60-Second Science
Scientific American
Leading science journalists provide a daily minute commentary on some of the most interesting developments in the world of science. For a full-length, weekly podcast you can subscribe to Science Talk: The Podcast of Scientific American . To view all ...Show More
02:49 | Jan 31st
Javelin throwers chucking replicas of Neandertal spears were able to hit targets farther away, and with greater force than previously thought to be possible. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:53 | Jan 30th
Researchers built a small, flexible device that harvests wi-fi, bluetooth and cellular signals, and turns them into DC electricity. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:13 | Jan 29th
A few brief reports about international science and technology from Papua New Guinea to Kazakhstan, including one on the slow slide of Mount Etna in Italy.
03:22 | Jan 28th
Cod egg survival stays high with limited warming, but plummets when the temperature rises a few degrees Celsius in their current spawning grounds.
02:29 | Jan 26th
A species of hermit crab appears to have evolved a large penis to enable intercourse without leaving, and thus possibly losing, its adopted shell.
02:27 | Jan 24th
By coupling audio recordings with satellite data and camera traps, ecologists can keep their eyes—and ears—on protected tropical forests. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:12 | Jan 24th
Though Saturn formed about 4.5 billion years ago, its rings were added relatively recently—only 100 million to 10 million years ago. Karen Hopkin reports.
03:29 | Jan 23rd
Detroit residents declined an offer of free street trees—but were more willing to accept them if they had a say in the type of tree. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:50 | Jan 19th
A total lunar eclipse will grace the skies this Sunday, January 20—and it may or may not be red. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:01 | Jan 18th
The Mona Lisa effect is the illusion that the subject of a painting follows you with her gaze, despite where you stand. But da Vinci's famous painting doesn't have that quality. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:31 | Jan 16th
Ants infected with fungal pathogens steer clear of other cliques within the colony—avoiding wider infection, and allowing for a sort of immunity. Lucy Huang reports.
01:57 | Jan 13th
Climate change is shifting population numbers and nest building by resident and migratory birds in Europe—sometimes leading to deadly conflict. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:18 | Jan 12th
In animal studies, a set of 24 genes involved in neural development, learning and memory, and cognition, seem to be associated with monogamy. Karen Hopkin reports.
02:57 | Jan 10th
Subject who saw a Superman poster were more likely to offer help than were people who saw another image.
02:03 | Jan 9th
Scientists are working to correct a genetic defect in cystic fibrosis patients by having them inhale RNA. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:43 | Dec 30th, 2018
Pine needles can easily be broken down into sugars, as well as the building blocks of paint, adhesives and medicines. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:01 | Dec 27th, 2018
Fructose and sucrose can make it all the way to the colon, where they spell a sugary death sentence for beneficial bacteria. Karen Hopkin reports.
02:07 | Dec 27th, 2018
A new algorithm raises parking rates in busy neighborhoods and lowers them elsewhere, guaranteeing free parking spots regardless of location. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:59 | Dec 25th, 2018
Ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry, also makes food, and food smells, irresistibly appealing. Karen Hopkin reports.
02:56 | Dec 24th, 2018
Peafowls' head crests are specifically tuned to the vibrations produced by feather-rattling male peacocks, thus acting as a sort of antenna. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:05 | Dec 24th, 2018
A new study suggests that, unconsciously, we actually do believe that looking exerts a slight force on the things being looked at. Karen Hopkin reports.
02:22 | Dec 22nd, 2018
So-called 'relaxation music' is only about as effective as a soothing Chopin piece at lulling listeners into a relaxed state. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:32 | Dec 21st, 2018
The hormone irisin encourages bone remodeling, in part by first triggering another substance that encourages some bone breakdown.
02:36 | Dec 20th, 2018
The Bahia's broad-snout casque-headed tree frog needs a pool to raise its young that's just right.
02:16 | Dec 19th, 2018
A particular set of brain neurons may be behind registering itch and inducing us to scratch.
01:27 | Dec 14th, 2018
Starting December 16, ocean scientists will live-tweet the BBC documentary series Blue Planet II, available via Netflix.
02:21 | Dec 13th, 2018
Millions of years from now, the geologic record of the "Anthropocene" will be littered with plastics, yes, but also chicken bones. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:07 | Dec 12th, 2018
Ichthyosaurs had traits in common with turtles and modern marine mammals, like blubber and countershading camouflage. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:49 | Dec 12th, 2018
When trouble lurks, juvenile aphids drop off of the plants they're eating and hitch a ride on bigger aphid escapees.
