Is Lying a Good Strategy?
A new documentary film presents the science behind when and why people lie. Daisy Yuhas reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 11, 2015•3 min
Science Quickly
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
Wild Chimps Seen Drinking Alcoholic Beverage
In west Africa researchers observed wild chimps seek out and drink fermented tree sap left outside by humans. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 09, 2015•3 min
Color You Remember Seeing Isn't What You Saw
People tend to remember a color they saw, for example green-blue teal, as being closer to a more stereotypical variant, such as straight blue or green. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 09, 2015•3 min
Ancient Human Migration Route Marked by Snail Shell "Bread Crumbs"
Fragments of edible marine snail shells found in Lebanon support the idea that ancient humans went from Africa to Europe through the Levant. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 06, 2015•3 min
"Brainprints" Could Be Future Security ID
We all emit slightly different brain waves in response to stimuli, and researchers say that an individual’s specific "brainprints" could be used to validate our identities. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 05, 2015•4 min
Frenzy-Feeding Black Hole Makes Galaxy Most Luminous
A galaxy 12.5 billion light-years away gives off the light of 300 trillion suns, because its feeding black hole produces enough heat to set the whole galaxy's dust glowing. Lee Billings reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 04, 2015•3 min
Vaccine Aims at Fly Host of Disease Parasite
An experimental leishmaniasis vaccine relies on eliciting an immune response to a protein from the saliva of the sand fly that carries the leishmania parasite, rather than on anything from the parasite itself. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 03, 2015•3 min
Chimps Would "Cook" Food If They Could
A new study suggests that chimps have the cognitive skills necessary for cooking—such as patience—even if they don't control fire. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 02, 2015•4 min
High Heels Heighten Health Hazard
Emergency room visits due to high heel shoe–related injuries doubled between 2002 and 2012. Erika Beras reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 01, 2015•3 min
Parrotfish Build Islands with Their Poop
Parrotfish munching on algae ingest coral and then eliminate the rocky substrate, creating island-building grade sediment in places like the Maldives. Julia Rosen reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 31, 2015•3 min
Blood Pressure Vaccine Lengthens Rat Lives
A DNA-based vaccine gave rats six months of protection against high blood pressure as well as healthier hearts. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2015•3 min
CSI: Middle Pleistocene
Skull fragments dating back 430,000 years appear to be those of the world's first known murder victim, based on the damage observed. Dina Maron reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2015•3 min
Mummy Mavens Unwrap Preservation Methods
In 1994 researchers made a mummy. Now scientists have reverse engineered the process to figure out how it's done, with the mummy makers still around to tell them how they did. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 27, 2015•3 min
Smart Cane Could Help Blind ID Faces
High-tech sticks could help visually impaired people spot obstacles and even identify acquaintances as they approach. Larry Greenemeier reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 26, 2015•3 min
Dolphin Deaths Linked to 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Unusual adrenal and lung conditions seen in dead dolphins in the months after the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill point to the oil as the cause. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 21, 2015•4 min
Octopus Skin Senses Light, No Eyes or Brain Needed
The skin of a California octopus species has a molecular light-sensing mechanism that allows it to change color to match its surroundings with no input from the creature's eyes or brain. Dina Fine Maron reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 20, 2015•3 min
First Woman MLBer Will Probably Pitch
Contemporary women's baseball chronicler Jennifer Ring says the fastest women pitchers currently hit speeds in the 80s (mph) and it keeps going up. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 19, 2015•3 min
Seashell Shapes Show Strength for Safety
Analysis of clamshell and screw-shaped shells reveals the structures withstand much greater forces than would a simple sphere or cylinder. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 15, 2015•3 min
In the Future Robopets Won't Be Far-Fetched
An animal behaviorist ponders a future where some Spots are robots. Larry Greenemeier reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 14, 2015•3 min
Crop Rotation Works in the Sea, Too
Models show that leaving sea cucumbers unharvested in some underwater zones for two years at a time stabilizes the overall population and actually increases yield for fishers. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 13, 2015•3 min
Food for Sale Everywhere Fuels Obesity Epidemic
A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research blames 40 percent of the rise in obesity on the ubiquity of supercenters, warehouse clubs and restaurants. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 12, 2015•3 min
Netflix CEO Peers at Crystal Ball to See TV's Future
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, gave his view of the next couple of decades in the evolution of TV-watching at the re:publica 15 digital culture conference in Berlin on May 5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 11, 2015•4 min
May 9 Is Big Day for the Birds
Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Chris Wood explains the May 9 Global Big Day event, in which birders worldwide are invited to spot birds and upload their findings to the eBird database. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 08, 2015•4 min
Mars Travelers Could Suffer Radiation Brain Damage
Mice exposed to radiation akin to what astronauts to Mars would receive experienced cognitive impairment. Lee Billings reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 07, 2015•3 min
Wheat Genes Could Bring Back Chestnut
Scientists have introduced genes into the American chestnut from wheat that help disarm the fungus that killed almost all three billion of the trees in the eastern U.S. David Biello reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 06, 2015•3 min
Pop Music Gets Its Fossil Record Analyzed
An investigation of more than 17,000 hit tunes suggests popular music undergoes periods of shifting diversity, and that new styles evolve in bursts. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 05, 2015•5 min
Space Supervoid Sucks Energy from Light
A vast region of space colder than expected is also largely devoid of galaxies, and the two observations are no coincidence. Clara Moskowitz reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 04, 2015•3 min
Latex Lining Could Quiet Plane Rides
Engineers devised a latex-laced honeycomb material that could make an airplane cabin sound more like a quiet living room. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 01, 2015•3 min
Parkinson's Pen Vibrates to Improve Legibility
Device stimulates hand muscles to counteract writing issues experienced by some people with Parkinson’s. Larry Greenemeier reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 30, 2015•3 min
Infants Already Glued to Multiple Screens
A new survey suggests that most kids by age two are using tablets and smartphones, sometimes while watching TV. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 29, 2015•3 min
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