When Will We Finally Have Sex In Space?
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Feb 07, 2024•14 min
Science Quickly
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
How Is This Ancient Cattle Breed Fighting Wildfires in Portugal?
Portugal is one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe to climate change. Straddling the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic regions, it’s part of a climate change hot spot . Some of the biggest fuels are shrubs. One study found that shrubland covers 1.6 million hectares in Portugal—about 18 percent of the nation’s land area. And those shrubs are gaining ground. That’s because, for decades, people have been moving out of rural communities such as the one Tommy Ferreira lives in. Most leave to...
Feb 05, 2024•14 min
The Government's Former UFO Hunter Has a Lot to Say
For the last decade, reports of UFO sightings have filled headlines and news broadcasts, and some of these have from a surprising place—the Pentagon. Former defense officials have made a number of claims about, and released videos of, strange sightings made by military pilots. These days, the objects are officially called “UAPs”—unidentified anomalous phenomena. But regardless of the new branding, Congress has demanded answers on them, especially after one former official this summer claimed tha...
Feb 05, 2024•15 min
Quantum Computers Might Make All of Your Private Data Less Secure
Experts are starting to plan for the moment when a quantum computer large enough to crack the backbone of the math that keeps things secret will be turned on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 31, 2024•12 min
For 60+ years, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines have evaded scientists. But now that's changed [Sponsored]
This year, healthcare providers have tools to help prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV for older adults. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 30, 2024•9 min
New IVF Test Could Increase Chances of Pregnancy Success
Today’s episode covers a topic that many parents-to-be have struggled with: fertility. In vitro fertilization offers a path to pregnancy for people fortunate enough to be able to access it. But predicting the success of an implanted embryo is hard. Now researchers are developing a test that could make it easier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 29, 2024•10 min
How to Save Indigenous Languages
From Papua New Guinea to the Andaman Islands, Indigenous languages are under threat. An Indian linguist helped preserve one language family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 27, 2024•12 min
Can AI Predict When You Die?
A new study used machine learning on 6 million Danish people to "autocomplete" their life trajectories –— and when they might kick the bucket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 23, 2024•11 min
The Best Way to Use Home COVID Tests Right Now
In today’s episode, we want to talk about some of the current challenges with using home COVID tests. When you first have symptoms, a change in how your body reacts to the virus could lead to a test result showing you’re negative when you’re actually infected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 19, 2024•10 min
From Drunken Stupor to Sober with One (Hormone) Shot
We all have our tricks for sobering up after a night of drunken revelry: maybe a pot of black coffee or an ice-cold shower. But for mice in a certain lab in Texas, all it takes is a shot. No, not more alcohol—it’s an injection of a hormone called fibroblast growth factor 21 , or FGF21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 17, 2024•11 min
How Does the World’s Largest Seabird Know Where to Fly?
Imagine for a moment that you’re a very hungry bird soaring over 30-foot ocean swells in high winds, with no land for thousands of miles. How do you know where you’re going? If you’re a wandering albatross, you listen . But listen to what, exactly? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 12, 2024•10 min
Without the Moon, You Wouldn't Exist (Probably)
The moon has guided our movements and cultures, and though we may think we know it well, it still guards some of its deepest secrets from us. A new book from Rebecca Boyle take us on a deep dive into our sister celestial orb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 08, 2024•15 min
The Strange and Beautiful Science Of Our Lives
Nell Greenfieldboyce discusses her new book Transient and Strange, the intimacy of the essays and the science that inspired them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 05, 2024•16 min
The Surprising Health Benefits of Dog Ownership
Dogs are good for you, science says Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 03, 2024•13 min
Podcasts of the Year: Cleo, the Mysterious Math Menace
In 2013 a new user named Cleo took an online math forum by storm with unproved answers. Today she’s an urban legend. But who was she? 2023 editor's pick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 29, 2023•14 min
Podcasts of the Year: Talking to Animals using Artificial Intelligence
Advanced sensors and artificial intelligence could have us at the brink of interspecies communication Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 27, 2023•12 min
How to Avoid Holiday Hangovers
The holidays are a time for indulgence, but there are ways to drink alcohol without suffering the painful effects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 22, 2023•10 min
Podcasts of the Year: What Better Gift for the Holidays Than a Monstrous Mystery?
We’re looking back at 2023 for our favorite podcast shows and one about the largest bird to ever fly the skies just flew to the top of the list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 20, 2023•12 min
Are Orca Whales Friends or Foes?
The stories we tell about orcas might say more about us than about them Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 18, 2023•16 min
Turns Out Undersea Kelp Forests Are Crucial to Salmon
The beloved fish that feed orcas and humans depend on kelp forests’ unique habitat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 15, 2023•10 min
Researchers Just Created the World's First Permafrost Atlas of the Entire Arctic
The Arctic Permafrost Atlas, which took years to create, is both beautiful and sobering, given the pace of climate change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 13, 2023•9 min
A New Type of Heart Disease is on the Rise
Problems with the heart, kidneys and metabolic health are all connected Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 11, 2023•9 min
AI Can Now Read Your Cat's Pain
Thanks to researchers, new AI tech is delving into feline feelings to see when cats could need medical help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 08, 2023•10 min
These Researchers Put Sperm Through a Kind of 'Hunger Games'
The research focused on figuring out what enables certain sperm to gain some competitive advantage over millions of others fighting for the same prize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 06, 2023•8 min
Is Too Little Play Hurting Our Kids?
A long-term decline in unsupervised activity may be contributing to mental health declines in children and adolescents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 04, 2023•16 min
How Misinformation Spreads through Conflict
Three experts break down how misinformation and propaganda spread through conflict and how to debunk it yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 01, 2023•26 min
Why Childhood Vaccination Rates Are Falling
Fewer kids got their routine childhood vaccines since before the pandemic. Are lack of access and a loss of trust in science to blame? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 29, 2023•10 min
Climate Adaptation Can Backfire If We Aren't Careful
The choices we make in how we adapt to climate change can sometimes come back to bite us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 27, 2023•13 min
The Members of This Reservation Learned They Live with Nuclear Weapons. Can Their Reality Ever Be the Same?
The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara peoples are learning more about the missiles siloed on their lands, and that knowledge has put the preservation of their culture and heritage in even starker relief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 24, 2023•16 min
What Would It Mean to 'Absorb' a Nuclear Attack?
The missiles on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota make it a potential target for a nuclear attack. And that doesn’t come close to describing what the reality would be for those on the ground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 22, 2023•20 min
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