02:08 | Dec 9th, 2018
The Trump administration is shrinking Utah's desert monuments, stripping some federal protections for wild pollinators. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:03 | Dec 7th, 2018
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.
01:53 | Dec 6th, 2018
By analyzing the network connections between 47,000 films on IMDb, researchers found the most influential films ever made. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:32 | Dec 1st, 2018
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.
02:14 | Nov 27th, 2018
Smart meters on showerheads encouraged hotel guests to conserve—even though they personally saved no money. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:09 | Nov 26th, 2018
The sounds of the Mars InSight Mission control room during the tense minutes leading to the landing on the surface.
01:39 | Nov 22nd, 2018
Taking a swig of red wine before eating Brussels sprouts appears to moderate Brussels sprouts' polarizing flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports
01:56 | Nov 20th, 2018
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.
02:13 | Nov 18th, 2018
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.
03:19 | Nov 17th, 2018
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
02:15 | Nov 15th, 2018
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.
02:08 | Nov 14th, 2018
A few very brief reports about international science and technology from Alaska to Indonesia, including one on offshore dairy farming from the Netherlands.
02:09 | Nov 11th, 2018
Adult humans laugh primarily on the exhale, but human babies laugh on the inhale and the exhale—as do chimps. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:03 | Nov 9th, 2018
Researchers recorded piranha "honks" and catfish "screeches" in the Peruvian Amazon, which might illuminate fish activity in murky jungle waters. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:34 | Nov 8th, 2018
Anthropologist Jennifer Raff argues that race is culturally created, but has biological consequences.
01:28 | Nov 7th, 2018
Listening to the sounds panda pairs make when they're introduced could lead to better breeding success. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:31 | Nov 2nd, 2018
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.
02:10 | Oct 31st, 2018
A tiny fly, related to biting no-see-ums, pollinates cacao trees and enables our chocolate cravings. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:02 | Oct 30th, 2018
Bottlenose dolphins simplify and raise the pitch of their whistles to be heard above underwater shipping noise. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:31 | Oct 22nd, 2018
Octopuses react to MDMA much like humans do. And not surprisingly, given their anatomy, the animals are excellent huggers. Annie Sneed reports.
02:11 | Oct 21st, 2018
A few very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe, including one from Mongolia on horse dentistry.
03:23 | Oct 19th, 2018
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.
01:29 | Oct 18th, 2018
By caring for their sick and injured, Neandertals were able to expand into more dangerous environments and pursue more deadly prey. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:15 | Oct 16th, 2018
A study correlating personality traits with financial data found that agreeable people had lower savings, higher debt and higher bankruptcy rates. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:58 | Oct 13th, 2018
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.
02:25 | Oct 12th, 2018
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.
01:57 | Oct 10th, 2018
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.
01:58 | Oct 9th, 2018
William Nordhaus shared the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, "for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis,” with Paul Romer, "for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis."
03:13 | Oct 6th, 2018
Twice a year, thousands of pronghorn antelope and mule deer migrate through Wyoming, and newly built highway crossings are sparing the lives of animals—and motorists. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:50 | Oct 5th, 2018
The bittering agents called hops have enzymes that chew up starch and unleash more fermentable sugar—which can boost alcohol and CO2 in the finished brew. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:11 | Oct 3rd, 2018
Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith and Gregory P. Winter share the 2018 chemistry Nobel for developing evolutionary-based techniques that lead to the creation of new chemical entities with useful properties.
02:50 | Oct 2nd, 2018
Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland share the 2018 physics Nobel for their work with lasers that have led to numerous practical applications, such as eye surgery.
01:59 | Oct 1st, 2018
James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo share the Nobel Prize for their work on harnessing the cancer patient's own immune system to destroy tumors.
01:25 | Oct 1st, 2018
Christine Blasey Ford's professional expertise came into play during her testimony regarding the Supreme Court nomination.
02:29 | Sep 7th, 2018
Astrophysicists have gotten a better glimpse at what happens to crashing neutron stars by listening in on the electromagnetic echoes of the collision. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:57 | Sep 6th, 2018
The hammerhead relatives consume copious amounts of sea grass, and have the digestive machinery to process it—making them true omnivores. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:17 | Sep 6th, 2018
When Hurricane Irma blew through the Turks and Caicos, lizards with shorter hindlimbs lucked out. Jason G. Goldman reports.
03:07 | Sep 5th, 2018
An intrepid undergrad led the way to understanding the physics of snapping strands of spaghetti.
02:25 | Aug 31st, 2018
A few very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe.
03:14 | Aug 27th, 2018
Costa Rican scientists are extracting valuable materials from the peel and stubble of pineapples.
02:20 | Aug 24th, 2018
Mosquitoes want your blood for its proteins...or simply to hydrate on a hot, dry day.
02:50 | Aug 23rd, 2018
Digital assistants have to respond quickly, but correctly—so researchers are studying how real humans navigate that trade-off, to design better machines. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:02 | Aug 22nd, 2018
The birds are arriving in the Arctic up to 13 days earlier than they used to. But at a cost: hunger. Annie Sneed reports.
02:33 | Aug 21st, 2018
Fire ants tunnels got excavated efficiently by only a small percentage of the group doing most of the work, thus avoiding pileups in tight spaces.
02:09 | Aug 20th, 2018
Genetic information from the bones of macaws found in abandoned pueblos suggests they were bred and distributed as a commodity. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:12 | Aug 17th, 2018
Milkweed grown with more carbon dioxide in the air supplies fewer toxins to monarch butterflies that need the toxins to fight off gut parasites.
02:33 | Aug 16th, 2018
Crows are what's known as "partial migrants"—as cold weather approaches, some crows fly south whereas others stay put. And that behavior appears to be ingrained. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:52 | Aug 15th, 2018
About 80 percent of Earth's biomass is plant life, with humans about equal to krill way down the heft chart.
02:56 | Aug 14th, 2018
The Michigan Scientific Literacy Survey of 2017 found that last year's total solar eclipse got Americans more interested in celestial science.
02:51 | Aug 14th, 2018
The insects fashion and use "baffles"—sound controllers—made of leaves to produce sound more efficiently. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:38 | Aug 11th, 2018
Researchers programmed a computer to compare structures and toxic effects of different chemicals, making it possible to then predict the toxicity of new chemicals based on their structural similarity to known ones.
02:15 | Aug 10th, 2018
Both men and women tended to pursue mates just 25 percent more desirable than themselves--suggesting they are "optimistic realists." Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:26 | Aug 9th, 2018
Whale ancestors probably never had teeth and baleen at the same time, and only developed baleen after trying toothlessness and sucking in prey.
02:05 | Aug 7th, 2018
A variety of corn from Oaxaca, Mexico, has aerial roots that harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria, allowing the corn to suck nitrogen straight from the air. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:45 | Aug 3rd, 2018
Birds become good at avoiding danger by eavesdropping on the alarm calls of other birds—and the learning occurs without even seeing their peers or predators. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:42 | Aug 2nd, 2018
An analysis of the Hong Kong metro found microbes, including some with antibiotic resistance genes, freshly disperse throughout the system each day. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:24 | Aug 1st, 2018
Different people have differing aptitudes for observing small changes and particular features.
02:51 | Jul 31st, 2018
About five percent of crows will attempt to copulate with other crows that have joined the choir invisible .
01:48 | Jul 30th, 2018
Certain proteins that coordinate the healing response are present at higher levels in oral tissue—meaning wounds in the mouth fix faster. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:42 | Jul 26th, 2018
More than 2,500 scientists signed a letter saying that an expanded U.S.–Mexico border wall would threaten both biodiversity and scientific research. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:26 | Jul 26th, 2018
Researchers used a couple of hundred dollars worth of materials to turn a wall into a giant touch screen
01:32 | Jul 24th, 2018
By analyzing the proteins in ancient dental plaque, archaeologists determined that British menus almost three millennia ago featured milk, oats and peas. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:28 | Jul 23rd, 2018
Chemicals designed to simulate honeybee alarm pheromones could deter elephants from farmers’ crops, easing conflicts with humans. Annie Sneed reports.
01:59 | Jul 20th, 2018
Extreme sea level rise could swamp internet cabling and hubs by 2033—and coastal cities like New York, Seattle and Miami are at greatest risk. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:07 | Jul 20th, 2018
Shark researchers used a system for recognizing patterns in star field photographs to identify whale sharks, which have individual spot patterns.
