Science Quickly

People in certain zip codes are more likely to purchase products that flop, buy homes that are poor investments and pick political candidates who lose. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Residents of an overwintering station in Antarctica provided linguists with evidence of the first small changes in speech that may signal the development of a new accent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Archaeologists unearthed wood from a Roman villa when digging Rome’s subway—and scientists determined the planks came all the way from France. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The white bellbird of the Amazon may be the loudest bird in the world.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Playing the sounds of a healthy reef near damaged corals may help bring the fish community back. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A study done in South America found that with increasing population density, humans had more diversity of fungi on the skin but less microbial diversity in the gut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fiber-optic cables that connect the global Internet could potentially be used as seismic sensors. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Mexico to Tanzania, including one about the need to quarantine bananas in Colombia that are potentially infected by a fungus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ground-penetrating radar can detect tiny density differences that lead to images of ancient footprints impossible to discern by eye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indigenous artists in what’s now British Columbia created pigments by cooking aquatic bacteria. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recycled wastewater can be cleaner than bottled water, but people still avoid drinking it because of their disgust over its past condition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bots masquerading as humans in a game outperformed their human opponents—but the their superiority vanished when their machine identity was revealed. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers activated specific brain cells in zebra finches to teach them songs they’d ordinarily have to hear to learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pet dogs appeared more interested in videos of a bouncing ball when the motion of the ball matched a rising and falling tone. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Archaeologists working in the ancient city of Hierakonpolis discovered five ceramic vats containing residues consistent with brewing beer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cats are clingier to their human owners than their reputation would suggest. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Study subjects with a gene variant that heightened their sensitivity to bitterness tended to eat fewer vegetables than people who didn’t mind bitter flavors. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A measleslike virus is ricocheting through marine mammal populations in the Arctic—and melting sea ice might be to blame. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers tracked thousands of individual ants to determine how they move in vast numbers without stumbling into gridlock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an analysis of chess and tennis matches, players rising in the rankings did better than expected against higher-ranked opponents and better than similarly ranked players who were not rising.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Within just a third of a second of hearing a snippet of a familiar refrain, our pupils dilate, and the brain shows signs of recognition. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Brazil to Hong Kong, including one about male elephants in India exhibiting unusual social behaviors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pumpkin’s ancestor was an incredibly bitter, tennis-ball-sized squash—but it was apparently a common snack for mastodons. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In cold, northern climates, eggs tend to be darker and browner—heat-trapping colors that allow parents to spend a bit more time away from the nest. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Green crabs learned to navigate a maze without making a single wrong turn—and remembered the skill weeks later. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices