cortex" was enough to trick mice into thinking they'd tasted sweet or bitter substances, when in fact their tongues tasted nothing at all. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Urban Food Foraging Looks Fruitful
Fruits growing wild in urban areas were found to be healthful and to contain lower levels of lead than what's considered safe in drinking water Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Female Vocalists Are in the (Mouse) House
Careful recordings of mouse interactions find that females vocalize, overturning the long-held view that only males sing during courtship Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Eat Slowly and Breathe Smoothly to Enhance Taste
Slow, steady breathing lofts minute food particles into the nasal cavity, where they contribute to your perception of flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Little Galaxy Keeps Churning Out Stars
The recently discovered small galaxy Leo P contains only about a hundred-thousandth as many stars as the Milky Way, but it's bucking the small galaxy trend by continuing to make new ones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Howler Monkeys Trade Testicles for Decibels
Among howler monkey species, loud calls come at the expense of testicle size and sperm production—or to put it another way, monkeys with the largest testes don't make as much noise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Stone Age Pottery Reveals Signs of Beekeeping
Beeswax residues found on shards of stone age pottery in the Mediterranean region indicate that humans were keeping honeybees as early as 9,000 years ago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What Makes Sand Dunes Sing
Engineers at Caltech discovered that for sand dunes to produce sound they need a dry layer on top that amplifies internal frequencies during sand movement. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brain Rhythms Sync to Musical Beat
The human brain's neurons fire in sync to music, and trained musicians are better at it than are amateurs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brain Responds to Driving Routes Repeatedly
Learning detailed navigation information causes the hippocampus to interact with other regions of the brain involved in location Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Arctic Marine Mammals Swim Up to the Microphone
As Arctic sea ice melts, an underwater recording project reveals that the submerged ecology is undergoing change, with humpbacks and killer whales staying north later in the year. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices