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.

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Scientific American

Episodes

La Niña Conditions Spin Up More Springtime Twisters 18.03.2015 3:17

Severe weather forecasters could incorporate El Niño and La Niña cycling to make springtime tornado and hail forecasts. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Human Remains Double Known Rainforest Occupation Time 17.03.2015 2:40

Physical remains in Sri Lanka show that people lived in rainforests 20,000 years ago, at least 10,000 years earlier than previous evidence showed. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crowd-Sourced Medical Research Gets Apple Assist 16.03.2015 2:53

What’s called ResearchKit enables scientists to more easily write mobile apps that take advantage of iPhone sensors to study asthma, Parkinson’s and other diseases. Larry Greenemeier reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

<i>Big Bang</i> Sitcom Stars <i>Scientific American</i> Tonight 12.03.2015 2:44

On the March 12 episode of The Big Bang Theory, a mock copy of Scientific American becomes a key part of the plot. The sitcom's science advisor, U.C.L.A. physicist David Saltzberg, talks about the show's reach to the lay public. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Background Music Jams Memory in Older Adults 11.03.2015 2:48

People of all ages find background sound distracting, but noise appears to impede memory formation in older people. Erika Beras reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some European Languages Came by Steppe 10.03.2015 3:13

A new genetic analysis reveals a massive migration from the central Asian grasslands into Europe 4,500 years ago—implying that some languages followed. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Animals Can Be Given False Memories 09.03.2015 3:34

Two studies, one with bees and one with mice, show that the brain can be manipulated into having a memory of an occurrence that did not in reality happen. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whale Grandmas' Longevity Linked to Knowledge 05.03.2015 2:51

Whale females, like humans, live well past menopause, a trait possibly selected for because their knowledge base can help their entire clan survive. Dina Fine Maron reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Salty Skin Boosts Mouse Wound Healing 04.03.2015 2:32

Mice fed a diet high in sodium had increased immune cell activity in their skin that helped ward off infection. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Titan Could Host Life "Not As We Know It" 03.03.2015 3:12

Saturn's moon Titan is too cold for cell membranes to form as they do on Earth. But researchers have come up with a cell membrane that could exist on Titan. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate Skeptic Senator Burned after Snowball Stunt 02.03.2015 3:19

Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe carried a snowball onto the Senate floor to insinuate that climate change was not real, after which Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse torched Inhofe's argument. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Air Force Space Command General on Keeping Space Collision-Free 27.02.2015 3:52

Gen. John Hyten, Commander, U.S. Air Force Space Command, talks about the task of tracking all the materials in orbit and keeping them from crashing into one another. Steve Mirsky and Larry Greenemeier report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Britain Imported Wheat 2,000 Years before Growing It 26.02.2015 2:46

Sediments at a Britsh archaeological site include wheat remains dating back 8,000 years, meaning that Britons were bringing in European wheat two millennia before they grew it. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fishes' Lateral Lines Sense Pressure and Predators 25.02.2015 2:39

Flow sensors on the bodies of many fishes act like a hydrodynamic antenna, picking up signals about the flow of water around them. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Science Wins at the Oscars 23.02.2015 2:36

Science was in the spotlight at the 87th annual Academy Awards ceremony Sunday night, from actors playing scientists to winners thanking them. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beaver Teeth Have Iron Advantage 23.02.2015 3:04

Beaver enamel is rich in iron—which is even more effective than fluoride at staving off cavities. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nectar Helps Bees’ Medicine Go Down 20.02.2015 2:56

In addition to fuel, nectar from various plant species contains chemical compounds that reduce the numbers of a common gut parasite in bumblebees. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pot Munchies Explained By Re-Tasked Neurons 19.02.2015 2:57

Marijuana boosts users' appetities by changing the signals brain cells produce from sated to still hungry. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hot Chili Peppers Motivate Mice to Burn Fat 17.02.2015 2:35

Rodents fed capsaicin voluntarily exercised more than their furry friends on a lower-heat diet. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humans off the Hook for Alaskan Mastodon Extinction 16.02.2015 3:31

A reexamination of museum mastodon specimens provides evidence that that last ones were gone from what's called the Beringia region well before any humans showed up. Emily Schwing reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Triskaidekaphobia Plays Role in Paraskevidekatriaphobia 13.02.2015 3:10

Some random historical facts about the number 13 may be behind some people's irrational aversion to Friday the 13th. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Contraception Could Prevent 15 Million Unwanted Pregnancies Annually 12.02.2015 2:53

Fifteen million unwanted pregnancies in 35 low- and middle-income countries could be avoided if women had access to and freedom to use contraception. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preindustrial Pollution Pestered Peru 11.02.2015 2:40

Ice cores show a sudden rise in heavy metal air pollution in South America 240 years before the industrial revolution, probably due to metallurgy and mining. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subway DNA Survey Finds Microbes, Mozzarella and Mystery 10.02.2015 3:28

Scientists sequenced genetic material found in all 468 New York City subway stations, and nearly half matched no known organism. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Newton Figured Out How Tree Sap Rises 09.02.2015 2:48

Buried in one of Isaac Newton's college notebooks is a page on which he fairly accurately theorizes on the process of transpiration in plants, two centuries before the concept was elucidated. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices