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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Tiny Toe Tools Ensure Gecko Traction
15/08/2014 Duration: 01minTo activate or loosen their grip on a surface, geckos extend and angle or retract tiny toe hairs that create contact points. Clara Moskowitz reports
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Guys Prefer Electric Shocks to Boredom
13/08/2014 Duration: 01minGuys would rather zap themselves with electricity than be left alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Karen Hopkin reports
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Google Searches Linked to Stock Market Moves
12/08/2014 Duration: 01minWhen Web searches related to business and politics go up, the market tends to take a dive—although that connection may already be fading. Christopher Intagliata reports
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Andromeda Snickers at Milky Way Mass
06/08/2014 Duration: 01minA 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. Christopher Intagliata reports
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Spider's Scat Disguise May Be Its Salvation
05/08/2014 Duration: 01minMasquerading as a bird turd appears to protect certain arachnids from getting eaten by wasps. Karen Hopkin reports
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System Converts Solar Efficiently to Steam
04/08/2014 Duration: 01minA graphite disk resting on carbon foam collects sunlight to heat water directly to steam with 85 percent efficiency. Cynthia Graber reports
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Environment Has Beef with Beef
01/08/2014 Duration: 01minRaising beef uses 28 times more land, 11 times more water and six times more fertilizer than the average expenditures for other livestock. Cynthia Graber reports
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Pack Rats Expand Diet with New Gut Bacteria
31/07/2014 Duration: 01minPack 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 could. Karen Hopkin reports
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Colorful Birds Can Also Belt Tunes
30/07/2014 Duration: 01minA survey of the tanagers reveals that birds do not have to choose between colorful plumage and a melodious song. Karen Hopkin reports
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Roach Reactions to Venom Point to Targeted Pesticides
29/07/2014 Duration: 01minSmall changes in the protein sequence of sodium channels of American compared with German cockroaches leave the latter susceptible to a venom that has little effect on the former. Cynthia Graber reports
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Ocean Plastic Particles Could Get in Gills
28/07/2014 Duration: 02minSea creatures eat plastic dumped in the ocean, but they also might be accumulating plastic by sucking up tiny particles with their siphons and gills. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Salmonella's Favorite Food Could Be Its Achilles' Heel
23/07/2014 Duration: 01minSalmonella's primary fuel source is the molecule fructose-asparagine. Starving it of that fuel in an infected person could kill it without harming beneficial gut bacteria. Karen Hopkin reports
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Education Level Linked to Nearsightedness
21/07/2014 Duration: 02minIn 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 secondary school. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Give Us This Day the Bread Wheat Genome
17/07/2014 Duration: 01minA preliminary map of the bread wheat genome includes the locations of more than 75,000 genes. Cynthia Graber reports
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Supercooled Organs Could Stretch Time to Transplant
09/07/2014 Duration: 01minLiver transplant time from human donor to patient is limited to 12 hours, but rats that got livers specially stored for three days were going strong three months later. Cynthia Graber reports
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Space-Based Data Collection Better Predicts Floods
08/07/2014 Duration: 01minSatellite data can help geologists predict major floods up to 11 months in advance in areas where snow melt or groundwater is a significant contributor. Cynthia Graber reports
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Mobile Phones Carry Owners' Microbiomes
02/07/2014 Duration: 01minThe bacteria found on someone's mobile phone is a good match for the most common kinds of bacteria that live on their hands. Christopher Intagliata reports
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Malarial Mice Smell Better to Mosquitoes
01/07/2014 Duration: 02minMice infected with the parasites that cause their type of malaria produce odorous compounds that attract mosquitoes, increasing the odds that the parasites will be spread to the next victims Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Neandertal Diners Had Side of Veggies
27/06/2014 Duration: 01minBy analyzing what came out of Neandertals, researchers have verified that at least some of them mixed vegetation into their meaty diet. Cynthia Graber reports
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21-Second Rule Governs Mammal Micturition
25/06/2014 Duration: 01minAll mammals that weigh more than about six-and-a-half pounds take about the same time to urinate, thanks to the structure of the urethra. Karen Hopkin reports