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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

Rising CO2 Pushes Plants to Drink Sparingly

As carbon dioxide levels rise, plants are sipping water more efficiently—which could come in handy in a drier future. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 16, 20174 min

Cannibalism Quells Contagion among Caterpillars

Cannibalistic caterpillars prevent disease from decimating their populations by removing infected individuals. Emily Schwing reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 12, 20173 min

Feds Want to Know Who's Protesting Trump

Internet hosting company DreamHost is battling the U.S. Justice Department over requests for information about people visiting a Web site for organizing protests. Larry Greenemeier reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 11, 20173 min

Windows Vex Bats' Echolocating Abilities

Smooth vertical surfaces like windows reflect sound waves away from bats—meaning bats can't "see" windows and similar obstacles with echolocation. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 07, 20174 min

Wetlands Could Save Cities--and Money, Too

Using insurance industry models, researchers determined that wetlands prevented some $625 million in damages due to Hurricane Sandy. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 06, 20173 min

Rabbit Relatives Reel from Climate Change

Pikas, a hampster-size rabbit relative, have disappeared from a 64-square-mile plot in the northern Sierra Nevada—and climate change is a likely culprit. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 02, 20173 min

Winking Star 6 Centuries Ago Explained

A star that appeared and then vanished in A.D. 1437 was an explosion in a binary star system—which now reveals clues about the life cycle of certain stars. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 01, 20174 min

Grazing Cattle Trim the Menu for Birds

When cattle graze the desert's natural landscape, birds face changes in food availability—and some species are unable to adapt. Jason Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 30, 20174 min

Climate Change Might Shrink Fish

Warmer water boosts fishes' demand for oxygen—and their bodies may shrink in response. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 29, 20173 min

A Fruitful Experiment in Land Conservation

In 1998 an orange juice maker dumped 12,000 tons of orange peels on degraded pastureland in Costa Rica—transforming it into vine-rich jungle. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 25, 20174 min

Recycle Your Eclipse Glasses

Astronomers Without Borders wants to share your used eclipse glasses with kids in other parts of the world for the 2019 total solar eclipse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 23, 20173 min

Seeing 1 Solar Eclipse May Not Be Enough

David Baron, author of the new book American Eclipse, talks about how seeing his first total solar eclipse turned him into an eclipse chaser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 19, 20174 min

"Textalyzer" Aims at Deadly Distracted Driving

A new device promises to tell police when a driver has been sending messages while behind the wheel, but is it legal? Larry Greenemeier reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 14, 20173 min

Climate Change Fires Up Polar Bear Treadmill

Sea ice is drifting faster in the Arctic—which means polar bears need to walk farther to stay in their native range. Emily Schwing reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 10, 20173 min

No Bull: Lizards Flee When They See Red

Western fence lizards are more spooked by red and gray shirts than they are by blue ones—perhaps because the males have blue bellies themselves. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 09, 20174 min

Celebrities Tweet Like Bots

Celebrity Twitter accounts look a lot like Twitter bots: They tweet regularly, follow relatively few people, and upload a lot of content. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 05, 20173 min

Cold Snap Shapes Lizard Survivors

An epic bout of cold weather quickly altered a population of lizards—an example of natural selection in action. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 03, 20175 min

Mediterranean Diet Works--for Upper Crust

Italians who stuck closely to the heart-healthy diet had fewer heart attacks and strokes—but only if they were well-off and/or college educated. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 01, 20173 min

Screams Heard Round the Animal World

Humans appear well equipped to recognize the alarm calls of other animals—perhaps because sounds of distress tend to have higher frequencies. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 31, 20174 min

This Caterpillar Whistles While It Irks

The North American walnut sphinx caterpillar produces a whistle that sounds just like a songbird's alarm call--and the whistle seems to startle birds. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 28, 20173 min

To Buy Happiness, Spend Money on Saving Time

Volunteers who used money to save themselves time were more content than volunteers who purchased themselves physical stuff. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 26, 20174 min

Bacteria Can Be Resistant to Brand-New Antibiotics

Exposure to existing antibiotics can imbue infectious bacteria with resistance that also kicks in against new drugs related to the originals. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 25, 20173 min

Teaching Computers to Enjoy the View

Researchers in the U.K. trained computers to rate photos of parks and cities for what humans consider to be their scenic beauty. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 19, 20173 min

Flying through a Corpse's Clues

Forensic entomologists can chemically analyze fly eggs from a corpse, which might speed up detective work. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 17, 20173 min

Old Records Help Resurrect Historic Quake

Century-old records found in Puerto Rico helped reconstruct the damage caused there by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake—and could help disaster experts plan for the next big one. Julia Rosen reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 14, 20174 min

This Cell Phone Needs No Battery

An experimental cell phone works by absorbing and reflecting radio waves—meaning it's incredibly energy efficient and needs no battery. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 12, 20173 min

Bacteria Might Share the Blame for Eczema

In patients with severe eczema, Staphylococcus aureus strains dominated the skin microbe population—suggesting that certain types of bacteria could worsen eczema flares. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 07, 20173 min

Franklin's Lightning Rod Served Political Ends

Whether lightning rods should have rounded or pointy ends became a point of contention between rebellious Americans and King George III. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 04, 20173 min
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