Rev Up Photosynthesis to Boost Crop Yields
Photosynthesis actually is an inefficient process, but a biological chemist is trying to crank it up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 02, 2018•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.
Episodes
13,000-Year-Old Footprints under West Coast Beach
Several feet below a beach in British Columbia, archaeologists discovered soil trampled by human feet—the oldest footprints found so far in North America. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 01, 2018•3 min
Math Cracks a Knuckle-Cracking Mystery
The source of knuckle cracking sounds is much debated—but new mathematical models may reconcile two opposing views. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 29, 2018•3 min
Rotting Flesh Offers Insight on Fossilization
To learn more about decay and fossilization, researchers conduct unorthodox experiments—like dissecting decomposing animals in the lab. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 26, 2018•3 min
Ravens Crow with Individual Flair
Ravens produce different types of calls depending on their age and sex—which might help ravens size up other individuals. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 23, 2018•4 min
U.S. Flu Spread Counts On Southern Cold Snaps
A multifactorial analysis finds that the ignition of a flu epidemic stems from a blast of colder weather striking an otherwise warm, humid, urban environment, and driving people indoors into close quarters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 21, 2018•4 min
Louise Slaughter Was Congress's Food Safety Champion
Upstate New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, who worked for decades on issues such as overuse of antibiotics in agriculture and food safety in general, died March 16 at the age of 88. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 20, 2018•4 min
Arctic Heat Waves Linked to Snowpocalypse-Like Storms
An analysis of more than six decades of daily temperature and snowfall data linked warmer arctic temperatures to cold snaps at lower latitudes. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 18, 2018•3 min
Gut Parasites Have Their Own Gut Microbiomes
The whipworm lives in the human gut, mooching microbes from its host to build its own microbiome. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 15, 2018•3 min
Drones Could Help Biologists Tally Birds
Counting by drone not only saves time and effort, but yields better data on species numbers—a definite plus in terms of conservation. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 12, 2018•4 min
Saliva Protein Might Inhibit Intestinal Anarchy
A protein found in spit prevents bad bugs from binding to intestinal cells in the lab, pointing to a possible way to lower the chances of dysentery. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 10, 2018•3 min
Searching the Heavens for Mountains
Exoplanet hunters are moving beyond simply finding new planets into trying to know what they look like and whether there's surface or subsurface activity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 09, 2018•4 min
Human Echolocators Use Tricks Similar to Bats
People who use echolocating mouth clicks to compensate for low vision increase the number and intensity of clicks when objects are harder to detect. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 06, 2018•4 min
Animal Coloration Can Serve Double Duty
The cinnabar moth caterpillar's coloration pattern warns predators close up, but camouflages the critter from a distance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 05, 2018•4 min
Some Lichen Fungi Let Genes Go Bye
A study of 22 different types of lichens revealed 10 included fungi that had lost a gene for energy production, making them completely dependent on their algal partner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 01, 2018•4 min
To See Gun Injury Drop, Hold an NRA Meeting
When the National Rifle Association holds its national convention, gun injuries drop 20 percent—perhaps because fewer gun owners are around their guns. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 28, 2018•3 min
Big Cities Have Fewer Tweeters Per Capita
But those who do tweet in big cities are more prolific—tweeting more often, on average, than their small-town counterparts. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 26, 2018•3 min
How Baby Birds Learn to Duet
Recordings of songbird duets reveal baby birds learn conversational turn-taking like we do: gradually, and from adults. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 23, 2018•4 min
Mosquitoes Learn the Smell of Danger
The bloodsuckers lose their appetite for attractive scents when they associate those aromas with a likelihood of being swatted. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 22, 2018•4 min
Needed: Info on Biodiversity Change over Time
Understanding an ecosystem means following changes in the abundances and identities of the species present as the clock ticks. The BioTIME database should help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 20, 2018•3 min
Undersea Recordings Reveal a Whale's Tale
By eavesdropping on the calls of blue whales, researchers hope to get a more accurate picture of the massive mammals' distribution and abundance. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 19, 2018•4 min
Seabird Feathers Reveal Less-Resilient Ocean
By analyzing 130 years of seabird feathers, researchers determined that food webs are losing complexity in the Pacific—meaning less-resilient ecosystems. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 15, 2018•4 min
Beetle Liberation Due to Regurgitation
The bombardier beetle can spray its hot brew of toxic chemicals even after bring swallowed, to force a predator into vomiting it back out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 13, 2018•4 min
Old Trees Are Ecosystem Gold
David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University College of Science in Canberra says that older trees play outsize roles in maintaining landscapes and ecosystems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 12, 2018•3 min
Boat Noise Means Fish Can't Learn Their Lessons
Damselfish had trouble learning to avoid predators, when that lesson was accompanied by a soundtrack of buzzing boat engines. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 11, 2018•4 min
Woodpeckers Drum to Their Own Tunes
The length and spacing of woodpecker drum rolls varies enough to tell woodpeckers apart—which could be useful to conservation biologists. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 07, 2018•3 min
Homebodies Economize on Energy Use
Today’s work-from-home, on-demand culture means more days at home—and translates into greater energy savings, too. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 06, 2018•4 min
Killer Whale Culture Revealed by Mimicking Us
Orcas can imitate calls from other whales and even human speech—suggesting they can transmit cultural practices, such as unique dialects. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 02, 2018•3 min
Holiday Cheer Leads to Birth-Rate Spike
During feel-good holiday periods like Christmas and Eid-al-Fitr, romance strikes—leading to a boom in births nine months later. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 01, 2018•5 min
Ticks on Uptick Where Big Game Declines
Areas of Kenya without large wildlife saw tick populations rise as much as 370 percent—meaning more danger to humans. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 31, 2018•4 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android
Open in Metacast