Science Quickly

Latest Episodes:

Bookish Mobsters Made Better Bookies Oct 29, 2016

Show notes

Just as with honest jobs, mobsters with a more advanced education made more money than their less educated counterparts. Erika Beras reports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For River Otters, Social Life Is Shaped by the Latrine Oct 27, 2016

Show notes

Alaskan river otters can gain valuable information about one another by sniffing around their latrines. Jason G. Goldman reports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Falcons Patrol Fruit Fields for Pesky Invasive Birds Oct 26, 2016

Show notes

Birds of prey work where other traditional methods of bird abatement—like scarecrows, pyrotechnics and netting—fail. Emily Schwing reports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clark Kent's Glasses Aided His Anonymity Oct 24, 2016

Show notes

Slightly altering one’s appearance—even with glasses—can indeed hinder facial recognition by others. Erika Beras reports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poor Sleepers Worse at Recognizing Unfamiliar Faces Oct 19, 2016

Show notes

Subjects suffering insomnia got more wrong answers in a face-matching task—but they were paradoxically more confident of their responses. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yawns Help the Brain Keep Its Cool Oct 18, 2016

Show notes

Theory has it yawning helps cool the brain—and it turns out animals with bigger brains do indeed tend to yawn longer. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polar Bears Can't Just Switch to Terrestrial Food Oct 14, 2016

Show notes

With a shorter season of sea ice, polar bears have less access to marine mammals. But switching to a terrestrial diet deprives them of the fatty seal meals they need to thrive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flowers Deceive Flies with Chemical Cocktail Oct 13, 2016

Show notes

The parachute flower smells like alarm pheromones of a honeybee, to attract tiny flies that feed on bees under attack.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feed Microbes Oxygen to Help Clear Spilled Oil Oct 12, 2016

Show notes

A technique called “biosparging” relies on pumping oxygen underground to help naturally occurring microorganisms multiply and consume oil spills.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elephant Footprints Become Tiny Critter Havens Oct 11, 2016

Show notes

When rain fills the massive footprints left by elephants, communities of aquatic invertebrates quickly move in