Science Quickly
Episodes
Newton Figured Out How Tree Sap Rises
09 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Buried in one of Isaac Newton's college notebooks is a page on which he fairly accurately theorizes on the process of transpiration in plants, two cen...
Cities Could Win Economically by Losing Olympics
06 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
According to sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, most cities that win the right to host the Olympics will spend far more to prepare for the games than ...
Drones Spy On Birds in Flight
03 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Quadcopters appear to be a relatively benign tool to study the behavior and numbers of wetland birds. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about ...
Save Libyan Archaeology Plea Issued
02 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Savino di Lernia, director of the Archaeological Mission in the Sahara at the Sapienza University of Rome, says violence and unrest threaten World Her...
Super Bowl Team Cities See More Flu Deaths
30 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Regions that send a team to the Super Bowl saw on average an 18 percent increase in flu deaths among those over 65, probably because of increased tran...
Climate Influences Language Evolution
28 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The ease with which certain sounds are produced in different climes plays a role in the development of spoken languages. Christopher Intagliata report...
Gates CEO: Let's Shrink Maternal Mortality
27 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Susan Desmond-Hellmann talks about some of what needs to be done to make a reality of the foundation's aspiration ...
Snail's Venom Puts Fish in Insulin Coma
26 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The cone snail's venom contains not only neurotoxins, but insulin, too—which stuns the fish it preys on. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more a...
Tech Consequences Voiced by Carnegie Mellon Prez
23 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
At the World Economic Forum, Carnegie Mellon president Subra Suresh talks about dealing with the unintended consequences of ever more sophisticated in...
Diaper Material Expands Wee Microscope Views
22 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The absorbent material in disposable diapers can expand tissue samples, making more structure visible under light microscopes. Karen Hopkin reports Le...
Obama Talks Ebola and Climate in His SOTU
21 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In his State of the Union address, the president talked about the need for frameworks to be in place to stop future pandemics and rising worldwide tem...
Computer Snoopers Read Electromagnetic Emissions
20 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers were able to track the keystrokes of a nearby computer via fluctuations in its electromagnetic radiation output. Christopher Intagliata re...
Ex-President Wins Campaign against Ghastly Guinea Worm
15 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Jimmy Carter's efforts against the horribly painful guinea worm parasitic disease have helped lower the number of cases from 3.5 million in 1986 to ju...
Antibiotics in Blood Can Make Malaria Mosquitoes Mightier
13 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The drugs disrupt mosquitoes' gut bacteria, which appears to make the insects more effective malaria vectors. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn mor...
Health and Conservation Reminders Cut Consumer Energy Use
12 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Households that got weekly messages about the lower pollution they generated via efficiency cut energy use much more than did residents who were told ...
Active Sun at Birth Cut Historical Life Spans
09 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
High UV radiation during solar maxima may have degraded expectant mothers' stores of folate, a vitamin essential to development. Christopher Intagliat...
Making Evolution Make Microbes Make Products
08 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
By selecting for bacteria that can survive only if they make a particular product of interest over multiple iterations, researchers vastly improved yi...
Human Eye Sometimes Sees the Unseeable
06 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Under certain conditions people can catch a glimpse of usually invisible infrared light. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
E.T. May Reveal Itself with Vibration
05 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Looking for movement could complement chemical searches for extraterrestrial life. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Large Carnivores Getting Comfy in Europe
02 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Populations of big carnivores such as brown bears, Eurasian lynx, grey wolves and wolverines are stable or increasing in a substantial part of Europe....
Lyme Helps Spread Other Tick Infections
31 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Mice infected with Lyme and the Babesia parasite are more likely to pass on babesiosis than mice infected with babesiosis alone. Christopher Intagliat...
Lightning May Sink Mountain Summits
30 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Magnetic anomalies in rocks indicate that lightning may be a major player in weathering mountains. Julia Rosen reports Learn more about your ad cho...
Budget Bill Stealthily Affects Environment and Energy
23 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Congress took advantage of the pressure to pass a budget bill by adding riders that change rules concerning the environment and energy. Josh Fischman ...
Plankton Pee May Alter Ocean's Chemistry
22 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The urine of a vast army of tiny fish, jellies and shrimpy things may play an important role in the ocean's nitrogen cycle. Christopher Intagliata rep...
Penicillins Reveal Additional Antibacterial Power
19 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Penicillin and its relatives have been in wide use since the 1940s, but researchers have only now discovered another way that it thwarts bacteria. Kar...
