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Science Quickly

Scientific Americanwww.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.
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Episodes

Migrating Birds Prefer Lakefront Property

Night-flying migratory birds over water turn back to lakeshores at daybreak—meaning crowded shores along the water. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 14, 20163 min

Breast-Feeding Benefits Babies with Genetic Asthma Risk

Infants carrying genes that put them at increased risk for asthma had a 27 percent decrease in developing respiratory symptoms while being breast-fed. Erika Beras reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 13, 20163 min

Self-Driving Cars Probably Won't Boost Commuter Productivity

Sixty-two percent of survey respondents said self-driving cars would not make them more productive. Another 36 percent said they’d be too concerned to do anything but watch the road. Erika Beras reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 12, 20163 min

New Insecticide Makes Mosquitoes Pop

The substance prevents mosquitoes taking a blood meal from producing waste—causing them to swell up, and sometimes even explode. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 08, 20163 min

Commuting Patterns Help Forecast Flu Outbreaks

Flu forecasts within large metro areas like New York City might be improved by adding in data about the flow of commuters. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 06, 20163 min

Stopping Splashes with Smarter Surfaces

Understanding the physics of how a liquid splashes when it hits a surface is allowing researchers to design new surfaces that limit splashing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 05, 20164 min

Dogs Teach Bomb-Sniffing Machines New Tricks

A dog’s sniff pulls a plume of fresh scents toward them, which fluid dynamicists say is a technique that could make for better bomb detectors. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 02, 20164 min

"Power Poses" Don't Stand Up

A 2010 study claimed that striking certain poses could alter hormone levels and risk-taking behavior. But subsequent studies can’t replicate that finding. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 01, 20164 min

Toll-Free Number Stems Human–Wildlife Conflicts

India's Project Wild Seve allows people who have suffered crop or livestock loss from wild animals to streamline the compensation process, thus helping both farmers and wildlife. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 30, 20164 min

We Now Live in the Unnatural World

David Biello's new book is The Unnatural World: The Race to Remake Civilization in Earth’s Newest Age . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 28, 20163 min

High-Fiber Diet Keeps Intestinal Walls Intact

A low-fiber diet causes fiber-eating microbes to dwindle, opening up real estate for mucus munchers that make the intestine more vulnerable to infection. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 23, 20163 min

Forest Die-Offs Alter Global Climate "Like El Nino"

The loss of forests worldwide appears to interact synergistically to produce unpredictable effects on the global climate. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 22, 20163 min

DNA Samples Find a Lot of Fish in the Sea

The DNA in seawater can reveal the diversity and abundance of fish species living in ocean waters. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 18, 20163 min

NIH Director Looks at Presidential Transition

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins talks about the future of the NIH in light of the election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 16, 20164 min

Ebola Virus Grew More Infectious in the Latest Epidemic

A strain that emerged during the latest epidemic is able to enter human cells more easily—which means it’s more infectious, too. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 14, 20163 min

Orangutan Picks Cocktail by Seeing Ingredients

An orangutan matched researchers' predictions about which mixed beverage he would choose based on his relative fondness for the separate ingredients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 09, 20164 min

Small-Brained Birds More Likely to Get Shot

Using taxidermy data, biologists determined that gun-killed birds have smaller brains than birds that died in other ways. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 07, 20163 min

Online Sociality Linked to Lower Death Risk

Facebook users in California had slightly better health outcomes than nonusers, even after controlling for other factors. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 05, 20163 min

Bookish Mobsters Made Better Bookies

Just as with honest jobs, mobsters with a more advanced education made more money than their less educated counterparts. Erika Beras reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 29, 20163 min

Falcons Patrol Fruit Fields for Pesky Invasive Birds

Birds of prey work where other traditional methods of bird abatement—like scarecrows, pyrotechnics and netting—fail. Emily Schwing reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 26, 20164 min

Clark Kent's Glasses Aided His Anonymity

Slightly altering one’s appearance—even with glasses—can indeed hinder facial recognition by others. Erika Beras reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 24, 20163 min

Poor Sleepers Worse at Recognizing Unfamiliar Faces

Subjects suffering insomnia got more wrong answers in a face-matching task—but they were paradoxically more confident of their responses. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 19, 20163 min

Yawns Help the Brain Keep Its Cool

Theory has it yawning helps cool the brain—and it turns out animals with bigger brains do indeed tend to yawn longer. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 18, 20163 min

Polar Bears Can't Just Switch to Terrestrial Food

With a shorter season of sea ice, polar bears have less access to marine mammals. But switching to a terrestrial diet deprives them of the fatty seal meals they need to thrive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 14, 20164 min

Flowers Deceive Flies with Chemical Cocktail

The parachute flower smells like alarm pheromones of a honeybee, to attract tiny flies that feed on bees under attack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 13, 20163 min

Feed Microbes Oxygen to Help Clear Spilled Oil

A technique called “biosparging” relies on pumping oxygen underground to help naturally occurring microorganisms multiply and consume oil spills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 12, 20163 min

Elephant Footprints Become Tiny Critter Havens

When rain fills the massive footprints left by elephants, communities of aquatic invertebrates quickly move in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 11, 20164 min

Future Wet Suits Otter Be Warmer

Future wet suits with surface textures like the thick fur of otters that trap insulating air layers could keep tomorrow's divers warmer in icy waters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 10, 20164 min
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