Honeybees Can Put Two and Two Together
The tiny brain of a honeybee is apparently able to calculate small numbers' addition and subtraction. Annie Sneed reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 23, 2019•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
4/20 Traffic Accidents Claim Curbed
A deeper data dive calls into question a 2018 study that found a spike in fatal traffic accidents apparently related to marijuana consumption on this date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 20, 2019•5 min
Hyena Society Stability Has Last Laugh
Female hyenas keep their clans in line by virtue of their complex social networks. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 19, 2019•4 min
Gluten-Free Restaurant Foods Are Often Mislabeled
One in three gluten-free dishes tested at restaurants contained gluten—especially GF pizzas and pastas. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 18, 2019•3 min
What Chickens Can Teach Hearing Researchers
At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, neuroscientists James Hudspeth and Robert Fettiplace talked about the physiology of hearing and the possibility of restoring hearing loss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 17, 2019•5 min
Nobelist Says System of Science Offers Life Lessons
At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, economist Paul Romer talked about how the social system of science offers hope for humanity and for how we can live with each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 16, 2019•4 min
Squeezed Potassium Atoms Straddle Liquid and Solid
At extreme pressures, potassium atoms can be both liquid and solid at the same time, a phase of matter known as "chain melt." Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 12, 2019•3 min
Urban Coyote Evolution Favors the Bold
Coyotes become fearless around people in just a few generations—which isn’t good for their longterm co-existence with humans in cities. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 11, 2019•4 min
Computers Turn an Ear on New York City
NYU’s “Sounds of New York City” project listens to the city—and then, with the help of citizen scientists, teaches machines to decode the soundscape. Jim Daley reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 10, 2019•3 min
Whitening Strips Alter Proteins in Teeth
Hydrogen peroxide in whitening treatments penetrates enamel and dentin, and alters tooth proteins. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 09, 2019•3 min
Infrared Light Offers a Cooler Way to Defrost
Light tuned to a specific frequency warms ice more than water—which could come in handy for defrosting delicate biological samples. Adam Levy reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 08, 2019•4 min
Spider Monkeys Optimize Jungle Acoustics
The monkeys lower the pitch of their "whinnies" when they're far from the rest of their group, which might help the calls travel further through jungle foliage. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 04, 2019•3 min
Tennessee Whiskey Relies on Missing Ingredients
Food chemists precisely measured how charcoal filtration contributes to Tennessee whiskey's smoother flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 02, 2019•4 min
There's a Word for Today
English lacks some words that other languages pack with meaning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 01, 2019•3 min
Bumblebee Queens Prefer Layovers to Nonstop Flights
Scientists tracked bumblebee queens with radar when they emerged from hibernation and found the bees take only brief flights en route to a new nest. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 28, 2019•3 min
Scenic City Sights Linked to Higher Happiness
Tracking the location and mood of 15,000 people, researchers found that scenic beauty was linked to happiness—including near urban sights like bridges and buildings. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 26, 2019•3 min
Tech's Brain Effect: It's Complicated
We don't yet know what the immersion in technology does to our brains, but one neuroscientist says the answer is likely to be that there's good, there's bad, and it's complex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 25, 2019•4 min
Daylight Brings Toxic Beetles Together for Safety
During daylight hours, hundreds of bombardier beetles of multiple species will congregate together to more effectively ward off any predators not afraid of a lone beetle's toxic spray. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 22, 2019•4 min
Solar Jets Cause Standing Waves in Earth's Magnetic Field
When jets of charged particles from the sun hit our magnetosphere, some of the ensuing ripples travel toward the northern and southern poles and get reflected back. The resulting interference allows standing waves to form, like on a drumhead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 19, 2019•4 min
Sing Solo for Higher Fidelity
By tracking duetting choir singers, researchers found that when an individual singer's pitch drifts off tune their partner’s tend to too. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 18, 2019•4 min
Edible Insect Breeding Led to Larger but Not Necessarily Better Larvae
Researchers aiming to lower the cost of mealworms were able to double the worms' size, but the larger larvae had fewer eggs and weaker offspring. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 14, 2019•3 min
Busting Earth-Bound Asteroids a Bigger Job Than We Thought
A new model suggests smashing killer space rocks with insufficient force could let gravity pull the pieces back together. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 12, 2019•4 min
Weekday–Weekend Sleep Imbalance Bad for Blood Sugar Regulation
Weekday sleep deprivation with weekend make-up sleeping seems to be worse for blood sugar control than even chronic sleep deprivation alone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 11, 2019•4 min
Warm-Blooded Animals Lost Ability to Heal the Heart
Thyroid hormone, which helps warm-blooded animals regulate body temperature, also appears to put a halt on heart regeneration. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 07, 2019•4 min
Animal Migrations Track with Wikipedia Searches
By analyzing nearly 2.5 billion Wikipedia page views, researchers found species searches reflect seasonal animal migrations and plant blooming. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 06, 2019•3 min
Baseball Commish Talks Big Data
At a sports technology conference, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred addressed issues including an automated strike zone and advanced analytics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 05, 2019•4 min
Background Music Might Stifle Creativity
Volunteers who listened to music solved fewer word puzzles than others who worked in silence. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 04, 2019•4 min
Science News Briefs from around the Globe
A few brief reports about international science and technology from Greenland to Palau, including one on the discovery of a trove of mummified cats in Egypt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 03, 2019•3 min
Budding Yeast Produce Cannabis Compounds
Biologists have taken the genes that produce cannabinoids in weed and plugged them into yeast, making rare and novel compounds more accessible. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 28, 2019•4 min
Who Has "the Right Stuff" for Mars?
Humans traveling to Mars will be required to operate with a degree of autonomy human astronauts have never had, due to communication delays. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 26, 2019•4 min
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