Short-Term Fasting Made Mice Healthier
17 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Mice that ate their entire food for the day in an eight-to-12-hour window had better markers for health than did mice free to eat whenever they wanted...
Laser Zap Determines Fruit Ripeness
15 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The way fruit reflects and absorbs laser light may be a good measure of its progression toward peak ripeness. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn mor...
Birds Roost on New Evolutionary Tree
11 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In a massive first-of-its-kind whole-genome analysis involving 48 bird species, researchers have created a new avian evolutionary tree. Steve Mirsky r...
Canary out, Smartphone in for Gas Detection
11 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
By using tiny carbon nanotubes tuned electronically to particular gases, researchers turned smartphones into toxin sensors. Cynthia Graber reports ...
Quarter-Million Tons of Plastic Plague Oceans
10 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Based on trawling samples and visual observations of plastic debris, computer models calculate that some 5.25 trillion particles of plastic—about 26...
Dumpster Diving Provides Drinking Data
09 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers estimated alcohol consumption at a senior center by putting out recycling bins and counting the bottle contents. Karen Hopkin reports ...
Summer Teen Jobs Cut Violence
08 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A study following teens who had summer jobs found violent crime in that population almost cut in half, during and following the employment. Cynthia Gr...
Poorer Kids May Be Too Respectful at School
03 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Working-class kids ask for help from teachers less often and less aggressively than do their middle-class counterparts Learn more about your ad ch...
Big Apple's Insects Eat Streets Clean
02 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers working in New York City found that hungry urban arthropods help dispose of tons of edible trash. Allie Wilkinson reports Learn more about...
<i>Scientific American</i>'s 1930 Football Study Found Little Actual Action
26 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal found in 2010 that an NFL game has just 11 minutes of actual action. Eight decades earlier, Scientific American found just abo...
Looking Back on 40 Years of Lucy
25 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson's first glimpse of Lucy came on November 24, 1974 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Better Barley Let People Settle Tibetan Plateau
21 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Importation of a frost-resistant barley from the Fertile Crescent to Tibet some 3,600 years ago is associated with the advent of settlements at 3,000 ...
Worse Than the Bite
20 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new study suggests bed bugs can transmit Chagas disease to mice—but the same thing is unlikely to happen in humans. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Semen Protects HIV from Microbicide Attack
14 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Microbicides that kill HIV in the lab often fail in clinical trials. A study finds that semen may be the culprit. Cynthia Graber reports Learn mor...
Select Few Can Truly Drink to Their Health
14 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Alcohol's supposed benefit to the heart may only be available to people with the right genes. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad ...
"We Are on the Comet!"
12 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Some sounds from the Rosetta Mission team today after they succeeded in landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Steve Mirsky reports Learn m...
Microbiome Studies Contaminated by Sequencing Supplies
11 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Nonsterile lab reagents and DNA extraction kits add their own assortment of DNA to microbiome samples. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about...
Young Earth May Have Been All Wet
10 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Because the chemical signature of water on Earth matches the signature of water in an ancient group of asteroids called eucrites, it means that Earth ...
Chimps Hit Sack with Breakfast Plans
07 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Chimps choose an overnight camp site based on the likelihood of finding calorically rich food nearby. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad ch...
Bats Jam Rivals’ Sonar to Steal a Meal
06 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Mexican free-tailed bats make calls that interfere with fellow bats’ echolocation, causing them to miss their insect targets. Christopher Intagliata...
Half-Century Anniversary of a Mars Mishap
05 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
November 5th marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of Mariner 3, America’s first mission to Mars, which was lost in space. Steve Mirsky reports ...
Button Battery Coating Lessens Risk If Swallowed
03 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of small children swallow tiny batteries each year. A new battery coating could protect kids from internal burns and still allow the batteri...
Bacteria Lowers Mosquito Transmission of Malaria, Dengue
31 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Mosquitoes that harbor a soil microbe called Chromobacterium Csp_P have a harder time catching dengue virus and the malarial parasite. Christopher Int...
Mammals Might Have Slept Through Dino Destroyer
30 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The ability to engage in extended hibernation might be what saved ancestral mammals from extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period. Karen Hopkin ...
Online Personalization Means Prices Are Tailored to You, Too
28 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Christo Wilson, a computer scientist at Northeastern University, says prices online are "super subjective" and vary according to your past clicks and ...
