Science Quickly

Latest Episodes:

Hantavirus at sea, microplastics, and the Alaska tsunami mystery May 11, 2026

Show notes

In this science news roundup, we start with a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship. The outbreak is raising concerns about rare human‑to‑human transmission while experts say the risk of a wider pandemic remains low. We also look at new research showing that airborne microplastics and nanoplastics may be contributing to global warming—an unexpected climate effect of plastic pollution. And in Alaska, a massive retreating-glacier‑driven landslide that triggered a dramatic tsunami offers new clues that could help improve early-warning systems in the future.

Recommended Reading:

What you need to know about hantavirus, the infection at the center of a deadly cruise ship outbreak

A dangerous experiment is playing out on a cruise ship with hantavirus

There is no vaccine for deadly hantavirus, but this scientist is working on one

Trump administration cut funding to study hantavirus, the virus behind the deadly cruise ship outbreak

Airborne microplastics could be making climate change worse

A 1,500-foot tsunami took scientists by surprise. Now we know why it happened

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

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Influencers are obsessed with peptides. What does the science say? May 08, 2026

Show notes

Peptides are everywhere right now—from weight-loss drugs to TikTok wellness hacks—but the science hasn’t caught up with the hype. Journalist Victoria Song joins Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman to break down what peptides actually are, why influencers are promoting “research-only” versions you can buy and inject yourself, and what risks are posed by this growing gray-market trend. From misleading marketing to real safety concerns, we unpack the Internet’s latest wellness obsession.

Recommended Reading:

“Influencers are pushing suspicious peptides. How much are you willing to risk?” by Victoria Song in the Verge. Published online January 23, 2026

“I don’t think Gwyneth Paltrow knows what a peptide is,” by Victoria Song in the Verge. Published online April 24, 2026

Peptides promise longevity and healing. Does the science back them up?

Where do you stand on the use of peptides for health and wellness?

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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He let AI agents run a start-up—and things got weird fast May 06, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, journalist Evan Ratliff joins Kendra Pierre-Louis to discuss his audacious experiment: launching a start‑up staffed entirely by autonomous artificial intelligence agents. Ratliff shares what happened when these agents tried to build a product, manage a human intern, pitch investors and even operate on LinkedIn—sometimes with surprising competence and sometimes with outright fabrication.

Recommended Reading:

Listen to Evan Ratliff’s podcast Shell Game

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Kendra Pierre-Louis and edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

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Scorpion stingers, preeclampsia hope, canceled wind farms May 04, 2026

Show notes

In this week’s Science Quickly news roundup, we look at promising results from a new study about preeclampsia. We also cover the latest news about the Trump administration’s push against clean energy. Plus, we remember pioneering geneticist J. Craig Venter, who died last week, and Scientific American’s chief newsletter editor Andrea Gawrylewski shares an interesting defense technology story from the magazine’s May issue. We then dig into a fascinating new study about scorpion stingers and claws. Finally, we ask a strange question: Where was your backyard 320 million years ago?

Recommended Reading:

Could blood filtering help treat one of pregnancy’s most deadly conditions?

Human genome decoder J. Craig Venter dies at age 79

DARPA’s AI is built to call BS on wild weapons claims

See where your backyard was millions of years ago at Paleolaltitude.org

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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The science of psychedelic therapy May 01, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman and science journalist Jane C. Hu trace the surprising journey of psychedelics in the U.S.—from symbolizing the hippie movement of the 1960s to being seen as a panacea for mental illness. But where does science stand on psychedelic therapy? And what does the renewed political push for psychedelics mean for research?

Recommended Reading:

The Microdose, a newsletter supported by the University of California, Berkeley, Center for the Science of Psychedelics

RFK, Jr., says ibogaine holds unprecedented promise for treating depression. Here’s what the science says

RFK, Jr., puts psychedelics on fast track to FDA review and approval

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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Why physics is poetic, political and personal Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

Physics can feel intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein joins Science Quickly to explore how poetry, pop culture and imagination can help us grapple with some of the universe’s biggest questions. From spacetime and dark matter to Star Trek, Missy Elliott and queer theory, the conversation traces how physics is shaped by history, culture and creativity—and why struggling with complex ideas can be intellectually and even politically meaningful.

Recommended Reading:

The Edge of Space-Time. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. Pantheon, 2026

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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NASA Curiosity, suicide hotline hope, AI voice clone Apr 27, 2026

Show notes

In this week’s Science Quickly news roundup, we dive into NASA’s new discovery of organic molecules on Mars, including some that have never been found there before. We also explore how human migration may have been shaped by a surprising factor: malaria. Plus, we go over the encouraging results of a new study that links declines in youth suicides in the U.S. to the adoption of the three-digit 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in 2022. And finally, we’ll turn to some interesting findings about AI voice clones.

Recommended Reading:

“NASA’s Curiosity Finds Organic Molecules Never Seen Before on Mars.” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Published online April 21, 2026

“Malaria shaped human spatial organization for the past 74 thousand years,” by Margherita Colucci et al., in Science Advances, Vol. 12, No. 17; April 22, 2026

Young adult suicide rates dropped after U.S. launched 988 hotline

“Voice clones are easier to understand in noise than their human originals: The voice cloning intelligibility benefit,” by Patti Adank and Han Wang, in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 159, No. 4; April, 2026

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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The wildlife trade may be speeding up the next pandemic Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman talks with Yale University epidemiologist Colin Carlson about new research showing that the global wildlife trade is spreading dangerous pathogens far faster than scientists once thought. The conversation challenges the idea that pandemic risks are limited to distant “wet markets,” revealing how everyday wildlife trade—from pet stores to industrial farms—brings animals, people and diseases into close contact. Carlson explains why a stronger investment in basic science is critical to preventing the next COVID‑like pandemic.

Recommended Reading:

“Wildlife trade drives animal-to-human pathogen transmission over 40 years,” in Science, Vol. 392; April 9, 2026

How the wildlife trade boosts the chance of a disease jumping from animals to humans

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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Earth Day special: How to save the planet (again) Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

In this special Earth Day episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman turns to three environmental experts for a healthy dose of climate hope. Climate scientist Kate Marvel, atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon and environmentalist Bill McKibben share stories about times in the past when humanity encountered grave environmental threats and succeeded in overcoming them. From beating the London smog to healing the ozone layer to rapidly scaling up renewable energy—these stories offer hope and lessons for saving the planet

Recommended Reading:

Articles by Kate Marvel for Scientific American

Kate Marvel’s personal website

Susan Solomon Group: Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again. Susan Solomon. University of Chicago Press, 2024

Here Comes The Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization. Bill McKibben. W. W. Norton, 2025

Third Act Initiative, a nonprofit organization founded by Bill McKibben to encourage people older than age 60 to take part in climate action

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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‘Cocaine hippos,’ underground bees, and surprising science on aging and the heart Apr 20, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, we explore Colombia’s controversial plan to cull invasive “cocaine hippos” and the discovery of millions of underground bees in a New York State cemetery. And we dive into new research on how HIV may accelerate biological aging and how chronic inflammation is reshaping scientists’ understanding of heart disease.

Recommended Reading:

Today in Science newsletter

Colombia will euthanize Pablo Escobar’s invasive ‘cocaine hippos’

The hidden cause of heart disease is inflammation

Scientists just discovered 5.6 million bees under a New York State cemetery

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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