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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

Rain and Irrigation Can Make Crops Temporary Bacteria Farms

Researchers suggest farmers should consider harvesting when fields are dry, to prevent dangerous bacteria blooms from contaminating food. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 14, 20153 min

Hitchhiking Worms Survive Slug Guts Transport

Nematode worms hitch rides inside the guts of slugs and other invertebrates, and emerge alive and well after exiting with the rest of the digestive track's products. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 13, 20153 min

Roman Builders May Have Copied Volcanic "Concrete"

The rock of the Campi Flegrei Caldera, west of Naples, Italy, has an intricate network of mineral fibers—just like the famed Roman concrete. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 09, 20153 min

Dark Matter Dominates Just-Discovered Galaxies

Astronomers have discovered more than 800 so-called "ultradiffuse galaxies" that are virtually invisible because they have relatively few stars and are mostly dark matter. Clara Moskowitz reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 08, 20153 min

Best Male Nightingale Vocalists Make Best Fathers

Male nightingales use singing virtuosity to signal prospective mates that they will be the most doting dads. Sabrina Imbler reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 06, 20153 min

Improved Solar Storm Tracking Lengthens Prep Time for Tech Disruption

We currently have a maximum of about 60 minutes to prepare for tech disruptions on Earth due to coronal mass ejections from the sun, but an improved forecasting system could lengthen that lead time by hours. Maria Temming reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 02, 20153 min

Marijuana Muddies Memory and Mixes with Alcohol to Make Trouble

People who smoke pot and drink are twice as likely to do both at the same time than to do just one, with the combo associated with bad decision-making; and chronic pot smokers who had not indulged in a month were still more likely to have faulty memories than were nonsmokers. Erika Beras reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 01, 20153 min

Bird Literally Weighs Its Food Options

Mexican Jays compare peanuts to determine which one has the most meat inside before choosing one for a meal. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 30, 20153 min

Noses Agree When Genes See Eye to Eye

We all perceive smells differently—and two people’s preferences may give clues to their degree of genetic similarity. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 29, 20154 min

Smartphone Battery Drains a Lot Even with Dark Screen

Background app updates, cell tower pings and other hidden activity accounts for almost half the battery drain on Android phones. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 25, 20153 min

Alaska Surface Glacier Melting Means More Glug Glug Glug

The vast majority of ice loss in Alaska glaciers comes from those that sit completely on land—which contributes meltwater to sea level rise. Julia Rosen reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 24, 20154 min

Programmed Bacteria Can Detect Tumors

Sangeeta Bhatia of M.I.T. talks about efforts to get bacteria to home in on tumors and let us know they're there. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 23, 20154 min

Extreme Exercise Can Poison the Blood

Even four hours of intense activity may be enough to let bacteria escape from the gut into the blood, setting off a chain of inflammation. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 22, 20153 min

Einstein–Bohr Friendship Recounted by Bohr's Grandson

On June 3, 2015, Vilhelm Bohr talked about his famous grandfather's life, including the relationship with Einstein, at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 19, 20154 min

Comet Dust Kicks Up Clouds over the Moon

The same particles that streak through Earth's atmosphere as "shooting stars" kick up lunar dust when they strike the surface of the atmosphere-less moon. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 17, 20154 min

Rare Multitasking Plus: Brain-Teasers Enhance Workout

Test subjects rode stationary bikes 25 percent faster when they simultaneously tackled some relatively easy cognitive challegnes. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 16, 20153 min

Ant Smells Like Blue Cheese for a Reason

The "odorous house ant" smells like blue cheese or rotten coconut because it produces chemical compounds similar to those found in its nose-sakes. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 15, 20153 min

Mars Surface Glass Could Hold Ancient Fossils

Scientists have found ancient "impact glass" on the surface of Mars, which formed when asteroids struck, a billion or more years ago. If anything was alive at the time, biological materials could be trapped inside. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 12, 20153 min

Is Lying a Good Strategy?

A new documentary film presents the science behind when and why people lie. Daisy Yuhas reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 11, 20153 min

Wild Chimps Seen Drinking Alcoholic Beverage

In west Africa researchers observed wild chimps seek out and drink fermented tree sap left outside by humans. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 09, 20153 min

Color You Remember Seeing Isn't What You Saw

People tend to remember a color they saw, for example green-blue teal, as being closer to a more stereotypical variant, such as straight blue or green. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 09, 20153 min

"Brainprints" Could Be Future Security ID

We all emit slightly different brain waves in response to stimuli, and researchers say that an individual’s specific "brainprints" could be used to validate our identities. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 05, 20154 min

Frenzy-Feeding Black Hole Makes Galaxy Most Luminous

A galaxy 12.5 billion light-years away gives off the light of 300 trillion suns, because its feeding black hole produces enough heat to set the whole galaxy's dust glowing. Lee Billings reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 04, 20153 min

Vaccine Aims at Fly Host of Disease Parasite

An experimental leishmaniasis vaccine relies on eliciting an immune response to a protein from the saliva of the sand fly that carries the leishmania parasite, rather than on anything from the parasite itself. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 03, 20153 min

Chimps Would "Cook" Food If They Could

A new study suggests that chimps have the cognitive skills necessary for cooking—such as patience—even if they don't control fire. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 02, 20154 min

High Heels Heighten Health Hazard

Emergency room visits due to high heel shoe–related injuries doubled between 2002 and 2012. Erika Beras reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 01, 20153 min

Parrotfish Build Islands with Their Poop

Parrotfish munching on algae ingest coral and then eliminate the rocky substrate, creating island-building grade sediment in places like the Maldives. Julia Rosen reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 31, 20153 min

Blood Pressure Vaccine Lengthens Rat Lives

A DNA-based vaccine gave rats six months of protection against high blood pressure as well as healthier hearts. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 29, 20153 min

CSI: Middle Pleistocene

Skull fragments dating back 430,000 years appear to be those of the world's first known murder victim, based on the damage observed. Dina Maron reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 28, 20153 min
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