Science Quickly

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Bonobo Mothers Supervise Their Sons' Monkey Business May 29, 2019

Show notes

Some wild female bonobos introduce their sons to desirable females—then make sure their relations won’t be interrupted by competing males. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Music May Orchestrate Better Brain Connectivity in Preterm Infants May 28, 2019

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Preterm babies who listened to music in the neonatal intensive care unit had brain activity that more closely resembled that of full-term babies. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Icy Room Temperatures May Chill Productivity  May 23, 2019

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A new study suggests women's performance on math and verbal tasks increases as room temperature rises, up to about the mid 70s F. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Bird Beak Shapes Depend on More Than Diet May 22, 2019

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A study found that only a small percentage of bird beak shape variation is dependent on diet, with other factors like display and nest construction probably playing parts too.

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Ancient Gum Gives Archaeologists Something to Chew On May 20, 2019

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Chewing gums discovered in western Sweden contain the oldest human DNA found in Scandinavia. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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Nobelist: Harness Evolution as a Problem-Solving Algorithm May 17, 2019

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Frances Arnold, the Caltech scientist who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, says evolution can show us how to solve problems of sustainability.

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Unread Books at Home Still Spark Literacy Habits May 16, 2019

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Growing up in a home filled with books enhances enhances intellectual capacity in later life, even if you don't read them all.

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Kid Climate Educators Open Adult Eyes May 15, 2019

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A study finds that kids, especially daughters, are effective at teaching their parents about climate issues.

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Penguin Poop Helps Biodiversity Bloom in Antarctica May 14, 2019

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Ammonia from penguin poop gets carried on Antarctic winds, fertilizing mosses and lichens as far as a mile away. Christopher Intagliata reports.