02:31 | Jul 19th, 2018
A study of human–mammal interaction across the globe found animals are more prone to take to the night around humans. Jason G. Goldman reports.
01:59 | Jul 17th, 2018
The International Astronomical Union reports that there are now 79 known Jovian moons, with a dozen found last year.
02:16 | Jul 17th, 2018
Some moth species have evolved long wing tails that flutter and twist as the moth flies, which distract hungry bats. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:11 | Jul 14th, 2018
Very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe.
02:03 | Jul 13th, 2018
A prototype flexible electronic mouth guard can measure lactate levels in an athlete’s saliva, tracking muscle fatigue during training and performance.
02:22 | Jul 11th, 2018
Wine book author Kevin Begos explains that just a few varieties of wine grapes dominate the industry, which leaves them vulnerable to potentially catastrophic disease outbreaks.
03:31 | Jul 7th, 2018
Iridescence appears to break up the recognizable shape of objects—making them harder to spot. Karen Hopkin reports.
01:55 | Jul 5th, 2018
By analyzing 200 surgeries, anthropologists found that mixed-gender operating room teams exhibited the highest levels of cooperation. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:48 | Jul 5th, 2018
Visitors can see and learn about sharks and their environment in the new "Ocean Wonders: Sharks!" facility at the Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium.
03:08 | Jul 4th, 2018
Most invertebrates get smaller on average in cities, although a few very mobile species respond to urbanization by growing.
01:48 | Jul 3rd, 2018
An analysis of the movement of some 40,000 people suggests most of us frequent only 25 places—and as we sub in new favorites, we drop old ones. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:15 | Jun 29th, 2018
Listeners to a person letting loose with a roar can accurately estimate the size and formidability or the human noise maker. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:59 | Jun 26th, 2018
Six months of piano lessons can heighten kindergartners' brain responses to different pitches, and improve their ability to tell apart two similar-sounding words. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:05 | Jun 26th, 2018
Many people assume only male birds do the singing. But females also sing in at least 660 species and perhaps many more.
01:32 | Jun 22nd, 2018
Certain motifs in swamp sparrow songs can last hundreds, even thousands of years—evidence of a cultural tradition in the birds. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:35 | Jun 22nd, 2018
Researchers tested the hearing of beluga whales in an Alaskan bay and found that they seem to have suffered little hearing loss due to ocean noise. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:04 | Jun 20th, 2018
Foods high in both carbs and fats tickle the brain’s reward circuits more so than snacks that showcase just one or the other. Karen Hopkin reports.
01:38 | Jun 18th, 2018
Juno spacecraft data suggest lightning on Jupiter is much more common than we thought—but it congregates near the poles, not the equator as on Earth. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:43 | Jun 15th, 2018
A new analysis found the flood protection benefits of coral reefs save the global economy $4 billion dollars a year. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:50 | Jun 15th, 2018
Hippo poop is piling up in Tanzania’s freshwater fisheries—which is bad news for biodiversity, and deleterious for the dinner plate. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:32 | Jun 14th, 2018
Researchers engineered a portable device that detects even the tiniest trace of hydrogen sulfide—one of the primary offenders in bad breath. Karen Hopkin reports.
03:08 | Jun 12th, 2018
At the AMA annual meeting the organization's president petitioned for an evidence-based, science-driven analysis of gun violence and solutions.
01:46 | Jun 8th, 2018
A structure known as a metal organic framework traps water vapor by night, then releases it when heated the next day. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:05 | Jun 6th, 2018
Some 5,000 to 7,000 years ago, the diversity of Y chromosomes plummeted. A new analysis suggests clan warfare may have been the cause. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:40 | Jun 6th, 2018
Warning a child that something, like a vaccine shot, will hurt can actually increase their perception of the pain.
02:12 | Jun 2nd, 2018
Humans and other primates often reciprocate good deeds. A new study suggests a nonprimate, the dwarf mongoose, does so, too, even after a delay. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:06 | May 31st, 2018
During extreme heat waves, a species of eucalyptus copes by releasing water and taking advantage of evaporative cooling. Other trees may do the same.
