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: July 24th, 2025 at 10:26 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

Hot Chili Peppers Motivate Mice to Burn Fat

Rodents fed capsaicin voluntarily exercised more than their furry friends on a lower-heat diet. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 17, 2015•3 min

Humans off the Hook for Alaskan Mastodon Extinction

A reexamination of museum mastodon specimens provides evidence that that last ones were gone from what's called the Beringia region well before any humans showed up. Emily Schwing reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 16, 2015•4 min

Triskaidekaphobia Plays Role in Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Some random historical facts about the number 13 may be behind some people's irrational aversion to Friday the 13th. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 13, 2015•3 min

Contraception Could Prevent 15 Million Unwanted Pregnancies Annually

Fifteen million unwanted pregnancies in 35 low- and middle-income countries could be avoided if women had access to and freedom to use contraception. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 12, 2015•3 min

Preindustrial Pollution Pestered Peru

Ice cores show a sudden rise in heavy metal air pollution in South America 240 years before the industrial revolution, probably due to metallurgy and mining. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 11, 2015•3 min

Subway DNA Survey Finds Microbes, Mozzarella and Mystery

Scientists sequenced genetic material found in all 468 New York City subway stations, and nearly half matched no known organism. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 10, 2015•3 min

Newton Figured Out How Tree Sap Rises

Buried in one of Isaac Newton's college notebooks is a page on which he fairly accurately theorizes on the process of transpiration in plants, two centuries before the concept was elucidated. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 09, 2015•3 min

Cities Could Win Economically by Losing Olympics

According to sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, most cities that win the right to host the Olympics will spend far more to prepare for the games than they estimate in their winning bid. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 06, 2015•3 min

Drones Spy On Birds in Flight

Quadcopters appear to be a relatively benign tool to study the behavior and numbers of wetland birds. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 03, 2015•4 min

Save Libyan Archaeology Plea Issued

Savino di Lernia, director of the Archaeological Mission in the Sahara at the Sapienza University of Rome, says violence and unrest threaten World Heritage sites and researchers. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 02, 2015•3 min

Super Bowl Team Cities See More Flu Deaths

Regions that send a team to the Super Bowl saw on average an 18 percent increase in flu deaths among those over 65, probably because of increased transmission due to gatherings of people at parties during the height of the flu season. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 30, 2015•3 min

Climate Influences Language Evolution

The ease with which certain sounds are produced in different climes plays a role in the development of spoken languages. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 28, 2015•3 min

Gates CEO: Let's Shrink Maternal Mortality

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Susan Desmond-Hellmann talks about some of what needs to be done to make a reality of the foundation's aspiration to cut maternal mortality by two thirds by 2030 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 27, 2015•3 min

Snail's Venom Puts Fish in Insulin Coma

The cone snail's venom contains not only neurotoxins, but insulin, too—which stuns the fish it preys on. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 26, 2015•3 min

Tech Consequences Voiced by Carnegie Mellon Prez

At the World Economic Forum, Carnegie Mellon president Subra Suresh talks about dealing with the unintended consequences of ever more sophisticated intelligent devices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 23, 2015•3 min

Diaper Material Expands Wee Microscope Views

The absorbent material in disposable diapers can expand tissue samples, making more structure visible under light microscopes. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 22, 2015•3 min

Obama Talks Ebola and Climate in His SOTU

In his State of the Union address, the president talked about the need for frameworks to be in place to stop future pandemics and rising worldwide temperatures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 21, 2015•5 min

Computer Snoopers Read Electromagnetic Emissions

Researchers were able to track the keystrokes of a nearby computer via fluctuations in its electromagnetic radiation output. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 20, 2015•3 min

Ex-President Wins Campaign against Ghastly Guinea Worm

Jimmy Carter's efforts against the horribly painful guinea worm parasitic disease have helped lower the number of cases from 3.5 million in 1986 to just 126 last year. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 15, 2015•3 min

Antibiotics in Blood Can Make Malaria Mosquitoes Mightier

The drugs disrupt mosquitoes' gut bacteria, which appears to make the insects more effective malaria vectors. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 13, 2015•3 min

Health and Conservation Reminders Cut Consumer Energy Use

Households that got weekly messages about the lower pollution they generated via efficiency cut energy use much more than did residents who were told how much money they were saving. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 12, 2015•3 min

Active Sun at Birth Cut Historical Life Spans

High UV radiation during solar maxima may have degraded expectant mothers' stores of folate, a vitamin essential to development. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 09, 2015•3 min

Making Evolution Make Microbes Make Products

By selecting for bacteria that can survive only if they make a particular product of interest over multiple iterations, researchers vastly improved yields and decreased production times. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 08, 2015•3 min

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