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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

Howler Monkeys Trade Testicles for Decibels

Among howler monkey species, loud calls come at the expense of testicle size and sperm production—or to put it another way, monkeys with the largest testes don't make as much noise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 13, 20153 min

Stone Age Pottery Reveals Signs of Beekeeping

Beeswax residues found on shards of stone age pottery in the Mediterranean region indicate that humans were keeping honeybees as early as 9,000 years ago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 12, 20153 min

What Makes Sand Dunes Sing

Engineers at Caltech discovered that for sand dunes to produce sound they need a dry layer on top that amplifies internal frequencies during sand movement. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 11, 20154 min

Brain Rhythms Sync to Musical Beat

The human brain's neurons fire in sync to music, and trained musicians are better at it than are amateurs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 10, 20153 min

Brain Responds to Driving Routes Repeatedly

Learning detailed navigation information causes the hippocampus to interact with other regions of the brain involved in location Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 06, 20153 min

Arctic Marine Mammals Swim Up to the Microphone

As Arctic sea ice melts, an underwater recording project reveals that the submerged ecology is undergoing change, with humpbacks and killer whales staying north later in the year. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 05, 20154 min

Decoy Mating Call Battles Citrus Pest

Researchers developed a call that effectively mimics the citrus psyllid's mating song, which could be a weapon against a devastating crop scourge. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 03, 20153 min

Methane Plumes Bubbling along U.S. Northwest Coast

Researchers report a spike in the number of methane plumes along the Northwest coast emanating from depths of about 500 meters, a possible indication that submerged frozen methane is becoming available Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 02, 20154 min

Cultural Goofs Gear Up Gray Matter

People exposed to incongruent situations, such as Halloween-themed plates at a Labor Day picnic, performed better on cognitive-reasoning tests and were less likely to make impulse purchases or overeat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 29, 20153 min

Whale Poop Drives Global Nutrient Cycling

Whales fertilize ocean surface waters with key nutrients like phosphorus, which move through the food chain, and eventually, onto land. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 28, 20154 min

Road Runoff a No-No for Coho

Researchers have found the first direct evidence that coho salmon near U.S. Northwest cities are being killed by chemical runoff from roads and parking lots that reach streams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 26, 20153 min

Political and Industry Leaders Make a Case for Basic Research

At the “Innovation: An American Imperative” symposium October 20 on Capitol Hill, industry leaders and members of Congress talked about shoring up federal support for basic research and development Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 24, 20153 min

TV Crime Shows Influence Sex Consent Views

College students who watched episodes of the various Law & Order episodes had a better understanding of sexual consent issues than those who watched two other crime procedural franchises Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 22, 20153 min

Beet Juice Could Help Body Beat Altitude

Beet juice contains nitrates, which the body can convert to nitric oxide, a chemical that relaxes blood vessels and makes it easier to function in conditions of low oxygen. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 21, 20153 min

Fall Foliage Timing Comes into Clearer Focus

Researchers picked apart satellite imagery from two New England forest ecosystems to get a better handle on exactly what factors influence the timing of the color changes of the autumn leaves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 20, 20153 min

Apple Thins iPhone Cloud Connections

The company’s moves to have iPhones be less dependent on the cloud and to be more encrypted could mean more user privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 19, 20153 min

Dino's Tail Might Have Whipped It Good

Researchers built a physical model of the tail of the late Jurassic dinosaur Apatosaurus and found that its tail tip could have moved at supersonic speed to produce a whip-crack sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 16, 20153 min

Babies Move Tongue to Learn New Tongues

Infants seemed to be able to differentiate between two different "D" sounds in Hindi—but only when their tongue movements weren't blocked by a teething device. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 15, 20153 min

Pluto Mission Targets Next Kuiper Belt Object

Alan Stern, principal investigator of NASA’s New Horizons Mission, explains that with Pluto in the rearview mirror, the spacecraft will continue on to a smaller Kuiper Belt body Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 14, 20154 min

Magnetic Field May Be a Map for Migratory Birds

It's well known birds can use Earth's magnetic field as their compass, but they may also use magnetism as their map. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 13, 20153 min

Wildlife Tourism Could Be "Domesticating" Wild Animals

Human tourism—no matter how well-intentioned—might desensitize wild animals to poachers and predators, affecting their odds of survival. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 09, 20154 min

Babies Just Want to Be Smiled at

By studying the interactions of babies and their mothers, researchers determined that babies smile in hopes others will smile at them. Erika Beras reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 08, 20153 min

2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich, Aziz Sancar for mechanistic studies of DNA repair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 07, 20154 min

2015 Nobel Prize in Physics

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald for the discovery that one kind of neutrino can change into another, which shows that neutrinos have mass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 06, 20154 min

2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes jointly to William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura for their studies leading to novel therapies against infections caused by roundworm parasites and to Youyou Tu for her work developing a novel therapy against malaria Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 05, 20154 min

Cheap Goods from China Have a High Carbon Cost

Because China relies on coal for much of its power, goods produced there can have a dirtier carbon footprint than those produced elsewhere. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 02, 20153 min

MacArthur Genius Grant Winner Probes the Pruning Brain

Harvard neuroscientist Beth Stevens wins a MacArthur Fellowship for studies of how microglia cells prune away excess neuronal synapses during brain development and how that necessary function might go awry in neurodegenerative diseases Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 01, 20154 min

MacArthur Genius Grant Winner Makes Waste a Resource

Environmental engineer Kartik Chandran of Columbia University won a MacArthur Fellowship for his work on extracting nutrients and energy from wastewater and sewage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 29, 20154 min

Ancient Human Ancestors Heard Differently

Early human species may have had sharper hearing in certain frequencies than we enjoy, to facilitate short-range communication in an open environment. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 25, 20153 min

Sitting Not the New Smoking for Fidgeters

Sitting for more than seven hours a day is linked to a 30 percent higher risk of death, but that association disappears among the in-place movers and shakers. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 24, 20154 min
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