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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

Bird Beak Shapes Depend on More Than Diet

A study found that only a small percentage of bird beak shape variation is dependent on diet, with other factors like display and nest construction probably playing parts too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 22, 20193 min

Nobelist: Harness Evolution as a Problem-Solving Algorithm

Frances Arnold, the Caltech scientist who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, says evolution can show us how to solve problems of sustainability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 17, 20194 min

Unread Books at Home Still Spark Literacy Habits

Growing up in a home filled with books enhances enhances intellectual capacity in later life, even if you don't read them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 16, 20194 min

Kid Climate Educators Open Adult Eyes

A study finds that kids, especially daughters, are effective at teaching their parents about climate issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 15, 20194 min

Penguin Poop Helps Biodiversity Bloom in Antarctica

Ammonia from penguin poop gets carried on Antarctic winds, fertilizing mosses and lichens as far as a mile away. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 14, 20193 min

Ancient Whiz Opens Archaeology Window

The residue of ancient urine can reveal the presence of early stationary herder-farmer communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 13, 20194 min

U.S. Coral Reefs Do $1.8 Billion of Work Per Year

By dampening the energy of waves, coral reefs protect coastal cities from flooding damage and other economic losses. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 08, 20193 min

Could Air-Conditioners Help Cool the Planet?

Researchers want to outfit air conditioners with carbon-capture technology. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 06, 20193 min

Chemists Investigate Casanova's Clap

In his memoirs, the womanizing writer Giacomo Casanova described suffering several bouts of gonorrhea—but researchers found no trace of the microbe on his handwritten journals. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 02, 20194 min

Software Sniffs Out Rat Squeaks

Algorithms learned to sift ultrasonic rat squeaks from other noise, which could help researchers who study rodents’ emotional states. Lucy Huang reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 01, 20194 min

New Model Aims to Solve Mystery of the Moon's Formation

Scientists propose that the moon could have formed when a Mars-sized object slammed into an Earth covered in magma seas. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 30, 20193 min

Cats Recognize Their Names—but May Not Respond

Felines move their ears, heads and tails more when they hear their names compared to when they hear similar words. Jim Daley reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 29, 20194 min

Science News Briefs from All Over

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Liberia to Hawaii, including one on the discovery in Northern Ireland of soil bacteria that stop the growth of MRSA and other superbugs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 27, 20194 min

Hurricane Maria Rain Amount Chances Are Boosted by Climate Change

The likelihood of an event like Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and of its massive precipitation, is fivefold higher in the climate of today than it would have been some 60 years ago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 26, 20194 min

Harder-Working Snakes Pack Stronger Venom

Snake venom toxicity depends on snake size, energy requirements and environmental dimensionality more than on prey size. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 25, 20194 min

River Dolphins Have a Wide Vocal Repertoire

Freshwater dolphins are evolutionary relics, and their calls give clues to the origins of cetacean communication in general. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 24, 20193 min

Honeybees Can Put Two and Two Together

The tiny brain of a honeybee is apparently able to calculate small numbers' addition and subtraction. Annie Sneed reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 23, 20193 min

4/20 Traffic Accidents Claim Curbed

A deeper data dive calls into question a 2018 study that found a spike in fatal traffic accidents apparently related to marijuana consumption on this date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 20, 20195 min

Hyena Society Stability Has Last Laugh

Female hyenas keep their clans in line by virtue of their complex social networks. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 19, 20194 min

Gluten-Free Restaurant Foods Are Often Mislabeled

One in three gluten-free dishes tested at restaurants contained gluten—especially GF pizzas and pastas. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 18, 20193 min

What Chickens Can Teach Hearing Researchers

At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, neuroscientists James Hudspeth and Robert Fettiplace talked about the physiology of hearing and the possibility of restoring hearing loss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 17, 20195 min

Nobelist Says System of Science Offers Life Lessons

At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, economist Paul Romer talked about how the social system of science offers hope for humanity and for how we can live with each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 16, 20194 min

Squeezed Potassium Atoms Straddle Liquid and Solid

At extreme pressures, potassium atoms can be both liquid and solid at the same time, a phase of matter known as "chain melt." Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 12, 20193 min

Urban Coyote Evolution Favors the Bold

Coyotes become fearless around people in just a few generations—which isn’t good for their longterm co-existence with humans in cities. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 11, 20194 min

Computers Turn an Ear on New York City

NYU’s “Sounds of New York City” project listens to the city—and then, with the help of citizen scientists, teaches machines to decode the soundscape. Jim Daley reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 10, 20193 min

Whitening Strips Alter Proteins in Teeth

Hydrogen peroxide in whitening treatments penetrates enamel and dentin, and alters tooth proteins. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 09, 20193 min

Infrared Light Offers a Cooler Way to Defrost

Light tuned to a specific frequency warms ice more than water—which could come in handy for defrosting delicate biological samples. Adam Levy reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 08, 20194 min

Spider Monkeys Optimize Jungle Acoustics

The monkeys lower the pitch of their "whinnies" when they're far from the rest of their group, which might help the calls travel further through jungle foliage. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 04, 20193 min

Tennessee Whiskey Relies on Missing Ingredients

Food chemists precisely measured how charcoal filtration contributes to Tennessee whiskey's smoother flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 02, 20194 min
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