Science Quickly

By entering your health status, even if you’re feeling fine, at the Web site COVID Near You, you can help researchers develop a nationwide look at where hotspots of coronavirus are occurring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When vampire bats feel sick, they still engage in prosocial acts such as sharing food with nonrelatives. But they cut back on grooming anyone other than their closest kin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen in as I use two calculators to track the difference in numbers of infections over a short period of time, depending on how many people each infected individual infects on average. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They’re not born pregnant like tribbles, but swamp wallabies routinely get pregnant while pregnant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ocean plastic gets covered with algae and other marine organisms, making it smell delicious to sea turtles—with potentially deadly results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The growth layers in a 70-million-year-old clam shell indicate that a year back then had more than 370 days, with each day being only about 23.5 hours. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As oceans heat up, the ubiquitous noise of snapping shrimp should increase, posing issues for other species and human seagoing ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an example of how sea noise can harm species, exposed shore crabs changed camouflaging color sluggishly and were slower to flee from simulated predators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Studies on very old vegetation in the Amazon basin show active management hundreds of years ago on species such as Brazil nut and cocoa trees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By breaking 900 classical piano compositions into musical chunks, researchers could track Ludwig van Beethoven’s influence on the composers who followed him. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the world, including one from off the California coast about the first heart rate measurement done on a blue whale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Increasing or decreasing the altitude of aircraft by a few thousand feet to avoid thin layers of humidity could make a major reduction to contrails’ contribution to climate change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inbreeding in Thoroughbreds has increased significantly in the past 45 years, with the greatest rise occurring in the past 15 or so of them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hippos that escaped from drug kingpin Pablo Escobar’s private zoo are reproducing in the wild. And with increasing numbers, they could threaten ecosystems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Art created by Australian Aboriginal people used organic carbon-free pigments, but wasp nests above or below the art can be used for radiocarbon dating that supplies boundaries for the age of artworks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ice cores from a Tibetan glacier reveal the first deposits of industrial revolution pollution, starting in layers dated to about 1780. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new study in mice concludes stress can cause gray hair—and credits overactive nerves with the change in hue. Karen Hopkin reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A very fine grind can actually hamper espresso brewing, because particles may clump more than larger particles will. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most feral dogs that did not run away from humans were able to respond to hand cues about the location of food—even without training. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neandertals ate clams and then modified the hard shells into tools for cutting and scraping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whiskeys claimed to be from the 19th century are revealed to be made with much more recently grown barley, thanks to the unique isotopic fingerprint of the nuclear-testing era.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By outfitting 169 albatrosses with GPS data loggers, scientists were able to track fishing boats apparently trying to hide their location. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are a few brief reports about international science and technology from around the world, including one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo about a toad that has evolved coloring that makes it look like a deadly snake’s head. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Groundhogs are less accurate at weather forecasting than are coin flips, but they are nonetheless pretty interesting critters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One hypothesis says the ability to vocalize arose in nocturnal animals—and a new evolutionary analysis suggests there may be some truth to it. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices