A Moment of Science
Episodes
Seeing Motion And Avoiding Obstacles
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Robotic aerial vehicles designed for functions such as search and rescue need ways to avoid crashing into trees, buildings and walls. There's a lot th...
Dogs Show Evidence Of Empathy
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dogs always seem to know how to improve our mood. It's almost as if they can tell exactly what we're feeling.
Tsunamis And The Oceans Of Mars
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Although the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity found geological evidence that ancient Mars had standing liquid water a long time ago, scientists are ...
How Sign Languages Develop
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers think that the first steps in the creation of a sign language likely resemble a game of charades. According to one study, it only takes fi...
City Moths Evolve To Avoid City Lights
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that moths are a lot less attracted to artificial light than they used to be? Huge numbers of moths die from flying toward artificial lig...
Jupiter's X-ray Aurora
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A planet has to have a magnetic field to make aurora lights. The sun is always sending out particles called the solar wind. That wind frequently incre...
Fungi Help Trees Share Carbon
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Once you know something about forests, it's easy to think of trees as competitive: they have to battle it out with each other for space, sunlight, wat...
Were Unicorns Real?
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Moment of Science is about unicorns. These creatures may be legendary, but there is growing evidence that the legend may have been inspired by...
Dinosaur Malaria
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are hundreds of millions of malaria cases worldwide every year. It's caused by a protozoan called Plasmodium and is spread by anopheline mosquit...
A More Nutritious Cassava Plant
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you live in the United States, you probably haven't given a lot of thought to vitamin B6. Our bodies can't produce it, but it's in a lot of staple ...
The Orchid That Smells Like People
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It might sound strange, but some orchids smell like people. Others smell like rotting meat or fish to attract pollinators.
Really Tiny Thermometers
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers at the University of Montreal have created a programmable thermometer made from DNA. It's 20,000 times smaller than the width of a human h...
Ant Antennae: Two-Way Communication
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Once one ant finds food, it leaves a pheromone scent trail so others can find the way with their antennae. Ant antennae not only pick up information, ...
Ancient Climate Records
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sophisticated digital climate models help scientists measure the effects of carbon dioxide on the warming and cooling of the planet. Water scientists ...
The Magnetic Field And Life On Earth
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Earth needed a number of things to become habitable. First of all, it needed to be close to a star, but not too close. It also needed water, a roc...
The Radical Radial Symmetry Of Moon Jellyfish
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine you're a moon jellyfish for a second. Now imagine suddenly finding yourself missing one of your arms. As a jellysih missing an arm, what would...
Is ET Hiding?
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We are closer than ever to finding inhabited worlds. When an alien planet passes in front of its star, an event that's called a transit, there is a sm...
When To Copy Your Neighbors
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever planted a garden because your neighbor's garden was growing well? This kind of imitative behavior was the inspiration behind a 2013 stud...
Remembrance Of Things Past For Babies
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most people say their earliest memory is from around the age of three, which led researchers to believe that children start forming long-term memories...
A New Mouth For Every Meal
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Outside of Greek mythology, hydras actually exist in the real world, although you can't see them without a microscope, otherwise it just looks like a ...
Bacterial Hooks
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many women get a urinary tract infection at some point, and they are quite painful. The infection is caused by bacteria that enter the body through th...
A New Ninth Planet
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We're going to have a solar system with nine planets, and it has nothing to do with Pluto. Caltech researchers have evidence of another more normal-si...
Fish Brains Have An Alert System
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that your brain has an alerting system? There is a structure in the brain that combines information from all of the senses, and detects i...
Recounting Our Bacteria: Fewer Than We Thought
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the last few decades, scientists have begun to understand the importance of bacteria that live in and on our bodies. The accepted estimate has been...
Are Dragons Real?
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today's Moment of Science, we're going to talk about dragons. This might seem like an inappropriate topic for a science program, but there are stor...
Do Sharks Navigate By Smell?
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The deep ocean is a confusing place to navigate. There are almost no visual landmarks, and water currents can carry an animal off course. Yet many spe...
Why We Become Enraged
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes when we're driving, we can become so enraged we can't really explain why. This is because our brains evolved to be extremely aware of threat...
Brains Are The Same
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Men and women have some obvious biological differences. But what about the brain? Are there such things as "female brains" and "male brains."
The Green Door
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Here's a simple demonstration you can do with cool implications. Find a large object that is brightly colored, like a green door. Stand with that door...
Dogs Recognize Their Own Species
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
French scientists recently tested dogs to see if they could recognize the faces of other dogs on a computer screen. This might not sound that difficul...
Camouflage Is Not Infallible
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are a few different types of camouflage in the natural world. There's disruptive coloration, like stripes or spots that break up your form again...
My Bacteria Are Full
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We've been hearing a lot about the importance of gut bacteria to our health. Now it turns out that bacteria also have a say in how and when we eat.
How Insects Drink
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Insects need water. How they get their water depends a lot on their diets. Herbivorous insects get most of their water from their food because plants ...
Evolving Better Eyes
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Although the eye is complicated, biologists still have a good understanding of how it evolved. In modern animals, they have found eyes of all differen...