Fecal Transplanters Fish Out Key Ingredient
22 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The bacterium Clostridium scindens, a member of the gut’s microbiome, appears to ward off the hospital-acquired infection C. difficile. Christopher ...
Coyote Size Forces Smartness
21 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Topping out at about 20 kilograms, a coyote has to be able to hunt both smaller and bigger prey, and avoid being prey itself, a combination that selec...
Plant Thorns Increase When Defense Needed
17 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In areas with few herbivores acacia plants don't bother to churn out many of the off-putting thorns. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad c...
Lemur Latrine Trees Serve as Community Bulletin Boards
16 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Primatologists spent almost 1,100 hours watching lemurs do their business on their designated tree and concluded that urine and glandular secretions s...
Carnivorous Plant Inspires Anticlotting Medical Devices
15 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
By copying aspects of the slick surfaces of insect-catching pitcher plants, researchers created tubes that can carry blood without promoting the forma...
Less Well-Off Donate Bigger Income Percentage
13 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Wealthier people on average gave a lower percentage to charity in 2012 than they did in 2006, while the less affluent increased their giving. Cynthia ...
To Walk, You Have to Fall in Step
09 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Motion-capture technology reveals that the body falls forward and sideways as we walk, and the feet come down to restore balance. Karen Hopkin reports...
2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
08 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner share the 2014 chemistry Nobel for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy, which...
2014 Nobel Prize in Physics
07 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura share the physics Nobel for the invention of efficient blue light–emitting diodes, which has enabled...
2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
06 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser share the prize for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain. St...
Reindeer Spit Smacks Down Plant Toxins
03 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Compounds in reindeer and moose saliva interfere with the production of toxins in plants that ordinarily stop animals from dining on the vegetation. K...
Good Palm Oil Yields Could Be Bad News
02 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Increased palm oil yields could unintentionally have the effect of creating a bigger demand for land for even more palm oil planting. Cynthia Graber r...
Central Park Features Worldwide Soil Microbes
01 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The soil in Manhattan's Central Park contains microbial life that also exists in deserts, frozen tundra, forests, rainforests and prairies. Steve Mirs...
Sea Garbage Shows Ocean Boundaries
30 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Floating refuse reveals ocean currents that in turn show where the world's oceans mix and where they stay relatively discrete. Karen Hopkin reports ...
Yeast Coaxed to Make Morphine
29 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Genetically manipulated yeast can produce morphine that could help get around the problems with poppy crops, which include climate, disease and war. K...
Crustal Chemistry May Aid in Earthquake Prediction
25 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers say chemical changes in groundwater may someday be used to predict quakes four to six months in advance. Christopher Intagliata reports Le...
Fire Cooked Up Early Human Culture
24 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
An anthropologist studying current hunter–gatherers finds that nighttime around the fire is when conversation turns from business to bonding. Cynthi...
I Got Rhythm, I Got Reading
23 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Kids who could keep a beat had superior skills related to reading and language than did those whose rhythm strayed. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more ...
Dino Devastator Also Ravaged Veggies
19 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
After the Chicxulub meteorite, more than half the plant species in temperate North America perished along with the dinosaurs, and the composition of p...
Genius Grant Goes to Science Historian
17 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
New MacArthur Fellow Pamela Long studies the scientific revolution as a result of the interactions of academics and hands-on infrastructure engineers ...
Leopards Wolf Down Fido in India Ag Area
16 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A study of leopard droppings in agricultural western India reveals that the cats primarily eat domestic animals, mostly dogs, but only a small amount ...
Bio-Spleen Sucks Pathogens and Toxins from Blood
15 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The new device rids the blood of bacteria, fungi, viruses and toxins using nanoscale-size magnetic beads. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your...
Synthetic Fabrics Host More Stench-Producing Bacteria
05 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Micrococcus bacteria thrive on the open-air lattice of synthetic fibers—where they sit chomping on the fatty acids in our sweat, turning them into s...
Turtles Not Among the "Silent Majority" of Reptiles
04 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Biologists have identified at least 11 different sounds in the turtle repertoire—but they still have no idea what they mean. Christopher Intagliata ...
Chimp Chatter Now up for Eavesdropping
03 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers from the Netherlands have made available online a digitized catalogue of more than 10 hours’ worth of chimpanzee calls. Karen Hopkin rep...
