Scientific American

Science Quickly

Science EN ↓ 1942 episodes

Host Rachel Feltman, alongside leading science and tech journalists, dives into the rich world of scientific discovery in this bite-size science variety show.

Author

Scientific American

Episodes

Monkey Cousins Use Similar Calls 17.06.2019 3:25

Two monkey species who last shared a common ancestor 3 million years ago have "eerily similar" alarm calls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Millipedes Avoid Interspecies Sexual Slips 16.06.2019 4:24

Millipedes, often blind, have come up with clever physical signals to ward off sexual advances from members of wrong species. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You Contain Multitudes of Microplastics 13.06.2019 3:52

People appear to consume between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles annually, and that's probably a gross underestimate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Biodegradable Label Doesn't Make It So 12.06.2019 4:20

At the third Scientific American “Science on the Hill” event, “Solving the Plastic Waste Problem”, one of the issues discussed by experts on Capitol Hill was biodegradability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

High School Cheaters Nabbed by Neural Network 06.06.2019 3:10

Researchers trained a neural network to scrutinize high school essays and sniff out ghostwritten papers. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preserved Poop Is an Archaeological Treasure 04.06.2019 3:01

Anthropologists found parasite eggs in ancient poop samples, providing a glimpse of human health as hunter-gatherers transitioned to settlements. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remembering Murray Gell-Mann 03.06.2019 3:26

Murray Gell-Mann, 1969 Nobel Laureate in Physics who identified the quark, died May 24th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonobo Mothers Supervise Their Sons' Monkey Business 29.05.2019 3:32

Some wild female bonobos introduce their sons to desirable females—then make sure their relations won’t be interrupted by competing males. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Music May Orchestrate Better Brain Connectivity in Preterm Infants 28.05.2019 3:53

Preterm babies who listened to music in the neonatal intensive care unit had brain activity that more closely resembled that of full-term babies. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Icy Room Temperatures May Chill Productivity  23.05.2019 3:21

A new study suggests women's performance on math and verbal tasks increases as room temperature rises, up to about the mid 70s F. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bird Beak Shapes Depend on More Than Diet 22.05.2019 3:12

A study found that only a small percentage of bird beak shape variation is dependent on diet, with other factors like display and nest construction probably playing parts too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ancient Gum Gives Archaeologists Something to Chew On 20.05.2019 3:41

Chewing gums discovered in western Sweden contain the oldest human DNA found in Scandinavia. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobelist: Harness Evolution as a Problem-Solving Algorithm 17.05.2019 3:52

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 16.05.2019 4:00

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 15.05.2019 4:13

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 14.05.2019 3:00

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 13.05.2019 4:13

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 08.05.2019 3:16

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? 06.05.2019 2:53

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 02.05.2019 4:03

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 01.05.2019 3:46

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 30.04.2019 3:23

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 29.04.2019 3:30

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 27.04.2019 3:33

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 26.04.2019 4:26

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