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Science Quickly

Scientific Americanwww.sciencequickly.com
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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Episodes

Farmed Trout Bred to Fatten Up Fast

An aquaculturist used selective breeding to create strains of farmed fish that fatten up fast on cheap, plentiful feeds such as soybeans and corn. Emily Schwing reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 06, 20163 min

This Algorithm Can Predict Relationship Trouble

By analyzing the vocal patterns of couples in therapy, an algorithm was able to predict whether a relationship would get worse or improve. Erika Beras reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 05, 20163 min

Is Mars Missing a Moon?

A new theory suggests the Red Planet once had a spectacular lunar system. Lee Billings reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 04, 20163 min

Human Ears Can Hear Better-Than-CD Quality (Just Barely)

Listeners can tell the difference between CD-quality music and better-than-CD quality—but only if they train their ears first. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 01, 20164 min

Highway Sounds Might Mask Life-Saving Birdcalls

The call of the tufted titmouse conveys important information about the presence of potential predators. But only if other birds can hear it. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 30, 20163 min

City Lights Trick Trees into an Earlier Spring

Urban light pollution in the U.K. is pushing tree springtime behavior a full week earlier than usual. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 29, 20163 min

Made Ya Look, Monkey

Over their lifetimes, macaques follow the same trajectory as humans in the amount of interest they have in observing what another individual is looking at. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 28, 20163 min

Drowsy Driving Kills 6,400 Americans Annually

Charles Czeisler, director of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, talked about the dangers of drowsy driving at a recent Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Forum called Asleep at the Wheel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 27, 20164 min

Social Spider Groups Need Bold and Shy Members

Social spiders in artificially assembled groups of all bold or all shy members fared less well against predators than a group with some shy and some bold members. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 24, 20164 min

Chocolate Makers Cut Fat with Electricity

Reducing fat from chocolate can gum up manufacturing equipment, making low-fat chocolate hard to produce—but an electric field can help. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 23, 20163 min

Viruses Hijack the Body's Response to Mosquito Bites

When immune cells rush to the site of a mosquito bite, viruses hijack the cells and turn them into viral factories—in mice, at least. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 22, 20163 min

Mongooses Pile on Warthogs--to Groom Them

In the first known example of a mutualistic relationship between two mammal species in which neither is a primate, mongooses feast on ticks and other parasites infesting warthogs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 21, 20164 min

Lizard Stripes May Mess Up Predators' Timing

A lizard's stripes may make them look like they’re moving slower than they really are, confusing predators that tend to aim at the head but may wind up with the tail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 20, 20164 min

Air Pollution Gives Storm Clouds a Stronger, Longer Life

More particulate matter in the air can build stronger, longer-lasting thunderstorms over the tropics, leading to more extreme storms. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 19, 20163 min

Microbes May Contribute to Wine's "Character"

The microbes found in crushed grapes were linked to certain chemical fingerprints in the finished wine. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 16, 20164 min

Fat Gets Gut Bacteria Working against the Waistline

In mice, intestinal microbes respond to a high-fat diet by producing acetate, which triggers the release of a hormone that makes mammals feel hungry, causing them to eat even more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 15, 20163 min

Arctic Researcher Bears Up for Science

Wildlife researcher Joel Berger dons a polar bear outfit to study the reactions of musk oxen to the threat of bears increasingly driven onto the land for food. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 13, 20164 min

Submerged Lost City Really Bacterially Built

What looked like human-made structures underwater off Greece turned out to be millions-of-years-old concretions deposited by bacteria. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 11, 20164 min

Go to the (White) Light

An energy-efficient alternative to LEDs has greater focusing power, for microscopes and spotlights. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 10, 20163 min

Bleached Coral Busts Fish Learning

Damselfish had trouble sniffing out survival clues by their fellows in damaged coral. Jason Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 09, 20164 min

Bigger Glasses Rack Up More Wine Sales

Serving wine in larger glasses boosted sales 10 percent in an English bar, possibly because customers think they're imbibing less per glass. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 08, 20164 min

Shy Fish Prefer to Follow Other Shy Fish

Shy sticklebacks were more likely to emerge from under cover when an equally wary fellow was already out there, rather than when a bold individual was present. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 03, 20163 min

From Wolf to Woof Twice

Dogs may have been domesticated from wolves twice, first in Europe, and again in Asia. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 02, 20163 min

Extreme Life-Forms Could Complicate Carbon Sequestration

Researchers say carbon storage sites should be tested for microbial life, which could potentially convert CO2 to methane—a more potent greenhouse gas. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 31, 20163 min

Knee Sounds Give Docs a Leg Up

A wearable device records the sounds of knees cracking, which could reveal clues about the condition of the joint. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 25, 20163 min

Candidates Tend to Not Dodge Questions

In an analysis of 14 presidential debate transcripts, two thirds of accusations of question-dodging had no merit. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 24, 20163 min

Oldest Chinese Beer Brewery Found

Remnants of a beer-making operation some 5,000 years old have been found in northern China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 23, 20163 min

Giant Tsunami Remnants Spotted on Mars

Evidence indicates that waves as tall as skyscrapers and thousands of kilometers wide once washed over the Red Planet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 20, 20164 min

Red Birds Carry On Colorful Chemistry

Many red-colored birds have to convert yellow pigments in their food into the red pigments that make their feathers and beaks so brilliant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 19, 20164 min

Alliance of Bacterial Strains Disables Antibiotics

Two different antibiotic-resistant E. coli strains have a protective relationship in which each disables a different antibiotic, allowing both to thrive. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 18, 20164 min
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