01:43 | May 30th, 2018
The best facial-recognition algorithms are now as good as the best forensic examiners are. But the best results come by combining human and computer skills. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:58 | May 30th, 2018
Sea lions and fur seals in Uruguay have become a tourist attraction—but the animals have become less, not more, accepting of humans. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:22 | May 25th, 2018
An evolutionary analysis of pop tunes revealed that over the past 30 years songs have grown sadder—but the big hits buck that trend. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:40 | May 23rd, 2018
Pediatric cardiologist Ismée Williams discusses her young adult novel, Water in May, about a teenage girl whose newborn has a life-threatening heart condition.
02:37 | May 17th, 2018
The new Google AI voice assistant, called Duplex, highlights the intricacies of carrying out a mundane human-style conversation, as it keeps you off the phone.
02:45 | May 16th, 2018
Orangutans were observed to use plant extracts to treat their own pain.
01:59 | May 16th, 2018
Racing pigeons is big business—and doping is common. Now scientists have devised a way to detect doping in the avian athletes. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:55 | May 15th, 2018
Scientists have added radar info to seismic data, isotope measurements and optical imagery to study covert nuclear tests. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:01 | May 12th, 2018
Hunting regulations in Sweden prohibit killing brown bear mothers in company of cubs—causing mama bears to care for their young longer. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:35 | May 10th, 2018
Sediment records have confirmed that Jupiter and Venus change Earth's orbit from virtually circular to noticeably elliptical and back every 405,000 years. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:24 | May 8th, 2018
The InSight Mission will look at Mars's seismic activity and latent heat to find out more about how planets get made--and how humans might live there.
02:45 | May 7th, 2018
Tomato plants detected snail slime in soil near them and mounted preemptive defenses, even though they were not directly touched.
02:39 | May 5th, 2018
Ancient tools on Mediterranean islands could predate the appearance of modern humans—suggesting Neandertals took to the seas. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:56 | May 3rd, 2018
Thierry Zomahoun, president of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, talks about the potential and needs of science on the continent.
02:55 | May 1st, 2018
Advice from an N.Y.U. food policy symposium: eating healthfully means you can't ever let down your guard when shopping.
02:40 | Apr 29th, 2018
In a study of children interacting with toy animals Native American kids and non-Native kids imagined the animals very differently.
02:28 | Apr 28th, 2018
Listeners gave more credence to a scientist’s radio interview when the audio was good quality than they did to the same material when the audio was poor. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:43 | Apr 27th, 2018
Today in Boston, Gates announced a $12-million initiative to foster the development of a vaccine effective against all flu strains.
02:38 | Apr 25th, 2018
The Bora people in the northwestern Amazon use drums to send languagelike messages across long distances. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:33 | Apr 24th, 2018
Lawns mowed every two weeks hosted more bees than lawns mowed every three weeks. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:19 | Apr 21st, 2018
A new study claims it's easier to accurately whistle a melody than to sing it. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:55 | Apr 19th, 2018
A look at a database of fatal traffic accidents found a 12 percent increase on the informal marijuana holiday 4/20 after 4:20 P.M. compared with nearby dates.
02:01 | Apr 19th, 2018
Mice trapped in New York City apartment buildings harbored disease-causing bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:50 | Apr 18th, 2018
Researchers used Twitter searches for nonflu words associated with behavior to predict flu outbreaks two weeks in advance.
02:39 | Apr 17th, 2018
Non-native milkweed species planted in the southern U.S. could harm monarch butterflies as temperatures rise. Jason G. Goldman reports.
01:41 | Apr 13th, 2018
Princeton University's Jennifer Rexford talks about optimizing the internet for the uses it got drafted into performing.
02:30 | Apr 12th, 2018
Researchers try to figure out why every 20 years a Pakistan glacier moves roughly 1,500 times faster.
02:12 | Apr 12th, 2018
Red dwarfs are a popular place to hunt for small exoplanets in the habitable zone—but the stars' radiation bursts might fry chances for life as we know it. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:50 | Apr 10th, 2018
Rather than always making the same call in response to the same stimuli, North Atlantic right whales are capable of changing their vocalizations.
02:52 | Apr 8th, 2018
The U.S. Northeast may be more geologically active than was previously thought, according to a seismic sensor network.
02:33 | Apr 7th, 2018
Volunteers willing to place riskier bets tended to sport larger amygdalas—a region associated with processing fear. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:22 | Apr 4th, 2018
The jutting midface of Neandertals seems to have evolved to help get large volumes of air into an active body that needed lots of oxygen.
01:57 | Apr 3rd, 2018
Photosynthesis actually is an inefficient process, but a biological chemist is trying to crank it up.
01:40 | Apr 1st, 2018
Several feet below a beach in British Columbia, archaeologists discovered soil trampled by human feet—the oldest footprints found so far in North America. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:04 | Mar 29th, 2018
The source of knuckle cracking sounds is much debated—but new mathematical models may reconcile two opposing views. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:37 | Mar 2nd, 2018
A study of 22 different types of lichens revealed 10 included fungi that had lost a gene for energy production, making them completely dependent on their algal partner.
02:08 | Feb 28th, 2018
When the National Rifle Association holds its national convention, gun injuries drop 20 percent—perhaps because fewer gun owners are around their guns. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:45 | Feb 27th, 2018
But those who do tweet in big cities are more prolific—tweeting more often, on average, than their small-town counterparts. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:54 | Feb 23rd, 2018
Recordings of songbird duets reveal baby birds learn conversational turn-taking like we do: gradually, and from adults. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:28 | Feb 22nd, 2018
The bloodsuckers lose their appetite for attractive scents when they associate those aromas with a likelihood of being swatted. Karen Hopkin reports.
01:45 | Feb 21st, 2018
Understanding an ecosystem means following changes in the abundances and identities of the species present as the clock ticks. The BioTIME database should help.
02:22 | Feb 19th, 2018
By eavesdropping on the calls of blue whales, researchers hope to get a more accurate picture of the massive mammals' distribution and abundance. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:30 | Feb 16th, 2018
By analyzing 130 years of seabird feathers, researchers determined that food webs are losing complexity in the Pacific—meaning less-resilient ecosystems. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:40 | Feb 14th, 2018
The bombardier beetle can spray its hot brew of toxic chemicals even after bring swallowed, to force a predator into vomiting it back out.
01:37 | Feb 13th, 2018
David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University College of Science in Canberra says that older trees play outsize roles in maintaining landscapes and ecosystems.
02:34 | Feb 11th, 2018
Damselfish had trouble learning to avoid predators, when that lesson was accompanied by a soundtrack of buzzing boat engines. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:23 | Feb 7th, 2018
The length and spacing of woodpecker drum rolls varies enough to tell woodpeckers apart—which could be useful to conservation biologists. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:45 | Feb 6th, 2018
Today’s work-from-home, on-demand culture means more days at home—and translates into greater energy savings, too. Karen Hopkin reports.
01:47 | Feb 3rd, 2018
Orcas can imitate calls from other whales and even human speech—suggesting they can transmit cultural practices, such as unique dialects. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:40 | Feb 2nd, 2018
During feel-good holiday periods like Christmas and Eid-al-Fitr, romance strikes—leading to a boom in births nine months later. Karen Hopkin reports.
02:22 | Feb 1st, 2018
Areas of Kenya without large wildlife saw tick populations rise as much as 370 percent—meaning more danger to humans. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:19 | Jan 30th, 2018
Chemists are working on ways for wildfire-affected winemakers to avoid creating smoky wines. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:49 | Jan 26th, 2018
Having lions and giraffes together in protected areas means far lower survival rates for juvenile giraffes. Jason Goldman reports.
01:38 | Jan 26th, 2018
Drugs modified by chemistry Nobel laureate Ben Feringa can be turned on and off by light, which could help keep bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance.
01:44 | Jan 25th, 2018
Researchers found a sixfold increase in heart attacks in patients in the week following a flu. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:19 | Jan 23rd, 2018
Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, talked about worldwide scientific collaboration today at the World Economic Forum.
02:35 | Jan 22nd, 2018
The geese are wintering further and further north, in urban areas like Chicago—which may help them avoid hunters. Emily Schwing reports.
01:52 | Jan 20th, 2018
An analysis of more than 200 earthquakes over the past four centuries concludes there's no connection between moon phases and big earthquakes. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:19 | Jan 19th, 2018
Surveillance of Yelp restaurant reviews for terms like vomit led researchers to the sources of foodborne illness outbreaks. Karen Hopkin reports.
01:59 | Jan 18th, 2018
Using a new algorithm, geneticists uncovered the pathogen that could have caused a massive epidemic in the Aztec empire: Salmonella bacteria. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:34 | Jan 13th, 2018
A new fossil find reveals that the sucking tongue of butterflies—or proboscis—appears to have evolved before the emergence of flowers. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:53 | Jan 11th, 2018
Astronomers found that other star systems tend to host similarly sized exoplanets—far different from ours. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:44 | Jan 10th, 2018
Ecologists needed a way to more easily keep track of populations of amphibians, and green glow sticks lit the way.
02:12 | Jan 4th, 2018
General Jay Raymond, Commander of Air Force Space Command, talks about keeping watch over space and cyber.
02:46 | Dec 30th, 2017
The song training that Bengalese finches received appeared to overcome tempo tendencies baked into their genes. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:13 | Dec 29th, 2017
Fruit bats raised hearing different pitches of sounds vocalized in keeping with their aural environment as they matured.
03:14 | Dec 24th, 2017
It takes months for members of a mongoose breeding society to trust newcomers with important tasks like watching for predators. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:35 | Dec 24th, 2017
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.
02:04 | Dec 23rd, 2017
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.
02:26 | Dec 21st, 2017
The Gulf corvina produces a chattering chorus that’s one of the loudest underwater animal sounds on the planet. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:52 | Dec 19th, 2017
Repeating something can render that thing melodious—even the sound of a shovel being dragged across the pavement. Karen Hopkin reports.
03:16 | Dec 17th, 2017
A flash of radiation drastically reduced arrhythmia in a small group of patients, for at least a year after treatment. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:14 | Dec 16th, 2017
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.
01:38 | Dec 15th, 2017
Noshing while shopping convinces consumers to buy the featured product more often than does simply seeing end-of-aisle displays. Karen Hopkin reports.
02:12 | Dec 11th, 2017
New beaver ponds in the Arctic may contribute to the destruction of the permafrost that holds that landscape together.
02:58 | Dec 10th, 2017
When sharks prowl shallow waters, fish quit foraging and hide—sparing seaweed from being grazed in those areas. Jason G. Goldman reports.
03:09 | Dec 10th, 2017
For thousands of years, women in agricultural societies seem to have had arms stronger than members of modern rowing teams.
02:47 | Dec 8th, 2017
Coquí frogs are invasive species in Hawaii. But they don’t seem to bug the islands’ native and non-native birds. Jason G. Goldman reports.
02:17 | Dec 8th, 2017
Hospitals consistently score low on quietness surveys. An acoustician suggests a few ways hospitals could keep the peace and quiet. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:07 | Dec 6th, 2017
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.
02:20 | Dec 6th, 2017
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.
02:16 | Dec 4th, 2017
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.
01:31 | Dec 2nd, 2017
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.
02:28 | Dec 1st, 2017
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.
02:41 | Nov 30th, 2017
A social scientist studies how car stickers turn the roads into actual information highways.
02:24 | Nov 28th, 2017
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.
02:35 | Nov 27th, 2017
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.
02:17 | Nov 26th, 2017
Researchers attached cameras to humpback whales and found that they flap their flippers to help power forward swimming.
01:54 | Nov 23rd, 2017
Estimating cranberry harvests involves tedious hand-counting. But microwave analysis could change all that. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:48 | Nov 22nd, 2017
A new analysis treats bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies as species in an evolutionary model—and finds bitcoin has no selective advantage. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:35 | Nov 20th, 2017
Salmon excavate streambed holes in which to lay eggs, setting off a chain of events that has surprisingly large geographical effects.
02:07 | Nov 17th, 2017
New World societies long ago likely had less income inequality than those in the Old World, and the difference might have been an oxen gap. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:34 | Nov 16th, 2017
The crested pigeon, found in Australia, has a modified wing feather that helps produce an alarm signal sound to warn other birds when there's trouble.
02:19 | Nov 15th, 2017
A campaign calls for the creation of a statue to recognize Félicette, the first cat to be sent into space.
02:24 | Nov 13th, 2017
The Bryde's whale has come up with a passive but more efficient feeding strategy in the hypoxic waters of the Gulf of Thailand.
01:59 | Nov 10th, 2017
Computer scientists borrowed insights from the fruit fly brain to create a more accurate search algorithm. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:42 | Aug 30th, 2017
When cattle graze the desert's natural landscape, birds face changes in food availability—and some species are unable to adapt. Jason Goldman reports.
01:35 | Aug 30th, 2017
Warmer water boosts fishes' demand for oxygen—and their bodies may shrink in response. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:40 | Aug 25th, 2017
In 1998 an orange juice maker dumped 12,000 tons of orange peels on degraded pastureland in Costa Rica—transforming it into vine-rich jungle. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:47 | Aug 24th, 2017
Astronomers Without Borders wants to share your used eclipse glasses with kids in other parts of the world for the 2019 total solar eclipse.
02:23 | Aug 19th, 2017
David Baron, author of the new book American Eclipse, talks about how seeing his first total solar eclipse turned him into an eclipse chaser.
02:28 | Aug 18th, 2017
A petroglyph spotted in Chaco Canyon may depict a total solar eclipse witnessed by the Pueblo people.
02:00 | Aug 18th, 2017
Why you should think twice before you give an app access to your phone’s address book.
01:56 | Aug 15th, 2017
A new device promises to tell police when a driver has been sending messages while behind the wheel, but is it legal? Larry Greenemeier reports.
02:07 | Aug 11th, 2017
Sea ice is drifting faster in the Arctic—which means polar bears need to walk farther to stay in their native range. Emily Schwing reports.
02:30 | Aug 9th, 2017
Western fence lizards are more spooked by red and gray shirts than they are by blue ones—perhaps because the males have blue bellies themselves. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:01 | Aug 6th, 2017
Celebrity Twitter accounts look a lot like Twitter bots: They tweet regularly, follow relatively few people, and upload a lot of content. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:19 | Aug 3rd, 2017
An epic bout of cold weather quickly altered a population of lizards—an example of natural selection in action. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:56 | Aug 2nd, 2017
Italians who stuck closely to the heart-healthy diet had fewer heart attacks and strokes—but only if they were well-off and/or college educated. Christopher Intagliata reports.
03:04 | Aug 1st, 2017
Humans appear well equipped to recognize the alarm calls of other animals—perhaps because sounds of distress tend to have higher frequencies. Karen Hopkin reports.
02:06 | Jul 28th, 2017
The North American walnut sphinx caterpillar produces a whistle that sounds just like a songbird's alarm call--and the whistle seems to startle birds. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:31 | Jul 27th, 2017
Volunteers who used money to save themselves time were more content than volunteers who purchased themselves physical stuff. Karen Hopkin reports.
01:54 | Jul 25th, 2017
Exposure to existing antibiotics can imbue infectious bacteria with resistance that also kicks in against new drugs related to the originals. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:02 | Jul 20th, 2017
Researchers in the U.K. trained computers to rate photos of parks and cities for what humans consider to be their scenic beauty. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:07 | Jul 18th, 2017
Forensic entomologists can chemically analyze fly eggs from a corpse, which might speed up detective work. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:54 | Jul 14th, 2017
Century-old records found in Puerto Rico helped reconstruct the damage caused there by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake—and could help disaster experts plan for the next big one. Julia Rosen reports.
02:05 | Jul 12th, 2017
An experimental cell phone works by absorbing and reflecting radio waves—meaning it's incredibly energy efficient and needs no battery. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:09 | Jul 7th, 2017
In patients with severe eczema, Staphylococcus aureus strains dominated the skin microbe population—suggesting that certain types of bacteria could worsen eczema flares. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:45 | Jul 4th, 2017
Whether lightning rods should have rounded or pointy ends became a point of contention between rebellious Americans and King George III.
02:00 | Jun 30th, 2017
Economists calculate that each degree Celsius of warming will dock the U.S. economy by 1.2 percent--and increase the divide between rich and poor. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:12 | Jun 29th, 2017
Quantum bits, aka qubits, can simultaneously encode 0 and 1. But multicolored photons could enable even more states to exist at the same time, ramping up computing power. Christopher Intagliata reports.
01:42 | Jun 27th, 2017
Researchers designed an antireflective coating for smartphone screens, with inspiration from the bumpy eyes of moths. Christopher Intagliata reports.
02:27 | Jun 23rd, 2017
The better study participants scored in the memory test, the faster they got bored. Karen Hopkin reports.
Find an episode and press play!
- Facebook ∙
- Twitter ∙
- Instagram ∙
- Blog ∙
- iOS App ∙
- Android App ∙
- Privacy Policy ∙
- Suggest an idea ∙
- Report an error