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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

We Emit Clouds of Microbes Wherever We Go

Humans shed a million particles an hour, and those microbe-laced clouds are sometimes unique enough to identify the person producing them. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 23, 20153 min

House Dust Organisms Reveal Location and Residents

The particular fungi found in house dust can tell investigators where you live, and the bacteria in the dust can give away who and what you live with Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 22, 20153 min

Biosciences Get Defense Secretary's Attention

At the recent DARPA Wait What? conference, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said lifesaving technologies are a priority for his department Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 21, 20154 min

Teenage Clockmaker Upholds Long Scientific Tradition

As Daniel Boorstin, former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of History, once put it, clockmakers were the "pioneer scientific instrument makers" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 18, 20153 min

Nonpolitical Tweets May Reveal Political Bias

Word selection among Twitter users who could be identified as likely members of one or the other political party showed specific usage patterns. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 17, 20153 min

California Mountain Snowpack Is Flaking Out

With the Sierra Nevada snowpack at historic lows, should policy makers focus on capturing future rain instead of relying on the snow bank? Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 15, 20153 min

Snake Bites in Costa Rica Peak with El Niño Cycling

Researchers found that snakebites were two to three times as prevalent in the hottest and coldest years of the El Niño climate cycle. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 11, 20153 min

Sperm Whales Congregate in Click-Based Cliques

The whales appear to prefer the company of "like-minded" individuals, based on common vocal clicking behavior—an example of culture, researchers say. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 10, 20153 min

Better Road Signs Could Save Bicycle Riders

Signs that say "Share the Road" with bicycles may have far less influence over motor vehicle driver behavior than would signs saying "Bicycles May Use Full Lane." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 04, 20153 min

Road Noise Takes a Toll on Migrating Birds

Researchers built a "phantom road" through wilderness using tree-mounted speakers to play traffic sounds, and witnessed a decline in bird fitness and diversity. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 01, 20154 min

Terse Titles Cited

Scientific papers with shorter titles receive more citations than those with long-winded headings Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 31, 20153 min

Sick Ants Seek Out Medicinal Food

Healthy ants wanted nothing to do with free-radical-rich foodstuff, but ants exposed to a pathogenic fungus sought it out, which upped their odds of survival. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 27, 20153 min

Seaweed Bodyguards Coral against Bullying Sea Stars

Crown-of-thorns sea stars are an "underwater swarm of locusts" that devour coral—unless the coral is protected by a layer of seaweed. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 26, 20154 min

Cosmetic Ads' Science Claims Lack Foundation

An analysis of some 300 cosmetics ads in magazines found the vast majority of their science claims to be either false or too vague to judge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 25, 20153 min

Deep Voice Gives Politicians Electoral Boost

Two new studies find that a deeper voice gives a politican an edge over a higher-pitched opponent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 24, 20154 min

Vomit Machine Models Cruise-Ship Virus Spread

Using a simulated vomiting device, scientists determined that projectile vomiting can aerosolize noroviruslike particles, allowing the infection to spread short distances through the air. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 22, 20154 min

Methane-Eating Microbes May Mitigate Arctic Emissions

A newly discovered strain of bacteria found in Arctic permafrost harvests methane from the air—meaning it could help mitigate the effects of warming. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 19, 20153 min

Chinese Cave Graffiti Agrees with Site's Drought Evidence

Researchers linked dated graffiti about droughts in a cave in China to physical evidence in the cave of the water shortages, such as changes in ratios of stable isotopes in specific layers of stalagmites Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 18, 20153 min

Whistled Language Forces Brain to Modify Usual Processing

Both hemispheres are involved in the brains of people interpreting a whistled variant of Turkish, compared with a left hemisphere dominance when listeners hear the spoken language Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 17, 20153 min

Invertebrates Are Forgotten Victims of "Sixth Extinction"

Some 95 percent of catalogued species in one family of Hawaiian land snails could already be extinct, and similar rates of invertebrate extinction could be happening around the world. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 14, 20154 min

Nicotine-Chomping Bacteria Could Help Smokers Quit

Researchers isolated a bacterial enzyme that could break down nicotine before smokers get the buzz that keeps them coming back for more. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 13, 20153 min

Women Left out in Cold by Office A-C Standards

Indoor climate control systems are based on 1960s standards that envisioned the typical office worker to be a 40-year-old, 68-kilogram man Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 12, 20153 min

Fish Slime Inspires New Eco-Sunscreen Ingredient

Researchers have developed a new ecofriendly sunscreen molecule that protects against both UV-A and UV-B rays, and could also be used to create more durable paints and plastics. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 07, 20153 min

Microbes Deep under Seafloor Reflect Ancient Land Origins

Microbes 2,500 meters below the seafloor in Japan are most closely related to bacterial groups that thrive in forest soils on land, suggesting that they might be descendants of ones that survived when their terrestrial habitat was flooded 20 million years ago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 06, 20153 min

Spicy Food Linked to Lower Risk of Death

In a study of nearly half a million volunteers in China, those who ate chilies just a couple times a week had a 10 percent lower risk of death. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 05, 20153 min
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