Join <i>Blue Planet II</i> Live-Tweet
Starting December 16, ocean scientists will live-tweet the BBC documentary series Blue Planet II, available via Netflix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 14, 2018•3 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
Big-Boned Chickens May Be Humans' Geologic Legacy
Millions of years from now, the geologic record of the "Anthropocene" will be littered with plastics, yes, but also chicken bones. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 13, 2018•4 min
Ancient Marine Reptiles Had Familiar Gear
Ichthyosaurs had traits in common with turtles and modern marine mammals, like blubber and countershading camouflage. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 12, 2018•3 min
Little Aphids Ride Big Ones to Safety
When trouble lurks, juvenile aphids drop off of the plants they're eating and hitch a ride on bigger aphid escapees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 11, 2018•4 min
Utah's Deserts Are Bee Hotspots
The Trump administration is shrinking Utah's desert monuments, stripping some federal protections for wild pollinators. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 08, 2018•3 min
Who's a Smart Dog?!
An estimate of dog intelligence requires looking at non-dogs as well to understand what's special to canines and what is just typical of the taxonomic groups they're in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 06, 2018•4 min
Data Reveals Most Influential Movies
By analyzing the network connections between 47,000 films on IMDb, researchers found the most influential films ever made. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 05, 2018•3 min
Blue Whales Have Changed Their Tune
In the last few decades blue whale calls have been getting lower in pitch—and a rebound in their numbers may be the reason. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 30, 2018•4 min
Smart Meters Speed Showers
Smart meters on showerheads encouraged hotel guests to conserve—even though they personally saved no money. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 27, 2018•3 min
Mars Mission Makes Clean Landing
The sounds of the Mars InSight Mission control room during the tense minutes leading to the landing on the surface. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 26, 2018•4 min
Do Wine over Those Brussels Sprouts
Taking a swig of red wine before eating Brussels sprouts appears to moderate Brussels sprouts' polarizing flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 21, 2018•3 min
Rains Bring a Microbial Massacre to Chilean Desert
Freak heavy rainstorms in 2015 and 2017 wiped out many dry-adapted microbes in the Atacama Desert, useful info in the search for life off Earth. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 19, 2018•3 min
Consensual Hugs Seem to Reduce Stress
People who had a conflict in a given day but also got hugged were not as affected by the negative interaction as were their unhugged counterparts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 18, 2018•3 min
World's Largest Organism Faces Bleak Future
The single organism that is the Utah aspen grove known as Pando is on the decline due to herbivores wiping out its youngest tree outgrowths Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 17, 2018•5 min
U.S. Immigrants Leave Country—and Microbes—Behind
Immigrants to the U.S. lose their native mix of gut microbes almost immediately after arriving in the U.S.—which researchers can't quite explain. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 14, 2018•4 min
Science News Briefs from All over
A few very brief reports about international science and technology from Alaska to Indonesia, including one on offshore dairy farming from the Netherlands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 13, 2018•3 min
Babies and Chimps Share a Laugh
Adult humans laugh primarily on the exhale, but human babies laugh on the inhale and the exhale—as do chimps. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 10, 2018•3 min
Singing Fish Reveal Underwater Battles in the Amazon
Researchers recorded piranha "honks" and catfish "screeches" in the Peruvian Amazon, which might illuminate fish activity in murky jungle waters. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 08, 2018•3 min
Social Construct of Race Imposes Biology
Anthropologist Jennifer Raff argues that race is culturally created, but has biological consequences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 07, 2018•4 min
Pandas Swoon to Particular Croons
Listening to the sounds panda pairs make when they're introduced could lead to better breeding success. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 06, 2018•3 min
First Benefit of Knowing Your Genome
The "low hanging fruit" of genome-related health care will be knowing which drugs are likely to treat you best, says science journalist Carl Zimmer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 02, 2018•3 min
For Halloween, Consider the Chocolate Midge
A tiny fly, related to biting no-see-ums, pollinates cacao trees and enables our chocolate cravings. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 31, 2018•3 min
Dolphins Dumb Down Calls to Compete with Ship Noise
Bottlenose dolphins simplify and raise the pitch of their whistles to be heard above underwater shipping noise. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 29, 2018•3 min
Asocial Octopuses Become Cuddly on MDMA
Octopuses react to MDMA much like humans do. And not surprisingly, given their anatomy, the animals are excellent huggers. Annie Sneed reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 22, 2018•5 min
Wild Songbirds Can Pick Up New Tunes
Researchers taught two dozen wild sparrows new songs, by playing them the recordings of sparrows that live thousands of miles away. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 18, 2018•5 min
Health Care Let Neandertals "Punch above Their Weight"
By caring for their sick and injured, Neandertals were able to expand into more dangerous environments and pursue more deadly prey. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 17, 2018•3 min
Nice People Have Emptier Wallets
A study correlating personality traits with financial data found that agreeable people had lower savings, higher debt and higher bankruptcy rates. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 15, 2018•4 min
Solar Eclipse Was a Buzzkill for Bees
Bees suddenly fell silent when the sun disappeared during last year's solar eclipse—perhaps because they were tricked into night mode. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 12, 2018•3 min
Confident Tone Overcomes Accent Distrust
English as-a-first-language Canadian study subjects were less trusting of statements in English spoken with a foreign accent, unless the speaker sounded confident about their assertion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 11, 2018•4 min
Mom's Genes Make Some Giraffes Hard to Spot
Baby giraffes inherit aspects of their mothers' patterning—which could give them a survival advantage if good camouflage runs in the family. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 10, 2018•3 min
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