Synopsis
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 of our archived podcasts please go to www.scientificamerican.com/podcast
Episodes
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Selective Breeding Molds Foxes into Pets
25/04/2017 Duration: 02minEvolutionary biologist Lee Dugatkin talks about the six-decade Siberian experiment with foxes that has revealed details about domestication in general.
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Why One Researcher Marched for Science
22/04/2017 Duration: 02minLisa Klein, from the materials science and engineering department at Rutgers University, commented on the March for Science at an April 21 talk to the chemistry department at Lehman College in the Bronx.
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Healthy Behavior Can Spread Like Illness
20/04/2017 Duration: 02minIf people run more in New York City, that can push their socially connected counterparts in San Diego to run more as well. Christopher Intagliata reports.
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Climate 420 Million Years Ago Poised for Comeback
19/04/2017 Duration: 02minStarting in the next century, atmospheric carbon levels could begin to approach those of hundreds of millions of years ago, and have their warming effect augmented by a brighter sun.
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Traces of Genetic Trauma Can Be Tweaked
15/04/2017 Duration: 02minTrauma can be passed down to offspring due to epigenetic changes in DNA. But positive experiences seem able to correct that. Erika Beras reports.
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Species Split When Mountains Rise
13/04/2017 Duration: 01minPlant species in China's Hengduan Mountains exploded in diversity eight million years ago—right when the mountains were built. Christopher Intagliata reports.
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Shoelace Study Untangles a Knotty Problem
12/04/2017 Duration: 03minResearchers have trotted out data that show a combination of whipping and stomping forces is what causes laces to unravel without warning. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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World Parkinson's Day Puts Spotlight on Condition
11/04/2017 Duration: 02minMichael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research CEO Todd Sherer, a neuroscientist, talks about the state of Parkinson's disease and research.
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Cave Dwellers Battled Bed Bug Bites, Too
06/04/2017 Duration: 01minResearchers have found the earliest evidence of bugs in the Cimex genus co-habitating with humans, in Oregon's Paisley Caves. Christopher Intagliata reports.
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Extreme Storms Are Extreme Eroders
05/04/2017 Duration: 02minThe storm that swept across the Rockies in September 2013 unleashed huge amounts of sediment downstream, doing the work of a century of erosion. Julia Rosen reports.
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Spiders Gobble Gargantuan Numbers of Tiny Prey
03/04/2017 Duration: 02minThe low-end estimate for how much the world's spiders eat is some 400 million tons of mostly insects and springtails.
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Your Cat Thinks You're Cool
29/03/2017 Duration: 02minA study of house cats and shelter cats found that the felines actually tended to choose human company over treats or toys.
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Exoplanets Make Life Conversation Livelier
25/03/2017 Duration: 02minAstronomer Caleb Scharf weighs what ever more exoplanets mean in the search for extraterrestrial life.
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Bring Bronx Zoo to Your Living Room
24/03/2017 Duration: 02minAnimal Planet's series The Zoo shows viewers the biological, veterinary and conservation science at a modern zoo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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UV Rays Strip Small Galaxies of Star Stuff
22/03/2017 Duration: 02minResearchers measured the intensity of the universe's ultraviolet background radiation, and say it may be strong enough to strip small galaxies of star-forming gas. Christopher Intagliata reports.
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Aggressed-Upon Monkeys Take Revenge on Aggressor's Cronies
21/03/2017 Duration: 02minJapanese macaques at the receiving end of aggression tend to then take it out on a close associate or family member of the original aggressor.
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Chaotic Orbits Could Cause Catastrophic Collision
20/03/2017 Duration: 03minResearchers used ancient climate cycles to confirm the solar system’s chaotic planetary orbits. An Earth–Mars collision is one distant outcome. Julia Rosen reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Pulling the String on Yo-Yo Weight Gain
18/03/2017 Duration: 02minMice that lost weight and then gained back more than they lost maintained an obesity-type microbiome that affected biochemicals involved in either burning or adding fat--suggesting interventions.
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Poverty Shaves Years off Life
17/03/2017 Duration: 03minA meta-analysis found that being of low socioeconomic status was associated with almost as many years of lost life as was a sedentary lifestyle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Pollinators Shape Plants to Their Preference
16/03/2017 Duration: 01minIn fewer than a dozen generations bumblebee-pollinated plants were coaxed to develop traits that made them even more pleasing to the bees. Christopher Intagliata reports.