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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

(Probably Not a) Giant Alien Antenna

Astrophysicists propose that mysterious "fast radio bursts" could, in very speculative theory, be produced by an antenna twice the size of Earth. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 12, 20174 min

Jupiter Moon to Be Searched for Life

If anything's alive on the ice-covered ocean world of Europa, a future NASA mission hopes to find it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 10, 20174 min

Teeth Hint at a Friendlier Neandertal

By sequencing DNA in Neandertal dental plaque, scientists were able to find out about their diets—and their good relations with modern humans. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 08, 20173 min

Forensic Science: Trials with Errors

What appears to be accepted science in the courtroom may not be accepted science among scientists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 07, 20174 min

How to Find Loooong Gravitational Waves

The gravitational waves found last year were short compared with the monster waves that could be turned up by what's called Pulsar Timing Arrays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 06, 20174 min

Biggest Rivers Are Overhead

Atmospheric rivers can carry the same amount of water vapor as 15 to 20 Mississippi Rivers—and deliver punishing winds, too. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 03, 20173 min

Last Woollies Had Mammoth Mutations

The final holdout woolly mammoths had large numbers of harmful mutations—which would have given them satiny coats and a weakened sense of smell. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 02, 20174 min

African Penguins Pulled into an Ecological Trap

Climate change and overfishing have made the penguins’ feeding grounds a mirage—which has led to a drop in penguin population. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 01, 20174 min

Neandertals Live On in Our Genomes

Researchers found that Neandertal gene variants still affect the way genes are turned off and on in modern humans. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 28, 20173 min

Medical Marijuana Faces Fed's Catch-22

Doing large studies of marijuana's potential as medicine means getting it removed from an official federal list of substances with no official medical use—which requires more proof of its potential as medicine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 27, 20174 min

Blood Cells Remember Your Mountain Vacation

Red blood cells retain a memory of high-altitude exposure, allowing for faster acclimation next time. But that memory fades within four months. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 23, 20173 min

Fermented Foods Find Fervent Advocate

Properly fermented foods deliver probiotics that could help cut disease risk, said a researcher at the annual meeting of the AAAS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 22, 20173 min

Vision Needed to Curb Nearsightedness Epidemic

In urban Asian areas myopia among teenagers is topping 90 percent—but foresight may be able to bring those numbers way down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 21, 20173 min

Guppy Groups Provide Friendly Protection against Foes

Guppies exposed to predators tend to aggregate into smaller, more tightly knit groups, which may allow them to coordinate their predator avoidance strategies. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 20, 20174 min

Spaceflight Squishes Spacefarers' Brains

Astronauts’ gray matter is compressed by time in space—except in an area that controls feeling and movement in the legs. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 18, 20173 min

2 Words Trigger CDC to Stay Quiet

Researchers and administrators at the CDC dare not utter the words guns or firearms for fear of budget cuts from Congress, according to health policy researcher David Hemenway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 17, 20173 min

The True "Bottom" of the Food Chain Is Plenty Polluted

Critters living more than six miles below the ocean surface contain high levels of harmful compounds like PCBs and flame retardants. Julia Rosen reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 16, 20174 min

Heat Sensor Has Snaky Sensitivity

Researchers have developed a heat sensor that can detect temperature changes of just ten thousandths of a degree Celsius—comparable with the sensitivity of pit vipers. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 15, 20174 min

Housing Boom Busts Birds' Valentine's Day

A Pacific Northwest housing boom is encroaching on songbird habitat, forcing the birds to flee their homes—and their mates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 14, 20173 min

Cool Coating Chills in Sunlight

A thin film coating can chill a vat of water to 15 degress Fahrenheit cooler than its surroundings, by absorbing—and then emitting—the sun's infrared rays. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 13, 20173 min

Partnered-Up Men More Attractive to Women

Women rate a man they see with an attractive woman as more desirable than an unattached man. Erika Beras reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 09, 20173 min

Gulf Dead Zone Makes for Shrimpier Shrimp

The low-oxygen waters of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico result in smaller shrimp, and a spike in large shrimp prices. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 08, 20173 min

Frog Spit Behaves Like Bug-Catching Ketchup

The amphibians' saliva is what's known as a "shear-thinning fluid," like ketchup—sometimes thick, sometimes thin and flowing. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 06, 20174 min

Super Bowl Snacks Need These Exercise Equivalents

Charles Platkin, director of the New York City Food Policy Center at Hunter College, published tips on what it would take to burn off the calories we typically consume during the Super Bowl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 04, 20173 min

The Arctic's Anti-Snowball Snowball Effect

Arctic heat waves melt sea ice, which promotes more warming and even more ice loss. In other words, it’s a snowball effect—or in this case, an anti-snowball effect. Julia Rosen reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 02, 20174 min

Widening the Suez Canal Ushers In Underwater Invaders

Nomadic jellyfish and poisonous puffer fish are the poster children of an invasion of non-native species into the Mediterranean, with environmental and economic costs. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 31, 20174 min

Hawaiian Crows Ready for the Call of the Wild

The critically endangered birds have done well in captive breeding, meaning they may be ready once more for wild living, and the repertoire of calls associated with it. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 30, 20175 min

A Humble Fish with a Colorful Edge

The cichlid, a small fish, has one of the most incredible visual systems known—which allows it to adapt to differently colored environments. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 28, 20174 min

LSD's Long, Strange Trip Explained

When LSD binds to serotonin receptors, it pulls a "lid" closed behind it, locking it in place for hours, and explaining its long-lasting effects. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 26, 20173 min

Umbrellas Plus Sunscreen Best Bet to Beat Burns

Sunscreen or beach umbrellas alone were unable to completely prevent sunburns—so researchers suggest combining the methods instead. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 25, 20173 min
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