Science Quickly

In the last few decades blue whale calls have been getting lower in pitch—and a rebound in their numbers may be the reason. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smart meters on showerheads encouraged hotel guests to conserve—even though they personally saved no money. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sounds of the Mars InSight Mission control room during the tense minutes leading to the landing on the surface. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taking a swig of red wine before eating Brussels sprouts appears to moderate Brussels sprouts' polarizing flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Freak heavy rainstorms in 2015 and 2017 wiped out many dry-adapted microbes in the Atacama Desert, useful info in the search for life off Earth. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People who had a conflict in a given day but also got hugged were not as affected by the negative interaction as were their unhugged counterparts.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The single organism that is the Utah aspen grove known as Pando is on the decline due to herbivores wiping out its youngest tree outgrowths Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Immigrants to the U.S. lose their native mix of gut microbes almost immediately after arriving in the U.S.—which researchers can't quite explain. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few very brief reports about international science and technology from Alaska to Indonesia, including one on offshore dairy farming from the Netherlands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adult humans laugh primarily on the exhale, but human babies laugh on the inhale and the exhale—as do chimps. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers recorded piranha "honks" and catfish "screeches" in the Peruvian Amazon, which might illuminate fish activity in murky jungle waters. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthropologist Jennifer Raff argues that race is culturally created, but has biological consequences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listening to the sounds panda pairs make when they're introduced could lead to better breeding success. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "low hanging fruit" of genome-related health care will be knowing which drugs are likely to treat you best, says science journalist Carl Zimmer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A tiny fly, related to biting no-see-ums, pollinates cacao trees and enables our chocolate cravings. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bottlenose dolphins simplify and raise the pitch of their whistles to be heard above underwater shipping noise. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Octopuses react to MDMA much like humans do. And not surprisingly, given their anatomy, the animals are excellent huggers. Annie Sneed reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers taught two dozen wild sparrows new songs, by playing them the recordings of sparrows that live thousands of miles away. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By caring for their sick and injured, Neandertals were able to expand into more dangerous environments and pursue more deadly prey. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A study correlating personality traits with financial data found that agreeable people had lower savings, higher debt and higher bankruptcy rates. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bees suddenly fell silent when the sun disappeared during last year's solar eclipse—perhaps because they were tricked into night mode. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

English as-a-first-language Canadian study subjects were less trusting of statements in English spoken with a foreign accent, unless the speaker sounded confident about their assertion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Baby giraffes inherit aspects of their mothers' patterning—which could give them a survival advantage if good camouflage runs in the family. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William Nordhaus shared the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, "for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis,” with Paul Romer, "for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twice a year, thousands of pronghorn antelope and mule deer migrate through Wyoming, and newly built highway crossings are sparing the lives of animals—and motorists. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices