Science Quickly

Scientific American•www.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.

Last refreshed: June 12th, 2026 at 10:21 AM

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Episodes

Ant Colonies Avoid Traffic Jams

Researchers tracked thousands of individual ants to determine how they move in vast numbers without stumbling into gridlock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 07, 2019•4 min

Ranking Rise May Intimidate Opponents

In an analysis of chess and tennis matches, players rising in the rankings did better than expected against higher-ranked opponents and better than similarly ranked players who were not rising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 06, 2019•4 min

Familiar Tunes Rapidly Jog the Brain

Within just a third of a second of hearing a snippet of a familiar refrain, our pupils dilate, and the brain shows signs of recognition. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 05, 2019•4 min

Science News Briefs from around the Globe

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Brazil to Hong Kong, including one about male elephants in India exhibiting unusual social behaviors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 01, 2019•4 min

We Owe Our Pumpkins to Pooping Megafauna

The pumpkin’s ancestor was an incredibly bitter, tennis-ball-sized squash—but it was apparently a common snack for mastodons. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 31, 2019•4 min

Bird Egg Colors Are Influenced by Local Climate

In cold, northern climates, eggs tend to be darker and browner—heat-trapping colors that allow parents to spend a bit more time away from the nest. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 29, 2019•3 min

Crabs Do a Maze

Green crabs learned to navigate a maze without making a single wrong turn—and remembered the skill weeks later. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 28, 2019•3 min

Odd Bird Migrates Twice to Breed

The phainopepla migrates from southern California to the desert Southwest to breed in the spring before flying to California coastal woodlands to do so again in summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 24, 2019•4 min

Piranha-Proof Fish Gives Inspiration for Body Armor

A gigantic fish from the Amazon has incredibly tough scales—and materials scientists are looking to them for bulletproof inspiration. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2019•4 min

Galloping Ant Beats Saharan Heat

The Saharan silver ant feeds on other insects that have died on the hot sands, which it traverses at breakneck (for an ant) speeds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 22, 2019•4 min

Some Mosquito Repellents Act like Invisibility Cloaks

Synthetic repellents such as DEET seem to mask the scent of our “human perfume”—making us less obvious targets for mosquitoes. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 21, 2019•3 min

Your Skull Shapes Your Hearing

The resonant properties of your skull can amplify some frequencies and dampen others—and, in some cases, affect your hearing. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 17, 2019•4 min

Tardigrade Protein Protects DNA from Chemical Attack

The Dsup protein protects DNA under conditions that create caustic free radical chemicals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 16, 2019•4 min

"Mars-quakes" Could Reveal How Mars Was Built

Rumblings on the Red Planet act like x-rays, allowing scientists to probe the hidden interior of Mars. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 15, 2019•4 min

Artificial Intelligence Learns to Talk Back to Bigots

Algorithms are already used to remove online hate speech. Now scientists have taught an AI to respond—which they hope might spark more discourse. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 10, 2019•4 min

Nobel in Chemistry for Lightweight Rechargeable Batteries

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 09, 2019•4 min

Nobel in Physics for Exoplanets and Cosmology

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology” and to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 08, 2019•4 min

Nobel in Physiology or Medicine for How Cells Sense Oxygen Levels

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to William G. Kaelin, Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” They identified molecular machinery that regulates gene activity in response to changing levels of oxygen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 07, 2019•4 min

Teeth Tell Black Death Genetic Tale

DNA from the teeth of medieval plague victims indicates the pathogen likely first arrived in eastern Europe before spreading across the continent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 06, 2019•4 min

Tiny Worms Are Equipped to Battle Extreme Environments

Scientists found eight species of nematodes living in California’s harsh Mono Lake—quintupling the number of animals known to live there. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 05, 2019•3 min

Heat Changes Insect Call, but It Still Works

Tiny insects called treehoppers produce very different mating songs at higher versus lower temperatures, but the intended recipient still finds the changed songs attractive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 02, 2019•3 min

Corals Can Inherit Symbiotic Adaptations to Warming

Adult corals can reshuffle their symbiotic algae species to adapt to warming waters—and, it appears they can pass those adaptations on. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 01, 2019•3 min

Brains of Blind People Adapt in Similar Fashion

The brains of those who are blind repurpose the vision regions for adaptive hearing, and they appear to do so in a consistent way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 30, 2019•4 min

Science News Briefs from around the World

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Hungary to Japan, including one about a wine grape in France that DNA testing shows has been cultivated for almost a millennium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 29, 2019•3 min

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