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

Flamingos Can Be Picky about Company

They don’t stand on one leg around just anybody but often prefer certain members of the flock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 07, 2020•4 min

Horses Recognize Pics of Their Keepers

Horses picked out photographs of their current keepers, and even of former keepers whom they had not seen in months, at a rate much better than chance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 05, 2020•4 min

Tapirs Help Reforestation via Defecation

The large herbivores appear to prefer disturbed areas over more intact ones and spread many more seeds in those places through their droppings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 01, 2020•4 min

Virus-Infected Bees Practice Social Distancing

Bees infected with a virus cut back on interactions within their hive but find it easier to get past sentries at neighboring hives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 30, 2020•5 min

New Data on Killer House Cats

Wild cats kill more animals than domestic ones do. But pet cats kill many more of them in a small area than similarly sized wild predators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 29, 2020•5 min

Science News Briefs from around the World

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about what the eruption of Mount Vesuvius might have done to one ill-fated resident of Herculaneum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 28, 2020•3 min

Birds on Rhinos' Back Help Them Avoid Poachers

Oxpeckers riding on rhinoceroses feast on ticks, and their calls warn the nearsighted herbivores about approaching humans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 22, 2020•4 min

Jane Goodall: We Can Learn from This Pandemic

In a teleconference promoting her participation in Earth Day events on the National Geographic Channel, Goodall talked about what gives her hope during the pandemic and what she hopes we all learn from it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 21, 2020•4 min

Our 3,000th Episode

Here are some “highlights” from the past 13.5 years of this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 20, 2020•4 min

How Herbivore Herds Might Help Permafrost

Introducing herds of large herbivores in the Arctic would disturb surface snow, allowing cold air to reach the ground and keep the permafrost frosty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 17, 2020•4 min

Lung Cancer Screen Could Be Easy Pee-sy

In mice, a test for lung cancer involves nanoprobes that recognize tumors and send reporter molecules into the urine for simple analysis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 15, 2020•5 min

Obama Talks Some Science Policy

As he endorsed Joe Biden today, former president Barack Obama touched on some environmental, economic and science matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 14, 2020•3 min

Red-Winged Blackbirds Understand Yellow Warbler Alarms

Researchers studying yellow warbler responses to the parasitic cowbird realized that red-winged blackbirds were eavesdropping on the calls and reacting to them, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 13, 2020•5 min

Waiter, What's This Worm Doing in My Sushi?

Well, it’s probably there because the odds on its presence have gone way up in the past 40 years. But such parasites are still much more of a health problem for whales and dolphins than they are for us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 10, 2020•4 min

What's a Narwhal's Tusk For?

Although the tusk can be a weapon, the variation in tusk length among animals of similar body size points to it being primarily a mating status signal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 09, 2020•4 min

Coronavirus Misinformation Is Its Own Deadly Condition

Pulitzer-winning Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance, talks about the dangers of politicians offering coronavirus misinformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 07, 2020•4 min

Coronavirus Can Infect Cats

Tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo have tested positive for the virus, and studies show that house cats—but apparently not dogs—can become infected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 06, 2020•5 min

Squid's Glowing Skin Patterns May Be Code

Humboldt squid can rapidly change the pigmentation and luminescence patterns on their skin by contracting and relaxing their muscles, possibly to communicate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 02, 2020•4 min

Bird Fossil Shared Earth with T. rex

Dating back 67 million years, this representative of the group of modern birds has been dubbed the Wonderchicken (which is not an April Fools’ Day joke). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 01, 2020•4 min

City Birds: Big-Brained with Few Offspring or Small-Brained with a Lot

To make it in urban areas, birds tend to be either large-brained and able to produce few offspring or small-brained and extremely fertile. In natural habitats, most birds brains are of average size. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 31, 2020•4 min

Coyotes Eat Everything from Fruits to Cats

The diets of coyotes vary widely, depending on whether they live in rural, suburban or urban environments—but pretty much anything is fair game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 30, 2020•5 min

Tiny Wormlike Creature May Be Our Oldest Known Ancestor

The bilateral organism crawled on the seafloor, taking in organic matter at one end and dumping the remains out the other some 555 million years ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 29, 2020•4 min

Science News Briefs from around the Planet

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about the discovery of an intact chicken egg dating to Roman Britain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 28, 2020•4 min

Help Researchers Track COVID-19

By entering your health status, even if you’re feeling fine, at the Web site COVID Near You, you can help researchers develop a nationwide look at where hotspots of coronavirus are occurring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 26, 2020•4 min

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