A Moment of Science
Episodes
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...
The Camel's Unique Physiology
18 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A camel can travel hundreds of miles, over several days, without stopping to drink. On today's Moment of Science, we'll learn how camels survive the d...
Survival Stripes
15 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The stripes on some insects help them survive in the wild. When prey with high-contrast stripes move, their stripes blur, making it hard for a predato...
Mouthwash and Exercise
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It might not be a great idea to use mouthwash right after working out, at least if you want to experience the blood pressure-reducing effects seen aft...
Spiders Go Way Back
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some spider webs look as though they were thrown together at the last minute, while others look as though they wer meticulously planned months in adva...
Getting Electricity From Heat
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In order to fight climate change, we need to find new ways of generating electricity that don't involve burning fuels and generating greenhouse gases....
Fighting Peanuts With Peanuts
11 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s the common advice about peanuts: if you’re allergic, stay away. Nut allergies are notorious for causing severe, even deadly, reactions. But...
Saving Up For A Rainy Day
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Are you annoyed by that guy in your office who plays solitaire all day and never actually accomplishes anything? Then you'd really be aggravated in th...
Varying Perceptions Of Pitch
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
People who listen to music a lot can perceive the similarity between two of the same notes in different octaves. This may not seem like such a unique ...
The Last Woolly Mammoths
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While the first human civilizations grew in Mesopotamia, and the ancient Egyptians were building the pyraminds, there were still woolly mammoths livin...
Walking On The Moon In Arizona
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Apollo 11 mission that landed the first humans on the moon famously blasted off from Florida, but NASA was in Arizona, too. In 1967, two years bef...
The Humanizing Voice
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Voices often indicate thoughts and emotions indirectly. Cues in the form of pitches, tones and pauses are qualities of voices that listeners use to ma...
The Mistletoe Bird (Zoochory Part 2)
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last time on A Moment Of Science we learned about plants that disperse their seeds via zoochory, meaning they've evolved various ways to hitch rides w...
Zoochory
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Just as animals are often driven to great lengths, literally and figuratively, to propagate their species, plants too are driven to reproduce. To do t...
Seed Swallower
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Seeds aren't as dangerous as some urban legends might lead you to believe, but they also aren't very good for you, either.
Acting Like An Introvert
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When making plans for the weekend, some people like to be by themselves, while others prefer to be go out and be social. To learn more about these two...
Stressed Out Quails
25 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
People have long debated whether physical or behavioral traits are the result of genetic inheritance or environmental factors. In an effort to end thi...
How The Monarch Got Its Poison
23 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Among butterflies, the monarch really stands out with its beautiful orange and black colors. These colors evolved to warn predators about the monarch'...
The Superior Quality Of Hot Nectar
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the midst of winter, one of the best ways to combat the effects of cold weather is a hot beverage. A new study out of the University of London show...
How To See The Northern Lights
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are waving ribbons of green, red and purple in the sky. These curtains of light can be seen as...
Coffee Cup Illusion
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Things are not always as they seem, and this little demonstration will prove it. All you need is a cup of black coffee and an overhead light.
Solitary Bees
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the common fear among many people of "swarms of bees," most bee species are actually solitary. Unlike social bees like the bumblebee, solitary...
Magma and Oxygen
19 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today on A Moment of Science were going to explain why Earth's air contains oxygen.
Hairstyles That Lead To Hair Loss
18 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ponytails, cornrows, and tight up-dos are hairstyles that can look great. But wearing your hair pulled tight for extended periods of time can eventual...
Galactic Center
15 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2019, scientists achieved a great goal of astrophysics when they published the first-ever image of a black hole. By coordinating radio telescopes a...
Knuckleball Physics
09 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In baseball, hitting a homer against a fastball, or even a knuckleball, can be very difficult, though not as difficult as you might think.
Luke Skywalker's Hand
28 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In a scene from Star Wars: The Emprie Strikes Back, Darth vader cuts off Luke Skywalkers right hand. Afterwards, Luke receives a robotic replacement h...
Eyes and Alzheimer's
27 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers think that looking at how quickly a person's pupil dilates when taking cognitive tests could predict if a person is at an increased risk f...
Crows Choose Whether To Call
23 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Humans voluntarily choose some of our actions, but others are automatic. Scientists want to know whether animal behaviors are automatically triggered ...
Feeling Hangry
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When people are hungry, this hunger sometimes turns into anger. This mental state is known as "hangry," and could be caused by the stress of the morni...
Computing With Light
12 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Computers would be much faster, smaller, and consume less energy if they used light signals instead of electrical signals. That's why many scientists ...
A Rock In A Rowboat
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine you're in a rowboat, in a small pond. You have a huge boulder with you in the boat. You throw the boulder overboard into the water. Does th...
Cloudy Vision
16 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Cataracts are the result of the natural breakdown of proteins in the eye’s lens as you age. When lens proteins lose their three dimensional structur...
A New Atomic Clock Could Help Spaceships Navigate Better
09 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A New Atomic Clock Could Help Spaceships Navigate Better
Birds Of A Feather Flock Together
07 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Social niches are made up of the social aspects of a species' environmental relationship. In the case of humans, this means that your friends, family ...
Mosquitoes On The Scent
03 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Mosquitoes On The Scent
The Cleaning Powers Of Goat Stomachs
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers from the University of Zurich examined 28 goats that were fed different pelleted diets of grit and hay. The scientists performed CT scans ...
The Ocean's Fish Are Running Out Of Clean Water
26 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The ocean is getting louder. Fish make noise. They whistle, chirp, hum, sing, swish. But boat engines, sonar, and deep-sea mining cause quite the rack...
The Health Consequences Of Parenting
03 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Research conducted at Lorna Linda University Health shows that children who grew up with parents who had a “warm” parenting style have an advantag...
Coffee Cup Convection
27 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Convection is a common process in nature, and occurs when warmer air or liquid lies under a cooler layer. This is what happens in a coffee cup: the co...
Jabuticaba, The Fruit That Grows On Trees
21 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jabuticaba is a fruit native to Brazil. It’s the size and color of a plum, with a white pulp and several seeds. It’s also known for its health ben...
Clouds In The Kitchen
15 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Fill a kettle with water, then turn on the burner. In a while, your kettle will start belching white billowy stuff into the air. What is this stuff? S...
Sadness Makes People Short With Money
08 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
You've probably heard the phrase "Sadder but wiser," implying that feeling low somehow makes us think more clearly.