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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

You Traveled Far Last Year

Getting around the sun in 2017 was a memorable trip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 02, 20183 min

Baby Bats Can Learn Different Dialects

Fruit bats raised hearing different pitches of sounds vocalized in keeping with their aural environment as they matured. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 28, 20174 min

Mongoose Societies Are Skeptical of Strangers

It takes months for members of a mongoose breeding society to trust newcomers with important tasks like watching for predators. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 24, 20175 min

Pain and Weather Fail to Connect

A big data analysis involving more than 1.5 million patients could find no relationship between weather and complaints to doctors about joint or back pain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 23, 20174 min

Finding Further Places for Solar Panels

Siting solar panels over rooftops, parking lots, reservoirs and contaminated land could generate heaps of energy—with minimal effects on agriculture or the environment. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 22, 20173 min

This Fish Emits Damaging Decibels

The Gulf corvina produces a chattering chorus that’s one of the loudest underwater animal sounds on the planet. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 20, 20174 min

Repetitive Sounds Are Music to the Brain

Repeating something can render that thing melodious—even the sound of a shovel being dragged across the pavement. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 18, 20174 min

Radiation Might Help Heart Regain Its Rhythm

A flash of radiation drastically reduced arrhythmia in a small group of patients, for at least a year after treatment. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 17, 20175 min

Dark Fiber Networks Can Sense Seismicity

Scientists are exploring the use of fiber-optic cables—like the ones that form the backbone of the internet—to monitor earthquakes. Julia Rosen reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 15, 20175 min

Supermarket Snacking Boosts Sales

Noshing while shopping convinces consumers to buy the featured product more often than does simply seeing end-of-aisle displays. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 14, 20173 min

Something Clicks for Dolphin Identification

Machine-learning algorithms teased seven distinct dolphin clicking patterns from a library of more than 50 million clicks, identifying one species by sound alone. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 13, 20174 min

Nutrition Guidelines Healthy for the Planet, Too

Following dietary guidelines would mean eating less meat and dairy—and fewer calories overall—reducing greenhouse gases and other pollution. Julia Rosen reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 12, 20174 min

Invading Beavers Turn Tundra to Ponds

New beaver ponds in the Arctic may contribute to the destruction of the permafrost that holds that landscape together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 11, 20173 min

Sharks Rule the Reef's Underwater Food Chain

When sharks prowl shallow waters, fish quit foraging and hide—sparing seaweed from being grazed in those areas. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 10, 20174 min

Ancient Women Had Awesome Arms

For thousands of years, women in agricultural societies seem to have had arms stronger than members of modern rowing teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 09, 20174 min

Invasive Frogs Don't Bug Hawaiian Birds

Coquí frogs are invasive species in Hawaii. But they don’t seem to bug the islands’ native and nonnative birds. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 08, 20174 min

How Hospitals Can Dampen the Decibels

Hospitals consistently score low on quietness surveys. An acoustician suggests a few ways hospitals could keep the peace and quiet. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 07, 20174 min

Smarter Management Means More Inventions Get to Market

Rosemarie Truman, CEO of the Center for Advancing Innovation, says a better system of governance for federally funded inventions could lead to many more good ones becoming commercialized. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 06, 20173 min

Computers Learn to Use Sound to Find Ships

Researchers trained machine-learning algorithms to pinpoint the location of a cargo ship simply by eavesdropping on the sound of its passing. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 05, 20174 min

Yeti Claims Don't Bear Up

Analysis of alleged yeti samples found them to be from less fantastic beasts, such as bears, but also shed light on the evolution of those local bear populations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 03, 20174 min

Republican Voters Not in Denial about Climate

An analysis of voter opinions finds that half of Republican voters think climate change is happening, and would support regulating CO2 as a pollutant. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 01, 20173 min

Tech Honcho Wants Innovation for the Bottom Billion

At the World Conference of Science Journalists in October, Nathan Myhrvold, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, charged innovation outfits with changing the lives of the world's most disadvantaged. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 30, 20174 min

Bumper Stickers Make Highways More Social

A social scientist studies how car stickers turn the roads into actual information highways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 29, 20174 min

Chimps Able to Apprehend Another Chimp's Mind-Set

By listening to the calls of their brethren, chimps seem to be able to understand the mind-sets and perspectives of other chimps. Jason Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 27, 20174 min

Even without Hands Honeybees Show Handedness

About half the honeybees in a test exhibited no sidedness, but the other half was split 50–50 between righties and lefties—perhaps to navigate obstacles more efficiently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 26, 20174 min

Humpback Whale Flippers Do More Than Maneuver

Researchers attached cameras to humpback whales and found that they flap their flippers to help power forward swimming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 25, 20174 min

A New Recipe for Counting Cranberries

Estimating cranberry harvests involves tedious hand-counting. But microwave analysis could change all that. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 22, 20173 min

How Fit Is Bitcoin?

A new analysis treats bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies as species in an evolutionary model—and finds bitcoin has no selective advantage. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 21, 20173 min

Salmon Sex Changes Entire Landscape

Salmon excavate streambed holes in which to lay eggs, setting off a chain of events that has surprisingly large geographical effects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 20, 20174 min
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