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

Coyote Size Forces Smartness 21.10.2014 3:40

Topping out at about 20 kilograms, a coyote has to be able to hunt both smaller and bigger prey, and avoid being prey itself, a combination that selects for intelligence. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plant Thorns Increase When Defense Needed 17.10.2014 2:36

In areas with few herbivores acacia plants don't bother to churn out many of the off-putting thorns. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lemur Latrine Trees Serve as Community Bulletin Boards 16.10.2014 3:07

Primatologists spent almost 1,100 hours watching lemurs do their business on their designated tree and concluded that urine and glandular secretions serve as posted messages. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carnivorous Plant Inspires Anticlotting Medical Devices 15.10.2014 2:34

By copying aspects of the slick surfaces of insect-catching pitcher plants, researchers created tubes that can carry blood without promoting the formation of blood clots or bacterial attachment. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Less Well-Off Donate Bigger Income Percentage 13.10.2014 2:43

Wealthier people on average gave a lower percentage to charity in 2012 than they did in 2006, while the less affluent increased their giving. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To Walk, You Have to Fall in Step 09.10.2014 2:32

Motion-capture technology reveals that the body falls forward and sideways as we walk, and the feet come down to restore balance. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 08.10.2014 3:15

Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner share the 2014 chemistry Nobel for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy, which has enabled the study of single molecules in ongoing chemical reactions in living cells. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2014 Nobel Prize in Physics 07.10.2014 3:11

Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura share the physics Nobel for the invention of efficient blue light–emitting diodes, which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 06.10.2014 3:43

John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser share the prize for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reindeer Spit Smacks Down Plant Toxins 03.10.2014 2:37

Compounds in reindeer and moose saliva interfere with the production of toxins in plants that ordinarily stop animals from dining on the vegetation. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good Palm Oil Yields Could Be Bad News 02.10.2014 2:29

Increased palm oil yields could unintentionally have the effect of creating a bigger demand for land for even more palm oil planting. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Central Park Features Worldwide Soil Microbes 01.10.2014 2:52

The soil in Manhattan's Central Park contains microbial life that also exists in deserts, frozen tundra, forests, rainforests and prairies. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sea Garbage Shows Ocean Boundaries 30.09.2014 2:33

Floating refuse reveals ocean currents that in turn show where the world's oceans mix and where they stay relatively discrete. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yeast Coaxed to Make Morphine 29.09.2014 2:39

Genetically manipulated yeast can produce morphine that could help get around the problems with poppy crops, which include climate, disease and war. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crustal Chemistry May Aid in Earthquake Prediction 25.09.2014 3:14

Researchers say chemical changes in groundwater may someday be used to predict quakes four to six months in advance. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fire Cooked Up Early Human Culture 24.09.2014 2:34

An anthropologist studying current hunter–gatherers finds that nighttime around the fire is when conversation turns from business to bonding. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I Got Rhythm, I Got Reading 23.09.2014 2:39

Kids who could keep a beat had superior skills related to reading and language than did those whose rhythm strayed. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dino Devastator Also Ravaged Veggies 19.09.2014 2:59

After the Chicxulub meteorite, more than half the plant species in temperate North America perished along with the dinosaurs, and the composition of post-impact vegetation changed markedly. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Genius Grant Goes to Science Historian 17.09.2014 3:01

New MacArthur Fellow Pamela Long studies the scientific revolution as a result of the interactions of academics and hands-on infrastructure engineers in the 15th and 16th centuries. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leopards Wolf Down Fido in India Ag Area 16.09.2014 2:49

A study of leopard droppings in agricultural western India reveals that the cats primarily eat domestic animals, mostly dogs, but only a small amount of livestock. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bio-Spleen Sucks Pathogens and Toxins from Blood 15.09.2014 2:44

The new device rids the blood of bacteria, fungi, viruses and toxins using nanoscale-size magnetic beads. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Synthetic Fabrics Host More Stench-Producing Bacteria 05.09.2014 2:48

Micrococcus bacteria thrive on the open-air lattice of synthetic fibers—where they sit chomping on the fatty acids in our sweat, turning them into shorter, stinkier molecules. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Turtles Not Among the "Silent Majority" of Reptiles 04.09.2014 2:40

Biologists have identified at least 11 different sounds in the turtle repertoire—but they still have no idea what they mean. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chimp Chatter Now up for Eavesdropping 03.09.2014 2:46

Researchers from the Netherlands have made available online a digitized catalogue of more than 10 hours’ worth of chimpanzee calls. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Tibetans Genetically Adapted to the High Life 02.09.2014 2:37

Ninety percent of Tibetans share a genetic mutation that prevents their blood from becoming dangerously clogged with red blood cells at high altitudes—a response that can be deadly for non-native mountaineers. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices