Ancient Whiz Opens Archaeology Window
The residue of ancient urine can reveal the presence of early stationary herder-farmer communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 13, 2019•4 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.
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Episodes
U.S. Coral Reefs Do $1.8 Billion of Work Per Year
By dampening the energy of waves, coral reefs protect coastal cities from flooding damage and other economic losses. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 08, 2019•3 min
Could Air-Conditioners Help Cool the Planet?
Researchers want to outfit air conditioners with carbon-capture technology. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 06, 2019•3 min
Chemists Investigate Casanova's Clap
In his memoirs, the womanizing writer Giacomo Casanova described suffering several bouts of gonorrhea—but researchers found no trace of the microbe on his handwritten journals. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 02, 2019•4 min
Software Sniffs Out Rat Squeaks
Algorithms learned to sift ultrasonic rat squeaks from other noise, which could help researchers who study rodents’ emotional states. Lucy Huang reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 01, 2019•4 min
New Model Aims to Solve Mystery of the Moon's Formation
Scientists propose that the moon could have formed when a Mars-sized object slammed into an Earth covered in magma seas. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 30, 2019•3 min
Cats Recognize Their Names—but May Not Respond
Felines move their ears, heads and tails more when they hear their names compared to when they hear similar words. Jim Daley reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 29, 2019•4 min
Science News Briefs from All Over
A few brief reports about international science and technology from Liberia to Hawaii, including one on the discovery in Northern Ireland of soil bacteria that stop the growth of MRSA and other superbugs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 27, 2019•4 min
Hurricane Maria Rain Amount Chances Are Boosted by Climate Change
The likelihood of an event like Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and of its massive precipitation, is fivefold higher in the climate of today than it would have been some 60 years ago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 26, 2019•4 min
Harder-Working Snakes Pack Stronger Venom
Snake venom toxicity depends on snake size, energy requirements and environmental dimensionality more than on prey size. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 25, 2019•4 min
River Dolphins Have a Wide Vocal Repertoire
Freshwater dolphins are evolutionary relics, and their calls give clues to the origins of cetacean communication in general. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 24, 2019•3 min
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
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
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