Most Tibetans Genetically Adapted to the High Life
02 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Ninety percent of Tibetans share a genetic mutation that prevents their blood from becoming dangerously clogged with red blood cells at high altitudes...
Narcissists Self-Involved Enough to Recognize Their Narcissism
01 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The simple question “To what extent do you agree with this statement: I am a narcissist” is about as good at identifying narcissists as a 40-quest...
How Asteroid 1950 DA Keeps It Together
29 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The kilometer-size rubble pile appears to be held together by van der Waals forces. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...
Pump Up the Bass—and Maybe Your Confidence
28 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Study volunteers who had listened to bass-heavy music were more likely to act dominant or aggressive in games and debates. Erika Beras reports Learn m...
Stressed Women Burn Fewer Comfort Food Calories
27 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Women who reported feeling stressed or depressed burned fewer calories after a calorie-packed meal than mellow women. Erika Beras reports. Learn mor...
Habitat Loss a Real Buzzkill for Invertebrates
26 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The number of invertebrates has fallen by nearly half over the past 35 years—the same period of time in which the human population has doubled. Kare...
Soccer Goalies Ignore Basic Rule of Probability
25 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When penalty shots repeatedly head in one direction, world-class goalkeepers are more likely to lunge the other way. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more a...
Finally, an Algorithm to Sort Your Beatles Albums
22 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
By analyzing the evolving structure of the Beatles’ music, the computer program was able to correctly place the Fab Four’s albums in chronologic...
Sack Sulfates to Preserve Sewers
21 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Sulfates used in water treatment become sulfuric acid in our sewers, eating away at the concrete infrastructure. Cynthia Graber reports. Learn more ...
Bio-Battery Produces Power from Your Perspiration
20 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Exercising in the future could make dirty clothes and some clean energy. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
Lose Your Job? Good for the Rest of Us
19 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Recession lowers mortality in the population overall—even as the out-of-work individual’s risk of death rises. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more abo...
Nose Knows What the Mind Tells It
18 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When people with asthma think they’re smelling something noxious, their airways become inflamed—even when the odor is harmless. Karen Hopkin repo...
Tiny Toe Tools Ensure Gecko Traction
15 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
To activate or loosen their grip on a surface, geckos extend and angle or retract tiny toe hairs that create contact points. Clara Moskowitz reports ...
Guys Prefer Electric Shocks to Boredom
13 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Guys would rather zap themselves with electricity than be left alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad...
Google Searches Linked to Stock Market Moves
12 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When Web searches related to business and politics go up, the market tends to take a dive—although that connection may already be fading. Christophe...
Andromeda Snickers at Milky Way Mass
06 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A new estimate finds that the Milky Way, once thought to be twice as massive as Andromeda, may actually only have half our neighbor galaxy's mass. Chr...
Spider's Scat Disguise May Be Its Salvation
05 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Masquerading as a bird turd appears to protect certain arachnids from getting eaten by wasps. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choi...
System Converts Solar Efficiently to Steam
04 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A graphite disk resting on carbon foam collects sunlight to heat water directly to steam with 85 percent efficiency. Cynthia Graber reports Lear...
Environment Has Beef with Beef
01 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Raising beef uses 28 times more land, 11 times more water and six times more fertilizer than the average expenditures for other livestock. Cynthia Gra...
Pack Rats Expand Diet with New Gut Bacteria
31 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Pack rats given the right gut bacteria via a fecal transplant from other pack rats can then digest foods that they formerly could not, but the donors ...
Colorful Birds Can Also Belt Tunes
30 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A survey of the tanagers reveals that birds do not have to choose between colorful plumage and a melodious song. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more...
Roach Reactions to Venom Point to Targeted Pesticides
29 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Small changes in the protein sequence of sodium channels of American compared with German cockroaches leave the latter susceptible to a venom that has...
Ocean Plastic Particles Could Get in Gills
28 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Sea creatures eat plastic dumped in the ocean, but they also might be accumulating plastic by sucking up tiny particles with their siphons and gills. ...
Salmonella's Favorite Food Could Be Its Achilles' Heel
23 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Salmonella's primary fuel source is the molecule fructose-asparagine. Starving it of that fuel in an infected person could kill it without harming ben...
Education Level Linked to Nearsightedness
21 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In a German study, half of those with a university degree were myopic compared with less than a quarter of folks who quit after high school or seconda...