Tardigrades: Stranger Than They Appear
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tardigrades are little animals that can survive dehydration, radiation, and survive in outer space without a space suit. As strange as all of the abov...
Recognizing Distant Relatives
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2015, a team of European biologists published evidence that Siberian jays can distinguish relatives they've never seen before.
Spiteful Monkeys
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We humans may share around 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees and other simians, but we're still pretty different. After all, we have smart phones, and m...
Think Like A Penguin
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A "niche" is an organism's special "slot" in an ecosystem that allows it to co-exist with other species. It's defined by the resources it needs to sur...
Driving A Cockroach
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists recently found a way to drive a cockroach the way you might drive a car. They put electrodes in its brain, and by stimulating it in the rig...
Drinking And Smoking
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most alcoholics smoke at about three times the rate in the general population. But a study suggested that what you're dealing with isn't just behavior...
Word Up, Brain
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today's Moment of Science we're going to perform a little experiment in order to learn a little bit about the motor cortex--a strip of tissue runni...
Stink Bugs Are Not All Bad
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It isn't uncommon for people to hate stink bugs, but not all stink bugs are bad. Some are beneficial, like spined soldier bugs. They are predators tha...
UFO Attack!
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1969 two airliners, plus the pilot of an Air National Guard fighter plane, report being harassed by a team of UFOs.
Why Elephants Don't Get Cancer
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists at the University of Utah and at Arizona State studied the elephant genome and found that they have up to 40 extra copies of genes that cod...
Mona Lisa's Mysterious Smile
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard neuroscientist Margaret Livingstone is pretty sure she's solved the puzzle of the Mona Lisa's changing smile. Presuming nothing, Livingstone r...
How Full Is That Glass?
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologist Jean Piaget claimed that children overestimate the volume of vertical dimensions, but that as their brains mature, they develop the capac...
Fermi's Paradox Part Two
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
According to reasonable estimates of how many stars have planets, how many planets may be suitable for the evolution of organisms, and so on, our Milk...
Fermi's Paradox
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Probability would lead us to believe that extraterrestrial life does exist, so why have we not found any?
Babies and Bacteria
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fetuses have some bacteria while still in the womb, but during birth they're coated with microbes as they travel down the birth canal, including bacte...
The Cyclopean Eye
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Since we have two eyes, why is it that we don't see two of everything? We seem to see like the cyclops in Greek mythology, as if we had one eye on our...
Put This In Your Pipe And Smoke It
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We all know that smoking cigarettes is bad. But what about smoking a pipe or cigars? Since you don't inhale, is it better for your health? Or at least...
What Makes Hummingbird Feathers So Beautiful
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever had a bird feeder, you've probably noticed how much more colorful hummingbirds are compared to other birds. So how are hummingbirds so ...
Why Do Wind Turbines Have Three Blades?
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever driven by a wind farm, you may have noticed that the turbines most likely have three blades. Not two, not five, but three.
Iridescence As Camouflage
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some beetles have beautiful, shiny carapaces that look like metal, or a jewel. That shininess is called iridescence. It's caused when tiny structures ...
Making Love, Not War
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists have compared chimpanzee and bonobo brains and think their different behavior could be due to brain structure.
Sand Dunes Repel Each Other
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sand dunes are everywhere. They form deserts on Earth, Venus, Mars, and Saturn's moon Titan. They even form underwater on seafloors and riverbeds.
Does Money Make Us Happy?
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Does money make us happy? The answer, according to psychologists, is both: up to a certain point money can buy happiness, so to speak.
Helpful Parrots
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are often quite willing to help one another, but it's not an exclusively human trait. Thanks to new research, scientists have learned that Afri...
Do Flying Fish Actually Fly?
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are around sixty-four species of flying fish, and they really do fly.
The Oceans Are Warming
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The world's oceans are like a sponge for heat, absorbing about 90 percent of the excess warming caused by carbon emissions from human activities. That...
Fossils Of The Future
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Our era has a tentative name: the Anthropocene era. There’s debate over when it started, and whether we merit a new geological epoch at all, but som...
How Old Is Cosmic Dust?
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By studying various kinds of rocks, scientists know that our solar system is about 4.6 billion years old. However, in 2019 an international team of re...
The Urban Coyote Patrol
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s nighttime. The moon is bright, and the day’s hubbub has quieted. In the distance, you hear a coyote howl. This scene sounds like something fr...
Why Do Opossums Hang Upside Down by Their Tails?
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever seen a cartoon of a sleeping opossum hanging upside down by its tail? Well, you may be surprised to learn that 'possums don't actually s...
Monocarpic Plants
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Agave, like aloe, is a succulent, meaning it has a number of characteristics that help it survive hot, dry desert climates. It's also a monocarpic pla...
Cloudy Apple Juice
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many people prefer clear apple juice to cloudy, mainly because it simply looks better. It turns out, however, that cloudy apple juice is actually bett...
The Vampire Bat Cares
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When most people think of vampires, they picture a scary, solitary, blood-sucking monster from a horror movie. They don't think of a model of sharing ...
Dancing Fingerprint
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Even though there are varying degress of skill, everyone can dance. What's more, our dance moves are something like a fingerprint. We all dance in a u...
The Difference Between White And Dark Meat
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What's the difference between white and dark meat? Beef if mostly dark meat and fish is mostly white meat. Turkeys, however, have both, so they offer ...
Bacterial Diversity On Your Skin
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many people use antibacterial soap in order to get rid of bacteria. However, researchers have discovered that there are at least 250 kinds of bacteria...
How Cuttlefish See In Three Dimensions
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An international team of neuroscientists has discovered how cuttlefish see in three dimensions. First of all, a cuttlefish isn't really a fish. The an...
Executing Queen Bees
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a bee hive, most bees work hard collecting pollen from flowers, except the queen, who doesn't even have to leave her hive.
Scans, Scans, And More Scans
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Go to the hospital to have a doctor check out an internal problem and you're liable to hear about MRI scans, CT scans and PET scans. All of these scan...
Do Plants Have Ears?
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If what we mean by hearing is just that a plant detects and responds to sounds, then there's evidence that plants can hear. In 2019 a team of Isreali...
Killed By The Sun
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Do you ever think about the risks the Apollo astronauts took in the name of science? It's amazing. Actually, the astronauts were at risk of something ...
The Moon Is Getting New Mirrors
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's amazing how much light our moon reflects. Having a few mirrors doesn't hurt, though. They're there because of the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment.
The Palo Verde, It's Easy Being Green
31 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Not just any old plant has what it takes to survive desert heat. Desert plants like cacti are remarkable for their unique adaptations to one fo the ha...
Octopus Games
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Octopuses can figure out mazes, learn by watching each other, even open jars to get at food. Few people realize how intelligent an octopus is.
Your Signature Moves
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Each one of us has a signature style to how we move and walk. Of course, after a long day or over a lifetime, that appearance will probably change. Bu...
The Greenland Ice Sheet Is Melting Faster Than Expected
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Greenland ice sheet is melting due to global climate change, and this melting may become the biggest single contributor to rising sea levels in th...
The Duality Of Hummingbird Bills
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A hummingbird's bill is for both pollination and combat. Hummingbirds use their bills to knock other birds off their perches and to fence while they h...
Firefly Mating Signals
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Firefly flashes are actually mating signals. Male fireflies cruise the evening air, flashing their lanterns in a pattern characteristic of their speci...
The Ancestry Of Arctic Sled Dogs
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dogs and their closest wild relatives, wolves, both came to North America from Eurasia. The earliest dogs in the Americas were introduced at least ten...
Curds And Whey
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone knows the children's rhyme about Miss Muffet eating curds and whey, but what exactly are curds and whey? Let's find out, on today's Moment of...
Koalas Have Sensitive Stomachs
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Koalas are such picky eaters that sometimes that won't even eat species of eucalypt that aren't their preferred choice. This preference stems from the...
A Magical Glow?
16 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered why fluorescent colors like the ones you see in highlighers or clothing dyes seem so much brighter than other colors? It's beca...
Stormy Solar Weather
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When thunderstorms are strong enough, they can knock over trees and cause large blackouts. Solar storms, however, make blackouts from thunderstorms se...
Sea Urchin Teeth
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sea urchins are small, furry, and sometimes colorful. They usually don't bite humans, but they do have really sharp teeth that researchers learned sha...
The Benefits Of Communicating In Person
09 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It is very easy to ignore requests made via email, while similar requests made in person are met with understanding. All of this has to do with psycho...
How Butterflies Found A Place In The Sun
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Winter mornings can be drab, which is why many people look forward to birds and butterflies returning in spring. Butterflies are good at brightening t...
Springs In The Cafeteria
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You're in a line at a cafeteria. You take a plate off the top of a stack of plates. The other plates in the stack rise from below just far enough to p...
A Satellite, Cubed
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A CubeSat is the size of a toaster, weighs about three pounds, and orbits the Earth. These nanosatellites are a particularly tiny type of research spa...
Autism And Tone Of Voice
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A variety of characteristics are used to diagnose autism in children. Often, it's poor social and communication skills which others observe in childre...
Why Cockroaches Escape
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The all-too familiar American cockroach almost seems to know where you're going to strike. What's the tip-off that sends the cockroach running?
Why Don't Animals Have Three Legs?
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It seems like a lot of animals use only three limbs sometimes, and since using three limbs seems to work well for them, why haven't any of them evolve...
The Origin Of The Electric Eel's Electricity
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There's a reason you won't find electric eels at your local petting zoo. These fierce creatures can release over 800 volts of electricity. Today we wi...
Eating More With Friends And Family
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A new study suggests that people eat more when they eat with family and friends. When eating with strangers, however, people take smaller portions in ...
Birds In Danger
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There is reason to worry about the future of birds in North America. A large team of researchers published a study showing that the bird population of...
The Star That's Almost Too Massive To Exist
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When a star burns through most of its nuclear material, it can explode in a bright supernove and leave behind a dense core. If that core is massive en...
The Royal Jelly
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
According to legend, King Arther gained the crown by pulling a sword from a rock. Queen honeybees have an equally enchanting way of ascending to the t...