Science Quickly

We slammed a $330-million spaceship the size of a dairy cow into an asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Here’s what we’re learning about how our first step in planetary defense could save us in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some animals’ babies physically relax when their parents whisk them away from danger. The same thing works for tiny, wailing humans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists partnered with tiger sharks to map seagrass—the unsung hero of ocean conservation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some caterpillars have evolved with antifreeze in their body cavity, allowing them to become cater-Popsicles to survive cold winters. But climate change could threaten that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Josh Fischman and Tanya Lewis explore the pandemic’s mental health toll on teens and young adults. They also delve into the effectiveness of telehealth, which has been booming since the start of the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers who study aphantasia, or the inability to visualize something in your “mind’s eye,” are starting to get a sense of how to accurately measure the condition and what it may mean for those who have it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From space aliens to foreign surveillance, we spoke to experts to find out what’s really going on with the balloon brouhaha. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Successfully mitigating the impacts of climate change will rely heavily on innovation in science and technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Science might be redefining what “life out there” really means. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How romance affects our well-being is a lot more complicated than “they lived happily ever after.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In fair zoo-ona, a pair of star-cross’d pandas take their life. And we learn about whether or not animals can fall in love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you “anxious,” “avoidant” or “disorganized?” So-called attachment styles have taken the Internet by storm. But it turns out there’s a lot more to unpack than people think.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Shayla Love dives into the true story behind the now infamous 36 questions that lead to love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new era in Scientific American audio history is about to drop starting next week. Get ready for a science variety show guaranteed to quench your curiosity in under 10 minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientific American’s short-form podcast has been going for 16 years, three months and seven days, counting today. But it’s time for us to evolve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new study puts the “brain drain hypothesis”—the idea that just having a phone next to you impacts your cognition—to the test to see if the science passes muster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The verdict is in: female dogs actively evaluate human competence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A massive storm slammed into Alaska’s western coast, and there was no ice to stop it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Concertgoers danced more when music was supplemented with low-frequency bass tones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vaccines saved New York City billions of dollars, and China faces public fury over its strict virus-control policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recordings of more than 50 species of turtles and other animals help scientists reassess the origins of acoustic communication in vertebrates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers put this ancient critter through a subzero gauntlet to learn more about what happens to their internal clock while surviving the extreme. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the ashes of the giants of Big Basin Redwoods State Park arise a history of fire suppression and real questions about what happens to the forests in a drought-stricken West Coast going forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this new episode of our coronavirus podcast, we discuss a study that looked at the effects of Paxlovid on long COVID symptoms, and we also talk new bivalent boosters and immunity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New research shows that bees “buzz” in more than the way you might think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices