Twitter: @momentofscience (followed by 20 science writers)
Site: indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience
798 episodes
2013 to present
Average episode: 2 minutes
Open in Apple Podcasts • RSS
Categories: Broadcast Radio Programs • Story-Style
Podcaster's summary: A Moment of Science is a daily audio podcast, public radio program and video series providing the scientific story behind some of life's most perplexing mysteries.
| Episodes |
| 2023-Mar-22 • 2 minutes Crows can choose if they want to call Some sounds are involuntary, but crows have the ability to determine if they want to call. |
| 2023-Mar-21 • 2 minutes The biggest earthquake humans ever experienced There have been several devastating earthquakes in recent history. Today's A Moment of Science looks at what is suspected to be the biggest earthquake our ancestors experienced. |
| 2023-Mar-20 • 2 minutes The complexities of feeling hangry Have you ever felt hangry? Turns out this emotion is more complex than you might think. |
| 2023-Mar-17 • 2 minutes Getting grounded, but keeping your wings Why do flightless birds still have their wings? |
| 2023-Mar-16 • 2 minutes Don't sweat the small stuff with moisture-wicking fabric How does moisture-wicking fabric work while you're working out? |
| 2023-Mar-15 • 2 minutes Hills in the ocean Despite appearances from the surface, the ocean has a surprising geographical range. |
| 2023-Mar-14 • 2 minutes Pickle me this Learn more about the widespread technique of pickling with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2023-Mar-13 • 2 minutes The invasive jumping worm Gardeners would tell you earthworms are a crucial species in keeping their plants healthy, but not all worms are beneficial for your plants |
| 2023-Mar-10 • 2 minutes Wet weather leads to brighter colors Not only leaves, but rocks, soil, and road surfaces all have more intense color when they're wet than when they're dry. |
| 2023-Mar-09 • 2 minutes Defending Earth: The impact threat An asteroid striking our planet might be a popular storyline in science fiction, but how likely is this possibility really? |
| 2023-Mar-08 • 2 minutes Leafhoppers might be fans of climate change Find out more about leafhoppers and why they might like global warming with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2023-Mar-07 • 2 minutes When did humans learn to cook? Anthropologists think our ancestors solved the calorie problem by learning to cook their food with fire. |
| 2023-Mar-06 • 2 minutes The amazing regeneration of the axolotl We’ve all heard of lab rats—but what about lab axolotls? |
| 2023-Mar-03 • 2 minutes Working out and your arteries How exactly does exercise make us healthier? |
| 2023-Mar-02 • 2 minutes You can see the forest and the trees Learn more about reforestation practices with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2023-Mar-01 • 2 minutes The curve of a meandering river Check out today's A Moment of Science for more on one of nature's most basic and subtle shapes -- the winding, back-and-forth S-curve of a meandering river. |
| 2023-Feb-28 • 2 minutes Internal compass helps guide fish home We recently looked at the internal GPS systems of insects, but what about other wildlife? |
| 2023-Feb-27 • 2 minutes How getting back on the horse can help Today's A Moment of Science is all about the benefits of hippotherapy. |
| 2023-Feb-24 • 2 minutes Your Pong opponent is a dish of brain cells Pong is so easy you might say anyone could master it. And Pong’s newest players? A group of lab-grown brain cells. |
| 2023-Feb-23 • 2 minutes GPS can get a bit buggy Insects use their own GPS system to navigate, and scientists looked at how accurate their sense of direction is. |
| 2023-Feb-22 • 2 minutes What is alien hand syndrome? Learn more about alien hand syndrome with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2023-Feb-21 • 2 minutes Why did T. rexes have tiny arms? The T. rex was one of the fiercest dinosaur predators, but why did it have such small arms? |
| 2023-Feb-20 • 2 minutes Why do we feel madly in love? Love makes you do crazy things, but what is it exactly that makes us behave so differently? |
| 2023-Feb-17 • 2 minutes Cockroaches have personalities and make choices How personable are cockroaches? |
| 2023-Feb-16 • 2 minutes Convection in your coffee cup There are some interesting physics to be found first thing in the morning. |
| 2023-Feb-15 • 2 minutes Planet of the ants Humans like to think of Earth as our planet, but biology tells us otherwise. |
| 2023-Feb-14 • 2 minutes Bernoulli's hair dryer Learn all about Bernoulli's principle with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2023-Feb-13 • 2 minutes Humans can echolocate, too We often associate bats with echolocation, but did you know some humans can have this ability too? |
| 2023-Feb-10 • 2 minutes The Earth's core and the evolution of complex life For billions of years, life on Earth had included only microbes, and simple soft-bodied organisms. Then, within just a few tens of millions of years, a variety of complex aquatic animals appeared. |
| 2023-Feb-09 • 2 minutes Did sanitation make Rome any healthier? Rome had a fairly sophisticated sanitation system, but didn't have a reduction in internal parasites. What made this possible? |
| 2023-Feb-08 • 2 minutes Same and different: Infants use analogies before they speak The ability to make comparisons and analogies is a mental capacity that distinguishes human beings from at least most other animals. |
| 2023-Feb-07 • 2 minutes Magpie egg hormones impact their offsprings' boldness Not all magpie jays are alike. Some individuals are much bolder than others. Now, scientists think they may have discovered a clue to explain the differences. |
| 2023-Feb-06 • 2 minutes Warped spacial mapping Rats have good spacial mapping, but sometimes things can impact their mental image. |
| 2023-Feb-03 • 2 minutes Why are parrots so smart? When scientists study parrots, they often appear as smart as monkeys and other mammals. How is this possible? |
| 2023-Feb-02 • 2 minutes Trust comes with old age The older we get, the more trusting we tend to become. |
| 2023-Feb-01 • 2 minutes Flies that eat spiders "Come inside my web," said the spider to the fly... |
| 2023-Jan-31 • 2 minutes Mitchell's Satyr: On the brink of extinction The rare butterfly Mitchell's Satyr used to be found all over the Midwest. |
| 2023-Jan-30 • 2 minutes What makes blue ice? Blue ice is relatively rare to see, so how does this formation get made? |
| 2023-Jan-27 • 2 minutes The strange life of a pyrosome Pyrosomes might seem like a creature from science fiction, but they really exist. Learn all about them with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2023-Jan-26 • 2 minutes Harsh winters are due to climate change Our hotter summers are also impacting our colder winters. Find out more with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2023-Jan-25 • 2 minutes Crabgrass has a sneaky trick Crabgrass might be an eyesore in your lawn, but it presents an even bigger for crop growth. |
| 2023-Jan-24 • 2 minutes Sound off: Humans have simpler throats than monkeys Would you ever mistake playground hoots as the call of a real baboon or great ape? |
| 2023-Jan-23 • 2 minutes To bee or not to bee The Great American Eclipse of 2017 raised some interesting questions about bee behavior. |
| 2023-Jan-20 • 2 minutes Laughing gas isn't a laughing matter Nitrous oxide isn't often talked about these days, but it is still an important greenhouse gas. |
| 2023-Jan-19 • 2 minutes How many bees does a meadow need? They might be inconvenient on a personal level, but bees play a very important role in our environment. |
| 2023-Jan-18 • 2 minutes The ecological niche: Not just a hole in the wall What is the significance of an ecological niche? Today's A Moment of Science explains. |
| 2023-Jan-17 • 2 minutes How do pets provide stress relief? What is it about cute animals that calms us down? |
| 2023-Jan-16 • 2 minutes How vitamins got their name Vitamins are a vital aspect of maintaining our help, but how did they get their name? |
| 2023-Jan-13 • 2 minutes The bloodsucking strategy of the vampire finch The truth behind the vampire finch is stranger than fiction! |
| 2023-Jan-12 • 2 minutes Surgery in the Stone Age How long have we had sophisticated medical knowledge? |
| 2023-Jan-11 • 2 minutes No ant left behind Rescuing each other from predators isn't a common behavior seen in animals, but the harvester ant shows its possible. |
| 2023-Jan-10 • 2 minutes Mole rats lead pretty painless lives Mole rats are immune to certain kinds of pain, including what makes wasabi and some peppers spicy for humans. |
| 2023-Jan-09 • 2 minutes Chewing up our daily energy Chewing takes up a small part of our day, but researchers believed it takes up a significant part of our energy. |
| 2023-Jan-06 • 2 minutes The next best thing to a yeti A large, white animal with fur and claws? The yeti might not exist, but today's A Moment of Science has the next best thing. |
| 2023-Jan-05 • 2 minutes Seafloor mapping and a melting glacier Why is a melting glacier such a cause for concern? Today's A Moment of Science looks closer at the research. |
| 2023-Jan-04 • 2 minutes The perfect pizza comes down to thermodynamics Want to know the secret to a perfect pizza? It all comes down to science. |
| 2023-Jan-03 • 2 minutes The fascinating thievery of crows Crows are some of the most intelligent birds on the planet. What keeps us fascinated with their behavior? |
| 2023-Jan-02 • 2 minutes The apple in your mind's eye How well can you remember things you see every day, like logos? |
| 2022-Dec-30 • 2 minutes Yaks breathe easy, thanks to specialized cells Breathing at high altitudes gets incredibly difficult. How are yaks able to live in such drastic conditions? |
| 2022-Dec-29 • 2 minutes Cataracts and cloudy vision People are now living longer than ever, but there are a few drawbacks that come with old age. |
| 2022-Dec-28 • 2 minutes Mindset and genes Our attitudes affect our bodies more than you might think. Find out how with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Dec-27 • 2 minutes Vanilla may one day come from plastic Despite our associations, vanilla is actually far from boring. |
| 2022-Dec-26 • 2 minutes The curious properties of corks 17th-century physicist Robert Hooke was fascinated with corks. Today's A Moment of Science takes a closer look at his findings. |
| 2022-Dec-23 • 2 minutes A tusked and tufted deer Learn more about the tufted deer with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Dec-22 • 2 minutes Brain waves and social behavior The complex circuitry of the brain is the source of our emotions, thoughts, and behavior. One of the most important types of behavior, in humans and other animals, are social interactions with others. |
| 2022-Dec-21 • 2 minutes When the sky flashes green It might sound like a fairy tale detail, but sometimes the sky can briefly turn green. How does this happen? |
| 2022-Dec-20 • 2 minutes Reflections in a spoon Why do reflections change depending on the side of a spoon? |
| 2022-Dec-19 • 2 minutes The incredible walking sticks Learn more about stick bugs with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Dec-16 • 2 minutes Bubble trouble: How to calm a shaken can of soda Either intentionally or not, we've all unfortunately opened a can of soda that was shaken. Find out how to potentially avoid this bubble trouble with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Dec-15 • 2 minutes The significance of glass color Have you ever wondered why wine bottles are traditionally olive green? Today's A Moment of Science has an answer. |
| 2022-Dec-14 • 2 minutes Dinosaurs in the snow Scientists used to think dinosaurs were like giant lizards and not capable of living in cold climates. That no longer seems to be the case. |
| 2022-Dec-13 • 2 minutes The science of sweetened condensed milk Sweetened condensed milk is a key ingredient in many delicious recipes. Why exactly was it created in the first place? |
| 2022-Dec-12 • 2 minutes Amazon's biodiversity enhanced by river movement The Amazon is home to some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet. How is this made possible? |
| 2022-Dec-09 • 2 minutes Making clouds in your kitchen When you heat up a kettle, it often seems like you can see the steam rising from it. What exactly are those white clouds made of? |
| 2022-Dec-08 • 2 minutes Sea turtles navigate by the magnetic field Many animal species travel great distances each year. How do they avoid getting lost on the way to their destinations? |
| 2022-Dec-07 • 2 minutes The desert where rain is deadly Learn more about the weather in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile. |
| 2022-Dec-06 • 2 minutes The impact of an underwater volcanic eruption An underwater volcano eruption earlier this year could have long-term impacts on the global climate. |
| 2022-Dec-05 • 2 minutes How temperature impacts the perfect cup of coffee What's the secret to making the perfect cup of coffee? Temperature plays a key role. |
| 2022-Dec-02 • 2 minutes How long is a day on each planet in the solar system? How long does a day last on other planets? |
| 2022-Dec-01 • 2 minutes Rediscovered: The world's largest bee Megachile pluto, commonly called “Wallace’s giant bee” is the world’s largest bee. And perhaps the most elusive. |
| 2022-Nov-30 • 2 minutes Ancient settlements in the Amazon Archeological evidence shows people have lived on the Amazon for thousands of years. New research sheds further light on what these early settlements looked like. |
| 2022-Nov-29 • 2 minutes The question of a rock and a rowboat If you drop a rock overboard from a boat, does the water surface rise? |
| 2022-Nov-28 • 2 minutes Vegetarian birds have more friends How does diet impact social life? It turns out vegetarian birds of a feather really do flock together. |
| 2022-Nov-25 • 2 minutes Knowing your emotions can reduce anger While anger can lead to aggression for some, it doesn't in everyone. This difference comes down to emotional differentiation. |
| 2022-Nov-24 • 2 minutes Ancient dogs got bigger to guard livestock Over a relatively short period of 6,000 years, dogs got larger on average. This change didn't come down to simple chance. |
| 2022-Nov-23 • 2 minutes How rainbow weevils get their spots Learn more about why the spots that give the rainbow weevil its name with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Nov-22 • 2 minutes Dinosaur snouts as air conditioning A dinosaur's nose was surprisingly useful, especially when it needed to cool down. |
| 2022-Nov-21 • 2 minutes Why are dogs so friendly towards humans? We think of dogs as man's best friend, but why does this relationship exist? |
| 2022-Nov-18 • 2 minutes Moths have their own acoustic camouflage Moths' main predators rely on echolocation, so they've adopted their own acoustic camouflage to avoid becoming prey. |
| 2022-Nov-17 • 2 minutes Some spots on the Moon are almost room temperature There's no air or drinkable water on the Moon, but at least the temperature would be pretty comfortable. |
| 2022-Nov-16 • 2 minutes Pain and genetic mutation A rare genetic mutation means some can feel little to no pain. Learn more about it with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Nov-15 • 2 minutes Hummingbirds, altitude, and global climate change With shifting global temperatures, many environments will change. Not all animals will be able to adapt quickly. |
| 2022-Nov-14 • 2 minutes Why do we like coffee? Humans have evolved to dislike bitter tastes as a form of protection. So why do we still like the taste of coffee? |
| 2022-Nov-11 • 2 minutes The "thieving magpie" stereotype isn't quite true The idea of corvids stealing shiny things isn't that true to reality. |
| 2022-Nov-10 • 2 minutes Solar power at night Solar power is a helpful alternative to fossil fuels, with the drawback of not collecting power at night. There may be a new way to conquer this limitation. |
| 2022-Nov-09 • 2 minutes Travel by warp bubble As popularized in science fiction, warp capabilities could greatly reduce travel times. What would make this possible? |
| 2022-Nov-08 • 2 minutes Why is the dark side of the Moon so different? There’s something different about the dark side of the Moon, and it’s not just that we can’t see it from the Earth. |
| 2022-Nov-07 • 2 minutes Your shadow can have a halo Sometimes a faint glow can occur around your shadow. Where does this come from? |
| 2022-Nov-04 • 2 minutes How plants make sure their pollen gets delivered to the right place If a pollinator visits flowers from different species, how do plants make sure their pollen gets to a flower of the same species, a crucial step in making seeds? |
| 2022-Nov-03 • 2 minutes Ancient Egyptians and their cats We've loved cats for thousands of years, but how did this relationship begin? |
| 2022-Nov-02 • 2 minutes How to walk from the U.S. to Russia Did you know you can walk from the U.S. to Russia in only 2.5 miles? |
| 2022-Nov-01 • 2 minutes The jabuticaba fruit literally grows on trees Why would it be unique for a fruit to grow on a tree? Learn more about the jabuticaba with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Oct-31 • 2 minutes Christmas beetles for dinner These beetles are a favorite snack among foxes, but is their diet always so simple? |
| 2022-Oct-28 • 2 minutes Dependence on our smartphones Depending on our phones too much can lead to some health risks. Learn more with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Oct-27 • 2 minutes Plants passing down info to their offspring Even plant parents care for their offspring, passing on vital information. |
| 2022-Oct-26 • 2 minutes Food and global climate change How does climate change impact our food production? |
| 2022-Oct-25 • 2 minutes Mosquitoes, disease, and global warming Rising temperatures impact some unexpected areas of our lives. Learn more about how climate change effects mosquitoes with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Oct-24 • 2 minutes Eroding topsoil troubles Midwest farms After over 200 years of cultivating fields, topsoil has eroded in these areas. What exactly does that mean for farmland? |
| 2022-Oct-21 • 2 minutes How lavender relaxes us Do you find lavender calming? Find out why that might be the case with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Oct-20 • 2 minutes Spiderman lives in the Amazon Learn more about the slingshot spider's similarities to the Marvel superhero with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Oct-19 • 2 minutes How did people get ice before refrigeration? Today's A Moment of Science looks closer at the history of refrigeration. |
| 2022-Oct-18 • 2 minutes Giraffes use nurseries, too Humans aren't the only ones to send their kids to daycare. Turns out giraffes do the same thing! |
| 2022-Oct-17 • 2 minutes Extreme heat causes railroads to bend How does heat impact our world? In extreme conditions, even railroad tracks can be impacted. |
| 2022-Oct-14 • 2 minutes Giant pandas and bamboo Pandas are known for essentially just eating bamboo, but was their diet always so selective? |
| 2022-Oct-13 • 2 minutes Yawning in virtual reality Virtual reality can mimic the real world pretty convincingly, but it can't mimic human behavior perfectly. |
| 2022-Oct-12 • 2 minutes Eavesdropping for food Eavesdropping is usually frowned upon among humans, but not always for animals. |
| 2022-Oct-11 • 2 minutes An inky ring in a glass of water Learn how to make a ring of ink in water with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Oct-10 • 2 minutes The power of grunting in tennis Tennis players are known for the noises they make during games. How do these grunts effect their gameplay? |
| 2022-Oct-07 • 2 minutes The super abilities of bats Find out more details of bats' abilities with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Oct-06 • 2 minutes Making older skin young again The epic of Gilgamesh and the quest for eternal youth might have a modern update with new research into skin rejuvenation. |
| 2022-Oct-05 • 2 minutes Discovered in a museum drawer: Simbakubwa kutokaafrika Discoveries come from a number of surprising places, including museums. |
| 2022-Oct-04 • 2 minutes Orangutans holler out their travel plans Do you picture Tarzan yelling and swinging from vine to vine through a jungle? This mental image has some basis in reality with orangutan behavior. |
| 2022-Oct-03 • 2 minutes Photographing a black hole How do you photograph something that doesn't reflect light? |
| 2022-Sep-30 • 2 minutes Methane from glaciers and volcanoes Learn more about the relationship between volcanoes, glaciers, and methane. |
| 2022-Sep-29 • 2 minutes Vinegar eels do the wave There are several organisms in the animal kingdom that move with a certain synchronization. Learn more about the wave of the vinegar eels with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Sep-28 • 2 minutes Lying in a foreign language comes easier Do you find it difficult to tell a lie? Research shows telling one in a different language may be easier. |
| 2022-Sep-27 • 2 minutes Even fruit flies have culture Fruit flies are very social creatures and even have their own established culture. |
| 2022-Sep-26 • 2 minutes Our ancient relative, Australopithecus sediba Find out more about this member of our family tree with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Sep-23 • 2 minutes The icy lumps that grow beneath the ground Learn more about the unique geological formation known as pingos with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Sep-22 • 2 minutes Matters of the heart rate Resting heart rate is different for babies versus adults. Why is that exactly? |
| 2022-Sep-21 • 2 minutes Howler monkeys are changing color The traditionally dark fur of the howler monkey is starting to get light yellow patches. Scientists look into why this is happening. |
| 2022-Sep-20 • 2 minutes Cells and organ failure When you get a cut, your cells quickly start to divide and heal. What does this process look like for our internal organs? |
| 2022-Sep-19 • 2 minutes Climate change clues from the past Researchers look to the geological evidence from the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum to inform policies for our future. |
| 2022-Sep-16 • 2 minutes How do cranes communicate? Without the power of speech, how do birds communicate? |
| 2022-Sep-15 • 2 minutes White noise and sleep quality Having background noise is helpful for some to get to sleep. What exactly is white noise, and why does it impact our quality of rest? |
| 2022-Sep-14 • 2 minutes The coolest orangutans use slang How does popularity work in the animal kingdom? For orangutans, there might be a few similarities to human behavior. |
| 2022-Sep-13 • 2 minutes The musical mpingo tree Find out more about this musical tree with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Sep-12 • 2 minutes Raindrops on the rear window Raindrops always appear to miss the rear window of cars. Why does this happen? |
| 2022-Sep-09 • 2 minutes Why are dreams so hard to remember? Even the most vivid dreams can be difficult to remember soon after waking up. Why don't dreams leave more of an impression? |
| 2022-Sep-08 • 2 minutes Are you waking up with tea or coffee? What's your preference to get your morning started? |
| 2022-Sep-07 • 2 minutes Ocean waves squared Have you ever seen ocean waves form a square? What causes this unique formation? |
| 2022-Sep-06 • 2 minutes Reducing the power consumption of computers Energy consumption is a major concern when it comes to environmental impact. The power computers require presents a threat of its own. |
| 2022-Sep-05 • 2 minutes Why do giraffes have such long necks? They're an iconic animal, but why exactly do giraffes have such long necks? |
| 2022-Sep-02 • 2 minutes The icy volcanoes of Pluto Learn more about the dwarf planet of our solar system, Pluto. |
| 2022-Sep-01 • 2 minutes Dyslexia in English vs Chinese How does dyslexia differ across languages? |
| 2022-Aug-31 • 2 minutes Does the patas monkey speak for the trees? Learn more about the animal that may have inspired Dr. Seuss' Lorax with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Aug-30 • 2 minutes Diamonds in the sky Diamonds are a treasured resource on Earth, but how common are they on other planets? |
| 2022-Aug-29 • 2 minutes Termites can help out in a drought Regardless of how we might personally feel about insects, they do play an important role in our ecosystems. Find out the benefits of termites with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Aug-26 • 2 minutes Smelling your way around How does your sense of smell impact your ability to navigate? |
| 2022-Aug-25 • 2 minutes More internet means more migration In the modern age, the internet has a huge impact on countless factors in our daily lives. Learn why migration is effected as well with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Aug-24 • 2 minutes A crow species can infer weight Corvids are known to be pretty clever birds, but did you know they're good at guessing weight as well? |
| 2022-Aug-23 • 2 minutes The battle between Triceratops and Triceratops Many animals fight within their own species, and the dinosaurs were not exception. |
| 2022-Aug-22 • 2 minutes Why is it so hard to swat a fly? Flies are notorious house pests. Why can it be so hard to get rid of them? |
| 2022-Aug-19 • 2 minutes Geese domestication may be 7,000 years old While we may think of chickens as the first domesticated fowl, evidence suggests the goose got there first. |
| 2022-Aug-18 • 2 minutes Choking under pressure Pressure can come from any number of sources, especially for athletes competing at the top of their fields. Today's A Moment of Science has more on the impacts on performance. |
| 2022-Aug-17 • 2 minutes The causes of root rot and how to fight back What exactly is root rot, and how can we best protect our plants? |
| 2022-Aug-16 • 2 minutes AI develops prejudice all on its own Prejudices can come from learned behavior, even for artificial intelligence. |
| 2022-Aug-15 • 2 minutes The fastest movement on the planet Cheetahs are the fastest runners on the planet, but there's another surprising contender with impressive moves of their own. |
| 2022-Aug-12 • 2 minutes Weather pattern predictability How far in advance can we accurately predict the weather? |
| 2022-Aug-11 • 2 minutes Ancient feathers encased in amber The unique protective properties of amber provide a unique insight into ancient findings. |
| 2022-Aug-10 • 2 minutes What is decanting and why does it matter? How does decanting actually change the makeup of a wine? |
| 2022-Aug-09 • 2 minutes Fireflies as the monarchs of the night Fireflies and monarch butterflies can't easily camouflage themselves from predators. How do they stay safe? |
| 2022-Aug-08 • 2 minutes Railroads on fire Learn why railroads sometimes need to heat up with a fire in today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Aug-05 • 2 minutes Learning English? Try Latin Learn more about the benefits of studying Latin when learning a new language with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Aug-04 • 2 minutes Love it or hate it: cilantro What makes cilantro such a divisive addition to food? |
| 2022-Aug-03 • 2 minutes What are frost quakes? You've heard of an earthquake, but what exactly are frost quakes? |
| 2022-Aug-02 • 2 minutes Dolphins may help us understand menopause Dolphins have always been fascinating creatures to study. Recently, scientists have looked to see what we can learn from dolphins about some of our own body functions. |
| 2022-Aug-01 • 2 minutes Why does rubbing alcohol feel cold? When you use rubbing alcohol on your skin, why does it feel cold? |
| 2022-Jul-29 • 2 minutes How plants communicate with their family trees Plants have long been understood to communicate with each other, but do they listen to some fellow plants more often than others? |
| 2022-Jul-28 • 2 minutes Walking can be a real uphill battle Why is walking uphill such hard work? |
| 2022-Jul-27 • 2 minutes The prickly truth behind a porcupine's quills How much do you know about the real danger of porcupine quills? Fill in some blanks with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Jul-26 • 2 minutes Math is not really a language You might have heard math described as its own language, but is it really? |
| 2022-Jul-25 • 2 minutes The grizzly bear's unusual nickname Have you heard of grizzly bears being called "Rototillers of the Rockies"? |
| 2022-Jul-22 • 2 minutes What really causes dry skin? We know things such as taking hot showers, excess bathing, and sun exposure can cause dry skin. But why do these factors actually influence our bodies? |
| 2022-Jul-21 • 2 minutes A flightless bird's family tree The ostrich, rhea, cassowary, and emu are all flightless birds who share a family tree. How did these animals evolve to get this way? |
| 2022-Jul-20 • 2 minutes The moon, coral growth, and how many days used to be in a year Growth rings in corals reveal some interesting insights into how many days were in a year millions of years ago. |
| 2022-Jul-19 • 2 minutes Finches can categorize colors Learn more about how the zebra finch thinks about color with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Jul-18 • 2 minutes Black carbon pollution and melting ice in Antarctica Human pollution has an impact on all environments across the globe, including in remote Antarctica. |
| 2022-Jul-15 • 2 minutes The dusky dottyback fish goes undercover Many animals use mimicry to confuse others around them. Learn how the dottyback fish uses this ability with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jul-14 • 2 minutes The bubble that lasted for a whole year Why do bubbles pop so soon, and how long can they really last? |
| 2022-Jul-13 • 2 minutes How losing a tail can save your genes Some animals are able to lose a limb to save themselves in a process called autotomy. |
| 2022-Jul-12 • 2 minutes A fourth state of matter Solid, liquid, gas...and what else? Learn about plasma with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jul-11 • 2 minutes How orb-weaving spiders build their webs Learn more about this impressive feat of engineering with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Jul-08 • 2 minutes When I yawn, my dog yawns Have you noticed if you yawn, your pet tends to copy you? Why does that happen? |
| 2022-Jul-07 • 2 minutes How blind and sighted people understand color While blind people can learn that roses are red, how deep is this understanding of “redness”? |
| 2022-Jul-06 • 2 minutes Ghosts and robots in the lab Have you ever experienced the sensation of someone touching you who wasn't really there? A lab experiment may shed light on why that happens. |
| 2022-Jul-05 • 2 minutes The incredible scientific discovery found on Facebook Discoveries can come from some surprising sources, including over social media. |
| 2022-Jul-04 • 2 minutes The bone wars of paleontology Learn about the infamous feud which helped launch the field of paleontology into the mainstream with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Jul-01 • 2 minutes Tasteless penguins Penguins have a very fish-heavy diet, but do they actually like how it tastes? Learn more about their senses with today's A Moment of Science |
| 2022-Jun-30 • 2 minutes The ruthless carnivore of the plant world Learn all about the ferocious butterwort plant with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Jun-29 • 2 minutes What goes on at CERN? How much do you know about CERN? Learn more about it with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jun-28 • 2 minutes A vaccine against Alzheimer's disease? Alzheimer's disease has well-known effects with seemingly few methods of treatment. New research may shed some hope on this subject. |
| 2022-Jun-27 • 2 minutes Frogs can't poison themselves Frogs are known to have some deadly toxins at their disposal. But if they're so deadly, how do they keep from poisoning themselves? |
| 2022-Jun-24 • 2 minutes Welcome to the Laughing Gas Ball Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, is known today as a part of major surgery. But what did its discoverer have in mind? |
| 2022-Jun-23 • 2 minutes The fish whose blood isn't red Blood is often associated with the color red, but that isn't true for all species. Learn about the special case of fish in the Antarctic. |
| 2022-Jun-22 • 2 minutes You shouldn't pet that honey badger Honey badgers might look like friendly mammals, but they're among the fiercest animals on the planet. |
| 2022-Jun-21 • 2 minutes Waking up and feeling tired Do you ever wake up and feel groggy and slow? You're probably experiencing sleep inertia. |
| 2022-Jun-20 • 2 minutes The millipede that really does have one thousand feet Millipedes have many feet, but none until now have truly lived up to their name. Researchers in 2021 have found a true millipede in Western Australia. |
| 2022-Jun-17 • 2 minutes How animals use chromatophores in coloration Color is everywhere in the animal kingdom and plays an important role in several behaviors. Learn about the details behind these beautiful displays with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Jun-16 • 2 minutes Volcanoes warm, then cool, the Earth How do volcanoes impact our planet? Find out more about this explosive science with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jun-15 • 2 minutes How can you tell the difference between horns and antlers? Is there a difference between horns and antlers? Find out with A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Jun-14 • 2 minutes What is wax, anyway? Wax is a common substance in our lives, but what is it exactly? |
| 2022-Jun-13 • 2 minutes The connection between a cottonwood, a beaver, and a beetle What kind of relationship exists between a tree, a beaver, and a beetle? Find out with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jun-10 • 2 minutes The heat death of the universe If the universe started with the Big Bang, what will it look like far into the future? |
| 2022-Jun-09 • 2 minutes Evolution, batesian mimicry, and snakes Yesterday we looked closer at batesian mimicry, and today's A Moment of Science checks out another example of this phenomenon in snakes. |
| 2022-Jun-08 • 2 minutes Evolving with batesian mimicry "Monkey see, monkey do" might be a common phrase for humans, but there's some truth behind this for other species as well. Learn more about batesian mimicry with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jun-07 • 2 minutes When pigs fly: Hope for heart patients in designed swine Organ transplants can be a complicated process on a number of levels, including finding a suitable organ match in the first place. New research may have provided a new option. |
| 2022-Jun-06 • 2 minutes How did you get those big muscles? Countless sources will claim to have "the real secret" behind getting big muscles. What does science say about our bodies? |
| 2022-Jun-03 • 2 minutes The science behind apple pie Want to learn more about this tasty treat? Read about food science with A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Jun-02 • 2 minutes In nature, sometimes size matters Even animals can be bullies, and it turns out size plays an important role in how an animal behaves with others in its species. |
| 2022-Jun-01 • 2 minutes Pets have their own obesity epidemic Obesity is a well-known issue in the United States, and humans aren't the only ones impacted. |
| 2022-May-31 • 2 minutes Salmon that shape mountains Environments can shape a species, but what about the other way around? |
| 2022-May-30 • 2 minutes Carbon isotopes and past life on Mars NASA’s Curiosity rover is exploring Gale crater on Mars. The crater contains rock formed from sediments deposited billions of years ago on the bottoms of ancient lakes and rivers of liquid water. Could life have existed in these long-vanished lakes and rivers? |
| 2022-May-27 • 2 minutes The light of spring There are many changes with the coming of spring, including sunlight. Learn more with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-May-26 • 2 minutes How to find a "super tree" Researchers wondered what the best trees were for absorbing air pollution, and created a ranking scale as a result of their findings. |
| 2022-May-25 • 2 minutes The problem with zero gravity Zero gravity is often confused for weightlessness. Learn more about why that comparison isn't really accurate with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-May-24 • 2 minutes An arsenic green wallpaper to dye for Today we are very aware of the dangers of arsenic exposure, but that didn't stop some of our ancestors from using this poison in a number of objects to get a particular shade of green. |
| 2022-May-23 • 2 minutes The tomato plant's surprising defense against caterpillars You might think a plant would be defenseless against predators, but that's not really the case. Learn more about the tomato plant's defense system with A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-May-20 • 2 minutes Soap bubbles and butterfly wings What do soap bubbles and butterfly wings have in common? Learn the answer with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-May-19 • 2 minutes The world's largest colony of fish nests There are many surprises still within the area of the Antarctic, including its unexpected abundance of life. Learn more about the discovery of fish nest colonies in the Weddell Sea with A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-May-18 • 2 minutes Big mouth, even bigger bite Creatures today like crocodiles have some impressive force behind their jaws, but did any animals of the past pack an even more powerful punch? Learn more about the megalodon's bite here. |
| 2022-May-17 • 2 minutes Our sun stands apart amidst solar twins Looking at the universe, our sun might be considered "just another star". While it might be special to us, there are a few other characteristics that makes it stand out. |
| 2022-May-16 • 2 minutes The largest bird to ever live The appropriately named elephant bird was the largest bird to ever live. Learn more about this impressive creature with A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-May-13 • 2 minutes Dementor wasps are strange and fascinating Learn more about this unique species with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-May-12 • 2 minutes Could we cure paralysis? Learn more about some groundbreaking research in paralysis with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-May-11 • 2 minutes The importance of white paint for airplanes Why are most airplanes painted white? The reason goes beyond personal preference. |
| 2022-May-10 • 2 minutes Dino eating dino? Not for T. rex and Stegosaurus The T. rex and Stegosaurus are among some of the most well-known dinosaurs, so it isn't uncommon to see them pictured together. But would the two have ever actually met? |
| 2022-May-09 • 2 minutes Amphipods have unwilling living backpacks There are many strange relationships between creatures of the animal kingdom, and not all of these are beneficial for both sides. |
| 2022-May-06 • 2 minutes How wildfires are impacting the ozone With wildfire rates rapidly increasing, it's important to know how these events impact the rest of the world. |
| 2022-May-05 • 2 minutes Why the mountain beaver's brain didn't grow When we think of brainpower, often the assumption is "bigger is better." In the case of the mountain beaver however, this isn't necessarily true. |
| 2022-May-04 • 2 minutes Traces of past life in the world's oldest rubies Ancient rubies revealed some surprising information about past life on Earth. |
| 2022-May-03 • 2 minutes "Hair" of the caterpillar Fuzzy caterpillars are a common sight throughout most of the United States, but this fuzz isn't actually hair. Learn more about these prickly creatures with A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-May-02 • 2 minutes Shining light on our understanding of the sun Learn about past theories on the nature of our closest star with today's A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Apr-29 • 2 minutes Technology and the rise of the mid-Atlantic accent While no longer in use today, most people are still familiar with the mid-Atlantic accent of the past. What led to this particular form of pronunciation, and why isn't it around today? |
| 2022-Apr-28 • 2 minutes What makes human brains different? Last week we examined the differences between humans and our closest genetic relatives. But what else separates us from chimpanzees? |
| 2022-Apr-27 • 2 minutes Bats can block out the competition's sonar signals It is commonly known that bats use echolocation to navigate the world. But did you know they can also block these sonar signals from their rivals? |
| 2022-Apr-26 • 2 minutes The worst day on Earth: The day of the Chicxulub impact What happened on the day that an asteroid caused a mass extinction event millions of years ago? |
| 2022-Apr-25 • 2 minutes Fast-forwarding evolution in fish Evolution happens over such a long period of time, it can be difficult to study. One rare exception to this rule comes from steelhead trout. |
| 2022-Apr-22 • 2 minutes Where does candle wax go? When you burn a candle, where does the melted wax end up? Today's A Moment of Science has the answer |
| 2022-Apr-21 • 2 minutes The routine case of exploding manhole covers As alarming as it might sound to experience, flying manhole covers can be a routine part of life. Why does this phenomenon happen? |
| 2022-Apr-20 • 2 minutes Pecking order at the bird feeder Many animals experience living in a pecking order, especially birds. How does this come up at the bird feeder? |
| 2022-Apr-19 • 2 minutes How similar are humans to the rest of our family tree? Humans share a large percentage of DNA with monkeys and apes. What really separates us from our closest living genetic relatives? |
| 2022-Apr-18 • 2 minutes Aphantasiacs and hyperphantasiacs How well does your mind's eye see? Learn about the spectrum of visual imagery with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Apr-15 • 2 minutes The mathematical perfection of an egg's shape Eggs have often been described as the most perfect shape, for several reasons. Now researchers believe they have the formula behind this shape. |
| 2022-Apr-14 • 2 minutes Why your arm hurts after getting a shot Why is your arm always sore after getting a shot? A Moment of Science has the answer |
| 2022-Apr-13 • 2 minutes Why tail weaponry has gone the way of the dinosaurs There aren't many animals these days that have some sort of self-defense on their tail, unlike the dinosaurs millions of years ago. So what changed along the way? |
| 2022-Apr-12 • 2 minutes Birdsong apps can be confusing for real birds Birders will often use apps to learn how to mimic calls of the birds they're searching for. But how can this impact the wildlife they're trying to observe? |
| 2022-Apr-11 • 2 minutes Why do you like that toy? We all probably have a favorite chair or other object that we like the best for no real reason. Why is that? And what do preferences in babies tell us about their future likes and dislikes? |
| 2022-Apr-08 • 2 minutes The truth behind a snake's warning pattern Several snakes have bright patterns, either to warn off predators or to be used as camouflage. But are these patterns a sign of real danger or just a bluff? Learn more with A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Apr-07 • 2 minutes The electrifying science behind Frankenstein Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has been one of the most iconic science fiction stories for over 200 years. What science of her time inspired this tale? |
| 2022-Apr-06 • 2 minutes The fiery sting of the fire ant Learn more about the sting the fire ant gets its name from. |
| 2022-Apr-05 • 2 minutes Why did human brains decrease in size? Our brains are three times as large as our closest evolutionary relative. But the size of the human brain hasn't just continually grown during our evolution. |
| 2022-Apr-04 • 2 minutes The science of sponges is stranger than fiction What do you know about sponges? Learn all about these unique members of the animal kingdom with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Apr-01 • 2 minutes The difference between simple and complex carbs Our bodies prefer to get their energy from carbs. But does it matter what kind of carbohydrates you put into your body? |
| 2022-Mar-31 • 2 minutes Why crocs might want to eat rocks Crocodilians appear to eat rocks on purpose, but why exactly would they want to do that? |
| 2022-Mar-30 • 2 minutes The science behind "fat-free" foods Just because a label says a product is fat free or low fat, that doesn't mean the food is good for you. A Moment of Science looks closer at the pros and cons of fat-free foods. |
| 2022-Mar-29 • 2 minutes Do birds hear tsunamis and hurricanes? There's plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting that birds and other animals can sense incoming weather threats, but is there any scientific backing to these claims? |
| 2022-Mar-28 • 2 minutes The simple elastic ruler Try this simple at home demonstration to learn more about light rays and water. |
| 2022-Mar-25 • 2 minutes Bright colors mean less harassment for hummingbirds Even hummingbirds can experience unwanted attention. But scientists noted that those with certain plumage tend to face less harassment. |
| 2022-Mar-24 • 2 minutes The difficulty in describing smells You might be good at identifying a smell, but how well can you describe it? Research looks closer at the linguistic difficulties some cultures have. |
| 2022-Mar-23 • 2 minutes The Moon has ancient lunar lava How much do you know about the Moon's history? Evidence shows billions of years ago, our moon was a much different place. |
| 2022-Mar-22 • 2 minutes What caused the Appalachian Mountain bend? The Appalachian Mountains run in almost a straight line, except for a 150 mile-long bend. What caused this formation to occur? |
| 2022-Mar-21 • 2 minutes Mammals in cities are larger and longer Bigger is usually better in the animal kingdom, but what role does environment play in determining a mammal's size? Research suggests urbanization may be a key player. |
| 2022-Mar-18 • 2 minutes Does a shape of a glass impact how you drink? There are tons of options when it comes to glassware specifically for alcohol. Does the glass you choose make much of a difference? |
| 2022-Mar-17 • 2 minutes Evidence of the oldest dinosaur herds In 2021, researchers looked at early fossil evidence and determined herbivores lived together in cohesive herds. Today's A Moment of Science has more on this research. |
| 2022-Mar-16 • 2 minutes George Washington comes out on top A simple experiment with quarters teaches us more about rotations. |
| 2022-Mar-15 • 2 minutes Science says your cat really is a freeloader Researchers conducted experiments to determine cats' likelihood to be a freeloader or a "contrafreeloader," and the results probably won't surprise cat owners. |
| 2022-Mar-14 • 2 minutes The long-lasting damage of a hurricane Hurricanes can be devastating weather events. Once they pass, their impact is often felt long after the crisis ends. |
| 2022-Mar-11 • 2 minutes Is climate change making the Earth dimmer? Climate change is leading to a number of unexpected consequences. New research published last year shows our planet getting dimmer might be one of them. |
| 2022-Mar-10 • 2 minutes How do power indicators work? Power indicators can be handy when trying to tell how much juice a battery has left, but how do this process actually work? |
| 2022-Mar-09 • 2 minutes The elusive beaked whale Learn more about this uncommon creature with A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Mar-08 • 2 minutes 14,400-year-old bread sheds light on our dietary history Scientists studying ancient bread break down what our ancestors ate and the significance of this discovery. |
| 2022-Mar-07 • 2 minutes It can be too warm or too cold for bumblebees to fly Bumblebees can behave like Goldilocks too, by wanting the air temperature to be just right for flight. |
| 2022-Mar-04 • 2 minutes Eyes are the windows to the personality We've heard the expression "eyes are the windows to the soul," but what do they really tell us about an individual? Research shows there's more information in eye movements than you might expect. |
| 2022-Mar-03 • 2 minutes The changing landscape of shark tourism There are benefits to learning about sharks in both aquariums and in their natural habitats. With the expanding industry of shark tourism, there can be pros and cons to intruding on a shark's home turf. |
| 2022-Mar-02 • 2 minutes Is it safe to shower when there's lightning? Not showering during a thunderstorm is commonly heard advice, but is there any truth that you're really taking a safety risk if you ignore this warning? |
| 2022-Mar-01 • 2 minutes Moth wingtips can be used to confuse bat sonar Animals have had to make several adaptations to their bodies as they evolve to avoid predators. Scientists have recently looked at how moths are designed to avoid detection from bats. |
| 2022-Feb-28 • 2 minutes Elephants can sniff out their preferred snacks Members of the animal kingdom use their five senses in ways impossible for humans to replicate. But sometimes, we see familiar characteristics in surprising places. |
| 2022-Feb-25 • 2 minutes The roots of modern biology grew in a monastery garden Research into the field of genetics has come a long way, but how did these roots begin? Learn more about Gregor Mendel in today's A Moment of Science |
| 2022-Feb-24 • 2 minutes Why rivers don't flow in straight lines Rivers wind and bend their way through a landscape, but why don't we see them in straight lines? Today's A Moment of Science has the answer |
| 2022-Feb-23 • 2 minutes How hummingbirds use their sense of smell Scientists have wondered how hummingbirds use their senses when finding flowers with nectar, but didn't think their sense of smell was useful. New research shows that might not actually be the case. |
| 2022-Feb-22 • 2 minutes Another good reason to go for Thai food Have you ever wondered why some cuisines are known for being spicy and others for being bland? This might have something to do with the climates of these areas. |
| 2022-Feb-21 • 2 minutes The leafy seadragon is a master of camouflage There are many supernatural creatures of the ocean that keep us fascinated, like the kraken or sirens. But what about a real sea dragon? |
| 2022-Feb-18 • 2 minutes The cloning and quaking stand of aspen Quaking aspen trees are known to group in communities, or "stands." These stands might actually be made up of genetic clones. |
| 2022-Feb-17 • 2 minutes Changing shape to cope with a changing climate Animals have had to adapt to their specific climates over generations of evolution. Climate change, however, has created a more immediate need to adapt. |
| 2022-Feb-16 • 2 minutes The simple science behind one-way glass One-way glass is a common sight in crime shows, but how do these reflective surfaces really work? |
| 2022-Feb-15 • 2 minutes Having more friends means more offspring for male chimps Friends add a lot to our everyday lives, but there's another benefit to strong social bonds in the animal kingdom as well. |
| 2022-Feb-14 • 2 minutes The potential hidden twin within Even if you don't have a twin, there's a potential that not all of your chromosomes are actually yours. |
| 2022-Feb-11 • 2 minutes The ant with metal in its mandibles Animals can be composed of a surprising number of materials, including some metals. |
| 2022-Feb-10 • 2 minutes How curiosity impacts infant development Babies are constantly learning about the world around them, but are some more interested in learning than others? |
| 2022-Feb-09 • 2 minutes Why do salmon leap? Salmon are commonly seen leaping upstream to travel, but why do they leap in still water as well? |
| 2022-Feb-08 • 2 minutes Expanding the search for extraterrestrial life to planets less like Earth NASA's James Webb telescope hopes to provide more information than we've ever had access to before about the universe around us, including the possibility of extraterrestrial life. |
| 2022-Feb-07 • 2 minutes Fruit flies are social butterflies When we think of social animals, fruit flies probably aren't the first example to come to mind. These tiny creatures need to be around others more than you might think. |
| 2022-Feb-04 • 2 minutes The mating song of Alston's singing mice Many animals have strange or elaborate mating rituals, even some mice. Learn more about what makes this mouse's sweet song so different. |
| 2022-Feb-03 • 2 minutes The wonderful Welwitschia mirabilis plant Learn about this plant with a tongue twister of a name with A Moment of Science! |
| 2022-Feb-02 • 2 minutes Taking a bug's anatomy to heart While they might look a little different from us, a bug still technically has a heart just like us. Learn more about their anatomy with today's A Moment of Science |
| 2022-Feb-01 • 2 minutes Sleep and inequality in the United States Inequality for minority groups can impact a number of life factors, including getting enough sleep. Research looks into the relationship between these areas and the reasons behind it. |
| 2022-Jan-31 • 2 minutes Blood type might impact how you should prep for traveling If you've ever experienced some unpleasant sickness from traveling, like getting diarrhea, your blood type might actually be part of the equation. |
| 2022-Jan-28 • 2 minutes The trick behind a rattlesnake's rattle Scientists noticed some interesting behaviors when rattlesnakes began to rattle, and further research provided insight into these creatures. |
| 2022-Jan-27 • 2 minutes Anxiety can impact how you view facial expressions When someone tells you to calm down, that's often the most inconvenient time to actually calm down. But is the expression on your face really accurate to how you feel inside? Today's A Moment of Science looks at how we interpret facial expressions. |
| 2022-Jan-26 • 2 minutes The hidden benefits of marine biofluorescence Under the blue light seen below the ocean's surface, there's a surprising array of biofluorescence to be seen. If, of course, you have the right kind of eyes to detect it. |
| 2022-Jan-25 • 2 minutes The durian fruit's smell is at odds with its taste How can a fruit that smells like garbage be appealing? Somehow, most of the animal kingdom besides humans are fans of durians. |
| 2022-Jan-24 • 2 minutes The gap in the Grand Canyon's rock record In geology, gaps in the rock record are fairly common. But the Great Unconformity of the Grand Canyon takes this gap to a new level. |
| 2022-Jan-21 • 2 minutes Seeing yourself through imaginary coworkers How do you see the world? Your descriptions of the people around you can actually reveal a lot about how you see yourself. |
| 2022-Jan-20 • 2 minutes Is stinky cheese appetizing or disgusting? Why do some people find the smell of pungent cheeses appetizing while others find it unbearable? Neuroscientists were wondering the same thing and researched the question further. |
| 2022-Jan-19 • 2 minutes U.S. islands and migratory animals Migratory animals often use islands while making their long journeys, creating some of the most biodiverse areas. Learn more about this relationship with A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jan-18 • 2 minutes Studying gut health and brain rejuvenation in mice Our intestinal health can have a major impact on the rest of our body. Scientists have recently looked into how having a healthy gut can improve brain function. |
| 2022-Jan-17 • 2 minutes What makes a bug a true bug? We commonly refer to most insects as bugs, but how accurate is that term? |
| 2022-Jan-14 • 2 minutes Handwriting and learning to read In the modern age, there are fewer instances of needing to actually write anything down by hand. Scientists say we should still teach children how to write. Learn more with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jan-13 • 2 minutes The indigestible goodness of fiber If fiber is actually indigestible for humans, why do we keep eating it? |
| 2022-Jan-12 • 2 minutes How does sound travel on Mars? The Mars Perseverance Rover has collected vital data for studying the red planet, including audio recordings. So how does sound travel on Mars? |
| 2022-Jan-11 • 2 minutes How do moths stay safe when mating? Humans aren't the only ones who practice safe sex, others in the animal kingdom do as well. Learn how moths protect themselves with A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jan-10 • 2 minutes Blacklight and biofluorescence occurring in nature There's a familiar look of blacklight in bowling alleys, arcades, and other locations. While this look might be familiar to us, we're not as familiar with it in nature. |
| 2022-Jan-07 • 2 minutes How knowledge and memory relate You might think that knowledge and memory go hand in hand, but the true nature of their relationship is a bit more complicated. Learn more with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2022-Jan-06 • 2 minutes Lakes on Mars, or a radar mirage? In 2018, evidence for potential liquid water on Mars was announced. This would be a monumental discovery, but arguments since then have repeatedly cast doubt on these claims. |
| 2022-Jan-05 • 2 minutes Your ear does more than just listen to noise Our ears don't just listen to the noises around us, they also make some sound as well. Learn more about otoacoustic emissions with A Moment of Science |
| 2022-Jan-04 • 2 minutes Birds in the big city behave differently from those in the country Like any environment, there are certain adaptations people take on in order to live in a large metropolitan area. Are the animals that live among us any different? |
| 2022-Jan-03 • 2 minutes How are defibrillators really used? While their use has been popularized by Hollywood in countless medical dramas, the defibrillator isn't actually the miracle machine it's made out to be. |
| 2021-Dec-31 • 2 minutes Birds have their own cultures and traditions, too Human cultures often benefit from their influence on each other, and scientists wondered if the same can be said for birds. Today's A Moment of Science has more on this research into the social lives of great tits. |
| 2021-Dec-30 • 2 minutes The oldest fossils on Earth could shed light on finding signs of past life on Mars Single-celled organisms were present on the Earth long before more intelligent life began. Finding fossils of these past life forms on Earth could help scientists looking for former life on Mars. |
| 2021-Dec-29 • 2 minutes Why does having a sore throat hurt so much? Why do sore throats hurt? Today's A Moment of Science looks closer at this pesky sickness and a few potential methods for relief. |
| 2021-Dec-28 • 2 minutes Confronting brain freeze head on Why do we get brain freeze, and always at the least convenient times? Today's A Moment of Science looks closer at this headache. |
| 2021-Dec-27 • 2 minutes How our bodies keep us warm We're pretty familiar with terms such as 'cold-blooded' and 'warm-blooded,' but they're not the most accurate descriptions for what actually goes on inside bodies. |
| 2021-Dec-24 • 2 minutes Probing the limits of life in Antarctica Scientists have found evidence of microbial life in all of Earth's environments, but does that mean life can truly exist under any conditions? New research looks at the extreme environment of Antarctica for answers. |
| 2021-Dec-23 • 2 minutes Deer parents probably aren't abandoning their fawns It's not uncommon to see a deer fawn alone, and sometimes our first assumption is it was abandoned by its parents. Today's A Moment of Science explains how that probably isn't the case. |
| 2021-Dec-22 • 2 minutes Having red hair could mean you have a higher pain tolerance Having red hair is incredibly rare, and could signal other unique differences your body has. Learn more about the relationship between hair color and pain tolerance with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2021-Dec-21 • 2 minutes Why an egg's consistency changes as it cooks Eggs change from a liquid-like state to practically solid the longer you cook them, but why is that? |
| 2021-Dec-20 • 2 minutes Goby fish can act like Goldilocks, too Goldilocks might have been a sensitive character in a fairytale, but the goby fish can be just as picky when finding a bed. Learn more about Goby-locks with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2021-Dec-17 • 2 minutes Benjamin Franklin burned through money, for science When Benjamin Franklin was researching how heat and cold are conducted, he performed some interesting experiments using cold hard cash. Learn more with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2021-Dec-16 • 2 minutes The silent song of asteroseismology In the 1600s, many people believed the stars produced musical vibrations. While it's true stars vibrate, they don't produce any sound. Asteroseismology still uses these vibrations to learn more about the cosmos. |
| 2021-Dec-15 • 2 minutes Does zero gravity actually exist? Seeing astronauts floating weightless is a commonly known image, but that weightlessness is different from actual zero gravity. Does zero gravity even exist? |
| 2021-Dec-14 • 2 minutes The human genus may have a new member All modern humans belong to the same species, but that doesn't mean we were the only species. Scientists may have recently found a new member of our extended family. |
| 2021-Dec-13 • 2 minutes The secret behind getting clear ice cubes Ice cubes always seem to be slightly cloudy in the middle. Why is that, and is it possible to avoid? |
| 2021-Dec-10 • 2 minutes How mongoose pups benefit from a "veil of ignorance" Usually, operating with a "veil of ignorance" has few benefits. Researchers studying mongooses found that this might not always be the case in the animal kingdom. |
| 2021-Dec-09 • 2 minutes Suggestions on judging statistics and risk assessment When confronted with something new, we often try to determine the potential risk associated with it. Today's A Moment of Science provides suggestions when determining your own risk assessment. |
| 2021-Dec-08 • 2 minutes Flip a coin, beat the odds In a hundred tosses of a coin, you expect about fifty heads. But do those odds change depending on what previous coin toss results were? |
| 2021-Dec-07 • 2 minutes Science says you should read to your baby Research shows there are multiple benefits for babies who are read to at a young age. |
| 2021-Dec-06 • 2 minutes The beetle that walks on the underside of the water's surface There's more than just one way to move around in the water, and this beetle has found one of the more unique modes of transportation. |
| 2021-Dec-03 • 2 minutes A lost strain of rice is found again A staple of Southern cuisine, hill rice, was thought to be lost from the US. Finding it again has been an important development for geneticists and horticulturalists alike. |
| 2021-Dec-02 • 2 minutes What the weather report doesn't tell you Weather reports usually come from a measurement at least six feet off the ground. While that reading is accurate, it doesn't show the full story of temperatures closer to the ground. |
| 2021-Dec-01 • 2 minutes Scientists study the unique birdsong known as bird incubation calls Zebra finches are among one finch species known to use bird incubation calls, a distinctive sound used only around the time of eggs hatching. |
| 2021-Nov-30 • 2 minutes Research furthers potential muscle regeneration Researchers looked into further understanding a set of proteins known as the Yamanaka factors, hopefully leading to advancements in restoring muscle mass and strength as we age. |
| 2021-Nov-29 • 2 minutes "It takes one to know one" Scrub jays are known to steal from other birds, and their behavior towards others in their species shows shows everyone's in on the secret. |
| 2021-Nov-26 • 2 minutes Why humans have baby teeth Baby teeth are valuable for childhood development, and for more reasons than keeping the tooth fairy employed. Today's A Moment of Science has more. |
| 2021-Nov-25 • 2 minutes How do polar bears drink? Most water polar bears come in contact with is frozen, so how do they stay hydrated? |
| 2021-Nov-24 • 2 minutes The lost continent of 'Icelandia' A team of Earth scientists published their hypothesis earlier this year that Iceland is just "the tip of the iceberg" for the continental crust of Icelandia |
| 2021-Nov-23 • 2 minutes The hairy truth behind trichomes Just like our hair, trichomes can cover a plant in a variety of ways. Today's A Moment of Science has more on these structures |
| 2021-Nov-22 • 2 minutes How different cancer models actually model cancer There are many options to choose from when testing a cancer model. How do scientists pick which one is the best for their uses? |
| 2021-Nov-19 • 2 minutes Turkeys actually make great wingmen The dating strategies for turkeys have benefits for those who don't pass along their genes. |
| 2021-Nov-18 • 2 minutes Microbes in our brains are related to how infants develop fear While some have a fear of germs, new research shows our sense of fear might come from microbes in our brains. |
| 2021-Nov-17 • 2 minutes Clearing out your wallet might be a pain reliever Cleaning out clutter always makes us feel better, but what about physically? Today's A Moment of Science looks at the benefits of a cleared-out wallet. |
| 2021-Nov-16 • 2 minutes The importance of time when navigating deep space Navigating deep space remains a daunting challenge. New developments in atomic clocks hope to aid in this issue. |
| 2021-Nov-15 • 2 minutes What it means when an experiment fails to replicate One of the main tenets of scientific study is results should be reproducible over and over again. But what happens when that's not possible? |
| 2021-Nov-12 • 2 minutes The largest insect migration in the world The Painted Lady butterfly makes the long journey across the Sahara Desert regularly, making the longest insect migration in the world. |
| 2021-Nov-11 • 2 minutes The chemistry of cooking with wine We've recently looked at cooking with vodka and beer, so what does cooking with wine do? |
| 2021-Nov-10 • 2 minutes Mammals can press pause on their pregnancies Parents often say there's no perfect time to get pregnant. For some animals, embryonic diapause is a convenient workaround to this problem. |
| 2021-Nov-09 • 2 minutes The benefits of baking with alcohol Many recipes can contain a secret ingredient. Today's A Moment of Science has a tip on what to add to your next pie. |
| 2021-Nov-08 • 2 minutes Only three percent of Earth's land is ecologically intact The climate crisis has caused havoc on almost all areas of the planet. Research into biodiversity has led to a drastic statistic on Earth's ecology. |
| 2021-Nov-05 • 2 minutes How red is "blood red" really? What color is blood? The answer might seem obvious, but color can depend on a couple factors in your body. |
| 2021-Nov-04 • 2 minutes The mollusk with a rare iron mineral in its teeth Teeth can contain a wide variety of substances besides calcium. Scientists found a surprising mineral in the teeth of the gumboot chiton. |
| 2021-Nov-03 • 2 minutes Scientists use drone technology to aid blowhole research There are many creative uses for drones, and scientists have found another way to use this new technology. |
| 2021-Nov-02 • 2 minutes The irresistible scent of dead arthropods Some plants have come up with unique ways to encourage pollination. One flower even has a specific scent to help encourage the presence of flies. |
| 2021-Nov-01 • 2 minutes Carbon-dating the mysterious Greenland shark reveals impressive lifespans There's a lot we don't know about the Greenland shark, making them very mysterious creatures. Some recent information tells us a little more about them. |
| 2021-Oct-29 • 2 minutes Why the Midwest gets so many tornadoes Tornadoes touch down on every continent except Antarctica, but what makes them so tied to the midwest United States? |
| 2021-Oct-28 • 2 minutes Do wild animals ever overeat? We don't often see obese animals in the wild, but does that mean that they don't exist? |
| 2021-Oct-27 • 2 minutes The evolution of making porcelain Porcelain is a popular but incredibly fragile material for making everything from plates to dolls. Today's A Moment of Science looks closer at how it's made. |
| 2021-Oct-26 • 2 minutes The freezing and flowing waters of Mars We've heard a lot about liquid water on Mars, but how is this possible with low temperatures in the planet's early history? |
| 2021-Oct-25 • 2 minutes The alligator gar is not an alligator Despite the name, the alligator gar is not a reptile. Learn more about these massive creatures with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2021-Oct-22 • 2 minutes How Neanderthals simplified the complex process of making tar Our prehistoric ancestors relied on the tools they made to survive, but how did they put those tools together in the first place? |
| 2021-Oct-21 • 2 minutes Pandemic symptoms prompt unconventional respiratory research With the COVID-19 virus impacting breathing abilities, researchers have looked into potential respiratory failure treatment alternatives. |
| 2021-Oct-20 • 2 minutes Missing out on sleep really adds up How tired is too tired? Today's A Moment of Science looks at how a few nights with little sleep can really add up. |
| 2021-Oct-19 • 2 minutes Sharks use Earth's magnetic field to navigate Many animals have amazing sensory abilities. Thanks to recent research, scientists now have greater insight into how sharks navigate the seas. |
| 2021-Oct-18 • 2 minutes You're a winner! It feels great to win, even if we only think we did. Researchers looked into how just thinking we've won impacts our bodies. |
| 2021-Oct-15 • 2 minutes Scientists observe incredible aurora display known as a "space hurricane" Auroras are always incredible displays of light, and a recently observed phenomenon called a "space hurricane" is no exception. |
| 2021-Oct-14 • 2 minutes Exploring the "twilight zone" of the ocean We've explored a relatively small part of our oceans, including a mysterious section known as the "Twilight Zone." Research has shown this area is not nearly as lifeless as we first thought. |
| 2021-Oct-13 • 2 minutes How Moon rocks differ from Earth rocks Impact theory helps explain why Moon rocks look so similar to stones here on Earth. |
| 2021-Oct-12 • 2 minutes The trouble with drinking blood There are many animals with unique diets, but one of the most surprising is the vampire bat's. Today's A Moment of Science has more on the realities of living off of blood. |
| 2021-Oct-11 • 2 minutes Lightning strike rates are increasing in the Arctic In the past, the Arctic has been too cold to produce many thunderstorms. Warming temperatures are changing this environment and making lightning strikes more likely. |
| 2021-Oct-08 • 2 minutes The fountain pen is mightier than the sword Today's A Moment of Science has more on the fountain pen, the perfect example of capillary action, in action. |
| 2021-Oct-07 • 2 minutes How non-migrating birds stay warm in the winter Birds are known to migrate with seasonal temperature changes, but what do those who don't travel South for winter do? |
| 2021-Oct-06 • 2 minutes The explosive methods of an ant's self-defense There are some strange methods animals use to defend themselves, and this ant is no exception. |
| 2021-Oct-05 • 2 minutes Behind the familiar physics of alien rain We're all familiar with how rainfall on Earth works, but how does it differ on other planets? |
| 2021-Oct-04 • 2 minutes The phenomenon of multiple discovery If Alexander Graham Bell had never lived, would we still have the telephone? The answer might be surprising, thanks to a pattern in science called multiple discovery |
| 2021-Oct-01 • 2 minutes Why many are making the switch to plant-based burgers Plant-based foods are becoming a popular alternative to meat products, and taste isn't the only factor convincing consumers to make the switch. |
| 2021-Sep-30 • 2 minutes The Rodents Are Both Warm And Cold Blooded Most mammals, including humans, respond to cold temperatures the same way. Today's A Moment of Science looks at two exceptions |
| 2021-Sep-29 • 2 minutes Lightweight Electric Vehicles: Can A Battery Double As A Structural Part Of A Vehicle? As electric batteries become more widely used in vehicles, a major hurdle to their widespread use is their weight. A new project looks to dual uses for batteries. |
| 2021-Sep-28 • 2 minutes Fire: Not Just For Humans Anymore Humans have long been considered the only animals to use fire. However, scientific evidence from Australian Aboriginal groups have shown this is not the case. |
| 2021-Sep-27 • 2 minutes Butterfly Brains And Speciation What role do our brains play in evolution? Scientists study butterfly brains to learn more. |
| 2021-Sep-24 • 2 minutes Is It A Waste To Wash Your Recyclables? We all try our best to reduce, reuse, recycle. But how much is washing out recycling really helping? |
| 2021-Sep-23 • 2 minutes Plant Fossils Beneath The Greenland Ice Sheet A sample taken beneath Greenland's mile-thick ice sheet reveals much about the area's past million years of history, and provides a warning for its future. |
| 2021-Sep-22 • 2 minutes Some Countries Navigate Better Than Others What impacts our internal sense of direction? Research shows a surprising contributing factor. |
| 2021-Sep-21 • 2 minutes Immune Response Of Early Embryos When do we develop our immune system? |
| 2021-Sep-20 • 2 minutes Long-Lived Sea Species Animals like the tortoise are known to live much longer than humans. What other animals have equally impressive lifespans? |
| 2021-Sep-17 • 2 minutes Changing Climate: Can Forests Make Like A Tree And Leave? As climate change becomes a more pressing issue, how will forests adapt to rising temperatures? |
| 2021-Sep-16 • 2 minutes Bad Grades And Biological Clocks Doing well in classes is a bit more complicated to achieve than just studying hard. Today's A Moment of Science looks at how activity patterns might impact grades. |
| 2021-Sep-15 • 2 minutes Jonathan, The Giant Tortoise Have you heard of Jonathan the Giant Tortoise? Today's A Moment of Science has more on his impressive lifespan |
| 2021-Sep-14 • 2 minutes Why Do African Apes Walk On Their Knuckles? Chimps and gorillas are the only animals to walk on their knuckles, but why do they do this? |
| 2021-Sep-13 • 2 minutes Additive And Subtractive Strategies We often first think of adding a new variable when problem solving, like giving a dying houseplant more water or fertilizer. Why don't we think of taking something away as frequently? |
| 2021-Sep-10 • 2 minutes Running On The Water Many animals and insects, including two species of grebes, can run on water. But what sets these birds apart from others? |
| 2021-Sep-09 • 2 minutes Bacteria Can Survive The Harsh Conditions Of Space The origin of life on Earth is still a mystery. The theory of panspermia looks to bacteria for answers. |
| 2021-Sep-08 • 2 minutes Guayule: A Promising Crop From The Desert What exactly is guayule, and why is this lesser-known crop so useful? |
| 2021-Sep-07 • 2 minutes Did Whales Learn To Avoid Whalers? Sperm whales have the largest brain for any animal. Researchers are now wondering if that brain power leads to some interesting, complex thought. |
| 2021-Sep-06 • 2 minutes The Cities Of The Maya Researchers have always known the Mayan built a sophisticated civilization, but had assumed their numbers to be fairly small. A breakthrough has brought new information to light for this ancient population. |
| 2021-Sep-03 • 2 minutes The Microbial Time-Travelers Of Pangaea Microbes are usually quick to evolve, but what if there's no need to change? Today's A Moment of Science looks at some consistent microbial designs. |
| 2021-Sep-02 • 2 minutes Fastidious Felines While it may seem like some of our furry friends' food preferences are incredibly picky, they actually have a refined pallet. Today's A Moment of Science has more. |
| 2021-Sep-01 • 2 minutes How Does Autotune Work? Very few of us can sing perfectly, but autotune helps hide a singer's mistakes. How does this process work? |
| 2021-Aug-31 • 2 minutes The Scent Of Danger: Underwater In a crab-eat-crab underwater world, how are crustaceans able to protect themselves? Today's A Moment of Science has more on their sense for danger. |
| 2021-Aug-30 • 2 minutes Albatross Conservation The albatross Wisdom has had an impressively long life. How can we best protect seabirds so they can experience the same? |
| 2021-Aug-27 • 2 minutes What Is A Glacier? What are glaciers and how do they form? Today's A Moment of Science explains. |
| 2021-Aug-26 • 2 minutes Feeding Cattle Seaweed Cows have a surprisingly high contribution to climate change. How can changing their diet help curb their impact? |
| 2021-Aug-25 • 2 minutes Defensive Pessimism Are there different benefits to being either an optimist or a pessimist? Today's A Moment of Science looks at those who see the glass as "half full." |
| 2021-Aug-24 • 2 minutes Was Oumuamua A Nitrogen Iceberg? A 2017 space anomaly still has astronomers questioning what they saw. Now, they might have a new theory. |
| 2021-Aug-23 • 2 minutes Why We Choose To Listen To Sad Music Sometimes we listen to sad music to feel better, and sometimes we listen to feel sadder. Why do we do that? |
| 2021-Aug-20 • 2 minutes Mechanical Gears In An Insect Gears can be found in almost every mechanical device. Researchers discovered nature has designed some of its own. |
| 2021-Aug-19 • 2 minutes Humongous Fungus What's the world's largest single organism? This fungus makes whales and elephants look tiny in comparison. |
| 2021-Aug-18 • 2 minutes The Patagonia Picnic Table Effect What is The Patagonia Picnic Table Effect? Today's A Moment of Science looks at the relationship between birders and rare bird sightings. |
| 2021-Aug-17 • 2 minutes Glitter In The Environment If you've ever used glitter, it can seem like it takes forever to away. This is true for our environment as a whole, and today's A Moment of Science looks at the dangers of microplastics. |
| 2021-Aug-16 • 2 minutes Protecting Paddlefish Roe How can different species benefit from environmental protections? The case of the paddlefish is a good example of how we can better protect our neighboring species. |
| 2021-Aug-13 • 2 minutes Life In The Deep Biosphere There's evidence that life can exist several miles underground. How do these unique ecosystems exist? |
| 2021-Aug-12 • 2 minutes Trilobites Breathed Through Their Legs Humans have noses, fish have gills, and 450-million-year-old trilobites had dumbbell-shaped breathing structures hanging off their legs. Today's A Moment of Science has more on this new fossil evidence. |
| 2021-Aug-11 • 2 minutes Turtles, Tortoises, Terrapins How can you tell the difference between a turtle, a tortoise, and a terrapin? Today's A Moment of Science breaks these classifications down. |
| 2021-Aug-10 • 2 minutes The Oceans, Carbon, And Climate Change Climate change and carbon levels have a massive impact on our oceans. Newly published research looks into what the future of our oceans can look like. |
| 2021-Aug-09 • 2 minutes Can Plants Learn? Pavlov's famous experiment ringing a bell before feeding a dog shed light on associative learning. Researchers wondered if plants were capable of making the same associations. |
| 2021-Aug-06 • 2 minutes Modern Alchemy: Lab-Made Gold Alchemy existed long before modern science, and it's appeal still lives on. Some still wonder, is transmutation possible? |
| 2021-Aug-05 • 2 minutes Why Do Cats Shed All Year Round? If a cat's fur is supposed to protect them from the cold, why do they shed year round instead of seasonally? |
| 2021-Aug-04 • 2 minutes Did Climate Change Kill North America's Mammals? North America used to be home to some of the world's largest mammals. 10,000 years later, scientists are looking at climate change as a possible cause of mass extinction. |
| 2021-Aug-03 • 2 minutes Screens And Sleep Artificial light from our devices has started affecting our ability to get to sleep. But how exactly does this happen? Today's A Moment of Science explains. |
| 2021-Aug-02 • 2 minutes When A Song Gets Stuck In Your Head What makes a song so easy to stay in your head? Today's A Moment of Science looks at the characteristics of earworms. |
| 2021-Jul-30 • 2 minutes How Climate Change Impacts Coffee Pollinators Coffee needs cool, mountainous areas to grow. As rising temperatures decrease suitable growing places, how will this impact pollinators? |
| 2021-Jul-29 • 2 minutes When Crocodiles And Alligators Get The Munchies What else do these impressive predators eat besides meat? |
| 2021-Jul-28 • 2 minutes Change Blindness Why are "spot the difference" games so difficult? The answer might have to do with how our brains evolved. |
| 2021-Jul-27 • 2 minutes Lobsters' Long Lives We've probably all seen the claim that lobsters are immortal. How true is this fun fact? |
| 2021-Jul-26 • 2 minutes Not Just A Pretty Face How do our perceptions of attractiveness impact how we perceive people? |
| 2021-Jul-23 • 2 minutes Traffic Noise And Mating Crickets How can noise impact other animals besides humans? Today's A Moment of Science explains more. |
| 2021-Jul-22 • 2 minutes How We Got Teeth And Bones: The Beginnings Of Biomineralization What is biomineralization? Today's A Moment of Science explains. |
| 2021-Jul-21 • 2 minutes Yuck! Why do humans have such a universal response when we find something disgusting? |
| 2021-Jul-20 • 2 minutes Animals Use Reason, Just Like You Philosophers have often wondered what sets humans apart from animals. It turns out that distinction might be more difficult to find than previously thought. |
| 2021-Jul-19 • 2 minutes The Moon's Precious Ice Humans have already found water in many places on the Moon. Now, we want to explore the frozen water hidden deep inside craters at the Moon’s poles. |
| 2021-Jul-16 • 2 minutes Busting Bedbugs How are bedbugs able to spread so quickly even though they don't fly? Today's A Moment of Science explains more. |
| 2021-Jul-15 • 2 minutes The Albatross How much do you know about the albatross? Today's A Moment of Science takes a look at these impressive birds. |
| 2021-Jul-14 • 2 minutes Early Crop Evolution Today's A Moment of Science looks at the beginnings of how our ancestors influenced crop production. |
| 2021-Jul-13 • 2 minutes The Sex Lives Of Reindeer Lichen For a long time, scientists thought reindeer lichen reproduced asexually. Now, new research shows the lives of these lichen may be more interesting than previously thought. |
| 2021-Jul-12 • 2 minutes Cool Down With A Hot Drink On A Hot Day Is it better to drink a hot or cold beverage when trying to cool down? |
| 2021-Jul-09 • 2 minutes Cats And Wildlife We might have domesticated cats, but how are their hunting instincts still impacting the environment? |
| 2021-Jul-08 • 2 minutes Gopher Tortoises Why is the gopher tortoise known for saving its neighbor's lives? Today's A Moment of Science explains. |
| 2021-Jul-07 • 2 minutes Birds And Small Mammals In The Desert How do birds and small mammals deal with the heat when living in the desert? |
| 2021-Jul-06 • 2 minutes Voting By Sneezing Today's episode looks at one of the unique ways animals communicate with each other. |
| 2021-Jul-05 • 2 minutes Life Inside Sea Floor Rock Today's episode uncovers how the ocean floor might not be a lifeless place. |
| 2021-Jul-02 • 2 minutes Neanderthals Were Kinda Gross 50,000 years ago, food was much more scarce. Today we look at the standards our ancestors may have had when it came to what they ate. |
| 2021-Jul-01 • 2 minutes Earth's Early Continents What was our planet like in its infancy? |
| 2021-Jun-30 • 2 minutes Female Dragonflies Fake Death To Survive Some female dragonflies have been observed using unconventional tactics to evade aggressive pursuers. |
| 2021-Jun-29 • 2 minutes Fossilized Lightning Where can we find the marks of Zeus's stray lightning? |
| 2021-Jun-28 • 2 minutes Dog Facial Expressions And Humans The assumption for years has been that animal facial expressions aren't related to complex cognitive processing. But research now suggests this may be incorrect. |
| 2021-Jun-25 • 2 minutes Camber Angles How are racecar drivers able to stay so stable turning the corners of the racetrack? Besides years of practice, camber angles help out. |
| 2021-Jun-24 • 2 minutes Should You Tap Your Soda Can? We've all heard the old wives's tale to tap your soda before opening it to prevent fizzing over. Is there any truth in this advice? |
| 2021-Jun-23 • 2 minutes The Ogre-Faced Spider Hunts Using Sound Today's A Moment of Science looks at some of the amazing qualities of the Ogre-Faced Spider. |
| 2021-Jun-22 • 2 minutes How A Rogue Gene May Contribute To Cancer New research into cancer sheds some light on a gene that might be contributing to cancer risks. |
| 2021-Jun-21 • 2 minutes Amazing Roaches It seems like whenever a roach is spotted, it runs away before it can be caught. What sort of abilities do they have to help make this happen? |
| 2021-Jun-18 • 2 minutes The Ambivalent Teenage Years Of Worms We probably all went through a few phases in our teenage years. How do other animals act during their adolescent stages? |
| 2021-Jun-17 • 2 minutes This Snail Is Made Of Iron What makes this snail the punk rocker of the gastropod world? Learn more with today's A Moment of Science. |
| 2021-Jun-16 • 2 minutes Politics And The Brain There's a lot to be learned from a brain scan. Is it possible for your brain to also show your political beliefs? |
| 2021-Jun-15 • 2 minutes Telephobia Anxiety around phone calls is fairly common. How can we best combat this nervousness? |
| 2021-Jun-14 • 2 minutes Coffee Shop Creativity Does getting work done in coffee shops actually help productivity levels? |
| 2021-Jun-11 • 2 minutes Does Nutrasweet Have Calories? How are artificial sweeteners able to be so sweet yet have no calories? Today's A Moment of Science explains. |
| 2021-Jun-10 • 2 minutes Sleeping Without A Brain Sleep is important for our brains to properly function. But do animals without a central brain need sleep too? |
| 2021-Jun-09 • 2 minutes Ancient Dental Records How much can teeth really tell us? As it turns out, it might be more than you think. |
| 2021-Jun-08 • 2 minutes Animals And Napoleonic Intelligence When studying animal behavior, most research looks at how animals interact within their social groups. But what new information is there to learn when looking at animal interactions with strangers? |
| 2021-Jun-07 • 2 minutes Addicted Ants How do other animals besides humans react to drug exposure? |
| 2021-Jun-04 • 2 minutes Identical Twins Aren't Always Genetically Identical For years, scientists have assumed that identical twins were the same down to their genes. Now, a new study sheds light on what we thought we knew about genetics. |
| 2021-Jun-03 • 2 minutes Single Fish Female Seeks Good Father Does being a good parent help attract a mate? |
| 2021-Jun-02 • 2 minutes Deforestation Is Stressing Out Animals Scientists look into the many ways deforestation can be harmful to animals. |
| 2021-Jun-01 • 2 minutes The Plastic Brain How is the brain able to key in on specific conversations even when there's plenty of background noise? Today's A Moment of Science explains. |
| 2021-May-31 • 2 minutes Horns vs. Antlers Have you ever wondered how to tell the difference between horns and antlers? Today's A Moment of Science explains. |
| 2021-May-28 • 2 minutes Plants Arming Themselves Plants might not be as defenseless against predators as they may first appear. |
| 2021-May-27 • 2 minutes That's One Cold And Sleepy Squirrel For those of us who dislike winter, hibernating through the whole season doesn't sound too bad. How do Arctic ground squirrels do it? |
| 2021-May-25 • 2 minutes How Some Grapes Conserve Their Water Climate change is impacting several of our favorite produce. Today, we look into how some grapes are able to fight back. |
| 2021-May-24 • 2 minutes Bonobos Need Glasses Too To learn more about the aging process in humans, we need to look at the aging process in some of our closest relatives. |
| 2021-May-21 • 2 minutes Becoming Human Humans have evolved to use more and more complex tools, setting us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. But where did our use of tools begin? |
| 2021-May-20 • 2 minutes Octopuses Sense Chemicals With Their Arms While octopuses are known for their brainpower, their other abilities make them unique members of the animal kingdom. |
| 2021-May-19 • 2 minutes Time Heals All Wounds...But Younger Wounds Heal Faster The older you get, the longer it seems for injuries to heal. But did you know scientists have figured out the reason why? |
| 2021-May-18 • 2 minutes Sebum What exactly is sebum, and what role does it play in our bodies? |
| 2021-May-17 • 2 minutes Contagious Violence Children are known to spread illnesses among their social groups fairly easily. But is there more than just sickness that can be spread? |
| 2021-May-14 • 2 minutes This Reef Towers Over The Sea Floor While it might be hard to believe, The Great Barrier Reef still holds many secrets for humanity to discover. This pinnacle reef is one of those secrets. |
| 2021-May-13 • 2 minutes Distracted From Survival Human activities are negatively impacting our water and air quality, but are there other ways we're harming our environment? |
| 2021-May-12 • 2 minutes The Royal, Loyal Language Of Naked Mole Rats What do naked mole rats and royalty have in common? The answer lies in communication. |
| 2021-May-11 • 2 minutes How Your Genes Impact The Effect Caffeine Has On You Have you ever wondered why caffeine seems to impact people in different ways? The reason for this could be in our genes. |
| 2021-May-10 • 2 minutes Coral Reefs, Seaweed, And Crabs Could crabs be an ally in the fight to save coral reefs? Scientists have been looking into this possibility. |
| 2021-May-07 • 2 minutes Come Springtime, Thank Phytochromes When Spring has finally sprung, make sure to thank phytochromes for making it all possible. |
| 2021-May-06 • 2 minutes The Acidification Of The Oceans Carbon dioxide production impacts our planet's air, but how is it affecting our oceans? |
| 2021-May-05 • 2 minutes Wise Owls We've all heard the phrase "wise old owl," but are these animals really deserving of the description? |
| 2021-May-04 • 2 minutes Do Hummingbirds Hibernate? Many animals are able to sleep through harsh winters, helping them to conserve energy. Recently, scientists have been looking into whether hummingbirds do the same. |
| 2021-May-03 • 2 minutes Saccadic Suppression What is saccadic suppression, and how does it help us in our daily lives? |
| 2021-Apr-30 • 2 minutes Cadmium And The Flu How does cadmium interact with pathogens in the body? Scientists show this could be a potentially dangerous combination. |
| 2021-Apr-29 • 2 minutes Glacial "Sawdust": The Colorful Components Of Mountain Lakes What makes mountain lakes so colorful? Today's A Moment of Science tells us more. |
| 2021-Apr-28 • 2 minutes Colors And The Brain How exactly do we perceive color? A team of researchers set out to find the answer. |
| 2021-Apr-27 • 2 minutes Ravens: Avian Einsteins The brainpower of ravens can't be denied. Now, scientists are looking into new behaviors and what insights they might provide for corvid communication. |
| 2021-Apr-26 • 2 minutes How Do Birds Navigate Migration? Bird migration is a well-documented phenomenon, but how are they able to make their annual journey? |
| 2021-Apr-23 • 2 minutes Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Makers On today's A Moment of Science, we look into the science behind what makes old-fashioned ice cream makers work. |
| 2021-Apr-22 • 2 minutes Can We Farm On Mars? As we look to the future of space travel and the potential to step foot on Mars, many important questions need to be asked to see this dream become reality. One of those questions is: how would farming work on the red planet? |
| 2021-Apr-21 • 2 minutes How To Heave Your Guts We've often heard the phrase "heaving your guts," but are humans the only ones who can do so? |
| 2021-Apr-20 • 2 minutes The Chemistry Of Line-Dried Laundry There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh laundry. Some chemists were curious, what exactly is that smell? |
| 2021-Apr-19 • 2 minutes Why Do We Love Junk Food? Why does eating bad food feel so good? Our evolutionary history might tell us more. |
| 2021-Apr-16 • 2 minutes Reflex Tears Sometimes it can feel like tears spring to your eyes. What exactly are reflex tears, and how can they be beneficial? |
| 2021-Apr-15 • 2 minutes Animal Pain People often project human emotions onto their pets, but humans and animals might be more similar in how we experience pain than previously thought. |
| 2021-Apr-14 • 2 minutes Ants and Superstrength How did ants get to be so strong? The answer might lay in their evolution. |
| 2021-Apr-13 • 2 minutes The Baby Schema Why do humans often find "awkward" features cute? Scientists looking into the baby schema provide some insight. |
| 2021-Apr-12 • 2 minutes Consider The Kumquat Have you ever wanted a healthier alternative to gummy candy? Then perhaps you should consider the kumquat. |
| 2021-Apr-09 • 2 minutes What's Up With That Fake Grape Flavor? Have you ever wondered why your grape-flavored snacks never seem to really taste like grape? |
| 2021-Apr-08 • 2 minutes Persistent Monkeys We are often told "if at first you don't succeed, try try again." But are humans the only ones who think so? |
| 2021-Apr-06 • 2 minutes Hurricanes And Global Climate Change When humans burn fossil fuels, some specific gases released trap the sun’s heat, and cause global climate change by the greenhouse effect. The warming climate is bringing changes to our day-to-day weather. |
| 2021-Apr-05 • 2 minutes Bilingual Brain Have you ever wondered what it would be like to speak more than one language? Would it be hard to talk without mixing up the languages? |
| 2021-Apr-02 • 2 minutes What's In A Moo? For many of us, cattle lowing in the distance sounds like the mere background music of a bucolic country scene. Cows, however, don’t talk without having something to say, and they even have unique voices. |
| 2021-Apr-01 • 2 minutes Smells And Memories When you step outside and sense the transition from autumn to winter, or notice signals of a fast‑approaching spring, you likely experience a feeling of being transported back in time and place. Sensory stimuli have the power to involuntarily trigger such memories. |
| 2021-Mar-31 • 2 minutes What Kangaroos Can Tell Us In recent experiments, scientists think that kangaroos have the ability to communicate simply by gazing at human researchers. |
| 2021-Mar-30 • 2 minutes Calypso Orchid: A Lure And A Tease The calypso orchid is one of the most eye‑catching little flowers you'll see on forest floors across the Northern United States, Canada, and Europe. It's an early bloomer that appears in springtime each year, showing off deep purple petals and a yellow fringe on its dainty white lower lip. |
| 2021-Mar-29 • 2 minutes The Alcohol Clouds Of Outer Space There’s a joke that asks, “Where do astronauts go for a drink?” The answer is, “The space bar!” But in the distant future, you might ask that question literally. There really is alcohol in space, even if we can’t access it yet. |
| 2021-Mar-26 • 2 minutes Natural Artificial Flowers There's a type of mustard plant, called "Holboell's rockcress" which naturally grows a dainty, light blue flower atop its narrow stem. Sometimes you'll see a Holboell's rockcress sporting a bright yellow cluster of leaves that looks suspiciously like a buttercup. |
| 2021-Mar-25 • 2 minutes Flight Loss Most insects fly—but, across millennia, many species have lost the ability. Island dwelling insects have been especially prone to this evolutionary trend. |
| 2021-Mar-24 • 2 minutes Can A Theory Evolve Into A Law? Scientists get a little weary of some people saying that the fact that evolution is a theory means that modern science itself isn't convinced it really happens. Today we review the difference between a theory and a law. |
| 2021-Mar-23 • 2 minutes How Wolves Feed Their Kids Wolves are predators that hunt and kill large mammals, such as deer. During the season that they rear their pups, they kill prey and bring it back to their den for their pups to eat. |
| 2021-Mar-22 • 2 minutes What Is Rewilding? Rewilding is a term coined in the 1990s by those working in conservation and environmental activism. It refers to large-scale wilderness recovery that allows natural processes and native wildlife to flourish in its proper place. |
| 2021-Mar-19 • 2 minutes Onions Are Toxic To Your Pets You may already know that chocolate can be lethal to your pet, but did you know that onions can be toxic to your cats and dogs too? And I'm not just talking about their breath. |
| 2021-Mar-18 • 2 minutes Baby-Talking Bats “Baby talk,” or “motherese,” might not be a language with any native speakers, but most humans seem suddenly fluent in it in certain situations. And it turns out bats might do something similar. |
| 2021-Mar-17 • 2 minutes Hearing A Shape The first picture an expecting mother is likely to see of her developing fetus is not, technically, a picture at all. Most likely, it's an ultrasound image, produced by technology that has more to do with hearing than with seeing. |
| 2021-Mar-16 • 2 minutes The Oldest Ballistic Tongue Part of the appeal of chameleons lies in their ability to fire their long sticky tongues out of their mouths to capture insects to eat. Scientists recently discovered an animal from 99 millions years that had the same kind of tongue. |
| 2021-Mar-15 • 2 minutes Red-Eyed Pictures Some photos appear normal, except for an unearthly red color glowing from the pupils of your loved ones' eyes. Are Grandma and Uncle Felix possessed, or is there some other explanation for this red-eye phenomenon? |
| 2021-Mar-12 • 2 minutes Dogs Don’t Recognize Faces Like Humans Do The human brain is exquisitely tuned to identify faces and facial expressions, which are so important to human social interaction. Researchers have found that certain areas of the human cerebral cortex are specialized for processing visual information about faces. |
| 2021-Mar-11 • 2 minutes The Breathless Parasite Pretty much everyone knows that oxygen is a fundamental requirement for life as we know it, but oddly enough that’s not entirely right. There are many simple life forms, such as some kinds of bacteria and archea, that don’t have a major metabolic pathway that needs oxygen. |
| 2021-Mar-10 • 2 minutes How Do Birds Survive Hurricanes? Ecologists go in search of birds displaced by hurricanes that make landfall along the coastal wetlands of the southern U.S. The abundant plant life there provides homes to birds that wade through brackish waters and nest in these environments. |
| 2021-Mar-09 • 2 minutes Earth's First Parasite In 2020 paleontologists found the oldest fossil evidence of a parasite ever, in 540 million-year-old rocks in Yunnan Province, China. |
| 2021-Mar-08 • 2 minutes Brachiation Today’s A Moment of Science examines brachiation, which is how apes and monkeys swing through the trees. Orangutans, spider monkeys, and chimpanzees can brachiate, but gibbons do it most often. |
| 2021-Mar-05 • 2 minutes AI Antibiotics Bacteria are evolving the ability to resist some of our most important antibiotics. Unless something is done, resistant strains of bacteria may kill 10 million people per year by 2050. |
| 2021-Mar-04 • 2 minutes The Parasite That Eavesdrops On Its Host In 2020, an international team of researchers made an important discovery about a parasite called a dodder. Dodders are a group of over a 100 parasitic plant species, found through much of the world. |
| 2021-Mar-03 • 2 minutes Did Life On Earth Begin In Hot Springs? The molecular working parts of living things are complex organic molecules with a backbone of carbon atoms. Some scientists think that hot springs might have provided the special chemical environments needed to link simple molecules up to form these longer and more complicated molecules. |
| 2021-Mar-02 • 2 minutes Frogs Can Breathe Through Their Skin Cutaneous respiration is the ability to breathe through the skin, and is a common trait in amphibians, although humans can't do it. |
| 2021-Mar-01 • 2 minutes Failing Better Some scientists have an exact figure for how much failure is optimal for learning: they say that learning is most effective when it involves failure 15 percent of the time. |
| 2021-Feb-26 • 2 minutes Why Is U.S. Money Green? We use money all the time, but have you ever wondered why U.S. banknotes are green? After A Moment of Science researchers did some investigating into the history of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, it turns out that there are several reasons for the green-back design. |
| 2021-Feb-25 • 2 minutes More Wolves, Taller Willows The willows in Yellowstone National Park used to commonly grow up to 157 inches tall. But in the 1990s, most willows in the northern part of the park only grew to be 39 inches. |
| 2021-Feb-24 • 2 minutes Earth's Climate History If we understood how Earth's climate has changed over its long geological history, we could better understand modern climate change. In 2020, geoscientists took a major step towards that goal when they published the most complete reconstruction of the last 66 million years of Earth's climate history. |
| 2021-Feb-23 • 2 minutes The Germ-Killing Power Of Copper The ancient Egytians used copper to sterilize wounds and clean their drinking water. They even wrote about it in one of the oldest known medical texts, the Smith Papyrus, which is over four thousand years old. |
| 2021-Feb-22 • 2 minutes How Does Crop Rotation Work? Crop rotation involves a lot of questions, like a puzzle. There are so many different crops that farmers can choose to plant, and so many different combinations; the possiblities are endless. |
| 2021-Feb-19 • 2 minutes Mollusks Reveal The Length Of A Day Rudist clams were around in the late Cretaceous and are extinct today. Their fossils can tell us a lot of surprising things, such as the length of a day 70 million years ago. |
| 2021-Feb-18 • 2 minutes The New Tree In Town When a gardener digs up a tree or shrub in one place and transplants it to another, the plant will endure all sorts of stress. It’s common for transplants to show signs of shock. Most often these plants are unable to recover. |
| 2021-Feb-17 • 2 minutes Shrinking Eyespots On Butterflies The eyes on the wings of a butterfly can look kind of strange, but they're not looking at you, they're just a deflecting mechanism. Like a lot of butterfly species, the African satyrid butterfly's eyespots make predators more likely to attack its wings rather than the more vital parts of its body. |
| 2021-Feb-16 • 2 minutes Phosphine: A Sign Of Life On Venus In 2020 an international team of astonomers made a surprising discovery using the James Clerk Maxwell telescope in Hawai'i. They found evidence that the atmosphere of the planet Venus contains tiny amounts of phsophine gas. |
| 2021-Feb-15 • 2 minutes A Drop In Temperature When you take your temperature, we hope to find that we have a normal temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This might not be as normal as we think, though. |
| 2021-Feb-12 • 2 minutes The Discovery Of A New Organ A team of Swedish biomedical researchers have just discovered a new organ in the bodies of mice, and they expect that humans have it, too. They missed this organ until now because it's not a complicated organ like a heart or a liver. |
| 2021-Feb-11 • 2 minutes Bridging The Gibbon Divide When a landslide in China created a treeless gully in a forest, the apes who lived there had to leap dangerously across, or take a long detour through the trees. So scientists built them a bridge. |
| 2021-Feb-10 • 2 minutes The Loneliness Of Social Distancing During times of mandatory isolation, like COVID-19 “social distancing”, countless people experience loneliness, but our craving for social contact is also very similar to cravings like thirst and hunger. |
| 2021-Feb-09 • 2 minutes Thiophenes On Mars: Evidence Of Past Life? Thiophenes are compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and sulfur. Their molecules contain a ring of four carbon atoms and one sulfur atom. They are found in coal, crude oil, in fossils of microscopic life, and bacterial mats. |
| 2021-Feb-08 • 2 minutes Do Elephants Grieve Their Dead? There are documented accounts by scientists of elephants' interest in the bodies of their dead. In 2019 a team of American researchers added their own observation at the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya. |
| 2021-Feb-05 • 2 minutes The Rusty Moon In 2020, a team of American scientists reported the first remotely sensed evidence of the mineral hematite on Earth's moon. The researchers made their discovery with a NASA instrument aboard the Indian space agency's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft orbiting the moon. |
| 2021-Feb-04 • 2 minutes Is Your Dog Anxious? Sensitivity to loud noises, like thunder or fireworks, is the most common kind of anxiety for dogs. In fact, researchers at the University of Helsinki had dog owners around the world report on their canines' anxiety. |
| 2021-Feb-03 • 2 minutes Where Did Penguins Come From? Scientists have mulling over the origin of the penguin. And after sequencing the genome of the 18 species of penguins that exist today, they have a pretty good idea how these evolved. |
| 2021-Feb-02 • 2 minutes Foxing If you visit an archive with scrolls, illuminated manuscripts, or old books on display, you might notice a particular kind of round, yellowish, or orange-tinted stain on some of the paper artifacts. This color effect is called foxing, and paper so affected is said to be “foxed.” |
| 2021-Feb-01 • 2 minutes The Danger of Supervolcanoes Just like the impact of an asteroid or a comet, the explosion of a volcano can be a major disaster. 39,000 years ago the Campi Flegrei volcano blew up in what's now Italy, blasting 70 cubic miles of molten rock into the stratosphere. |
| 2021-Jan-29 • 2 minutes Whale Migration Molting Some animals go to great lengths to exfoliate. Some scientists think that the reason some whale species make their long migration is to shed their skin, not to feed or give birth. |
| 2021-Jan-28 • 2 minutes Was Earth Once A Waterworld? Many astronomers think that exoplanets circling distant stars might be waterworlds, but maybe we don't need to look that far away. In 2020 two American geologists published evidence that Earth's surface may have been entirely covered with water up until at least 3.2 billion years ago. |
| 2021-Jan-27 • 2 minutes The Difference In Our Gestures Do we learn gestures by watching others make them? Or do our patterns of gesture originate from language itself? |
| 2021-Jan-26 • 2 minutes Is The Great Barrier Reef Dying? The Great Barrier Reef is that gigantic coral reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, and it may be dying. This reef is the largest biological structure on Earth, and covers 130,000 square miles. |
| 2021-Jan-25 • 2 minutes Spaghettification by Black Hole Here’s a joke for astronomy buffs: what’s a black hole’s favorite meal? Spaghettification! Of course, the joke only makes sense if you know what spaghettification means. This A Moment of Science explains that punchline. |
| 2021-Jan-22 • 2 minutes Rejuvenating Human Cells Science has done some amazing things, but nobody really knows if it could ever extend our life span, or eliminate aging entirely. Recently, a team of researchers from California found a way to reverse aging in several kinds of human cells. |
| 2021-Jan-21 • 2 minutes Dolphin Best Friends Male dolphins hang out with acquaintances and family, but they also spend a lot of time with their best friend. Adult male bottlenose dolphins often bond in duos or trios. |
| 2021-Jan-20 • 2 minutes A Rainforest In Antarctica 92 million years ago, during the time of the dinosaurs, there was a rainforest in Antarctica. This isn't due to the movement of continents on Earth's tectonic plates. Even 92 million years ago, Antarctica was still near the South Pole. |
| 2021-Jan-19 • 2 minutes House Cat Versus Predators The hunting abilities of house cats are pretty impressive. They look so cute and cuddly, and then they turn out to be ferocious killers. A lot of people don't realize that they're a pretty big threat to local animal populations. |
| 2021-Jan-18 • 2 minutes Brussel Sprouts Really Are Good For You Over the years, Brussels sprouts and broccoli have developed a bad reputation as unappetizing health food. In spite of this, they are some of the most delicious vegetables out there, as long as they're cooked correctly. |
| 2021-Jan-15 • 2 minutes The Many Colors Of Bell Peppers The bell pepper is one of the most popular vegetables in the world (even though it’s technically a fruit). Its deeply pigmented, shiny skin advertises its other qualities: flavor and texture, of course, but also nutritional content. |
| 2021-Jan-14 • 2 minutes How Butterflies Keep Their Wings Cool In 2020 an interdisciplinary team of American researchers published a study on how butterflies keep their wings cool. Using a specialized infrared camera, they found that the living parts of the wings, around the wing veins, were best at radiating heat. |
| 2021-Jan-13 • 2 minutes Megalodon: The Largest Shark That Ever Lived The largest shark that ever lived is called Otodus megalodon. Its teeth were as big as a human hand. The oldest fossil evidence dates from 20 million years ago, and it became extinct just 3.5 million years ago. |
| 2021-Jan-12 • 2 minutes Serving Up Nuclear Pasta Neutron stars can form when a giant star goes supernova. During a supernova, the star’s core collapses, and the remaining protons and electrons get squeezed together so tightly that their nuclei touch. |
| 2021-Jan-11 • 2 minutes The Science Of Narrative Structure Even very different kinds of books share some common characteristics, like the pattern of their function words. These are the short connector words such as pronouns and prepositions, as well as articles, conjunctions, negations and auxiliary verbs. |
| 2021-Jan-08 • 2 minutes Dinosaur For Dinner Chewed up dinosaur bones are a pretty common find in Colorado's Mygatt-Moore Quarry. According to a recent story, about 29% of 2,368 dinosaur bones researchers found had bite marks from the serrated teeth of therapods, carnivorous dinosaurs that roamed the region in the late Jurassic period 150 million years ago. |
| 2021-Jan-07 • 2 minutes Do Praying Mantises Change Color? Mantises display subtle shades of color that sometimes allow them to disappear into their habitats, where you might find them perching on a blade of tall grass or a pumpkin vine. |
| 2021-Jan-06 • 2 minutes Facebook And The Emergency Department Social media can be addictive, and sometimes it's better to cut back on use. But it isn't necessarily all bad. It can tell us some surprising things about a person's well being. |
| 2021-Jan-05 • 2 minutes How Chinchillas Stay Clean Chinchillas are sometimes singled out as being particularly adorable and fascinating. Chinchillas are native to the Andes Mountains. To survive the cold temperatures, their fur is dense, and about an inch-and-a-half long. |
| 2021-Jan-04 • 2 minutes The Australian Wildfires: An Ecological Disaster Near the beginning of 2020 massive wildfires ravaged Australia.The fires peaked in intensity during December and January. Damage to Australian ecosystems and wildlife was extensive. |
| 2021-Jan-01 • 2 minutes The Early Bird Gets The Girl Everyone might enjoy waking up to birdsong, but not at 4am. So what is making birds start their singing at this less idyllic time? |
| 2020-Dec-31 • 2 minutes How Eureka Moments Can Warp Our Judgement A eureka moment is an experience where a solution or idea suddenly appears in your mind and immediately feels true. One reason eureka experiences are peculiar is that they tend to accompany accurate solutions to problems, but they can also lead to errors. |
| 2020-Dec-29 • 2 minutes The Powerful Pistol Shrimp Today we will consider a small but mighty creature called the pistol shrimp. It's a ferocious animal, known for its claws, one of which is a normal pincer. The other is an enormous snapper, which is the pistol. |
| 2020-Dec-27 • 2 minutes The Gestures In Our Voices When we talk to people on the phone who we know well, we can often predict their physical gestures while they're talking, even if we can't see them. That's because we've seen them do it before, and because of cues from their voices. |
| 2020-Dec-26 • 2 minutes A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall Some days rain falls in a light, calm sweep across the earth. On other days rain falls in a torrential downpour, flooding the ground below. So, what causes this difference? |
| 2020-Dec-04 • 2 minutes Ancient Gum At one Stone-Age-era archaeological site in southern Denmark on the island Lolland all of the artifacts have been sealed in mud since the Mesolithic period 6,000 years ago. One artifact is what researchers are calling an early version of chewing gum, made from birch pitch that oozed from birch bark after being heated. |
| 2020-Dec-03 • 2 minutes Will Dogs Really Rescue Humans? Cooperation and mutual aid can help animals survive and reproduce, and in these circumstances evolution can promote helpful and unselfish behavior. A study by American researchers published in 2020 shows that domestic dogs really will rescue their owners even when they haven't been trained to do it for a reward. |
| 2020-Dec-02 • 2 minutes Aluminum, Phosphate, Lead and Water Too much lead is always a cause for concern, and scientists are still learning about how lead interacts with other substances. Take aluminum and phosphate. Phosphate is sometimes added to water because it inhibits corrosion of lead pipes, reducing the amount of lead released into water. |
| 2020-Dec-01 • 2 minutes Rediscovering the Nose-Horned Lizard Many years ago, it seemed like there was so much biodiversity out there, with all kinds of new plants and animals to discover. Now it seems like every corner of the world has been studied and cataloged. |
| 2020-Nov-30 • 2 minutes Are There Active Volcanoes On Venus? The surface of Venus is dotted with ring-like structures named coronae, produced by volcanic activity. They appear to be much like the Hawaiian islands on Earth, which are products of volcanic activity from a plume of hot material welling up from Earth’s mantle. |
| 2020-Nov-27 • 2 minutes Neanderthals and Fertility Some of us have Neanderthal genes, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's research showing that women with a certain gene variant, or allele, inherited from Neanderthals are more fertile than women without it, and that 15 to 20 percent of women in Europe have it. |
| 2020-Nov-26 • 2 minutes Why Does the Sun Seem to Follow Us? You're driving down the highway on a beautiful day as your child looks out the window. She asks, "Why is the sun following us?" |
| 2020-Nov-25 • 2 minutes Escape From A Frog's Stomach In 2020 a Japanese biologist reported discovering a species of aquatic beetle that can actively escape alive from the stomach of a pond frog. It doesn't crawl back up the frog's gullet and out its mouth, but instead goes the other way. |
| 2020-Nov-24 • 2 minutes Vaccine Skeptics Think Differently Despite having almost 1,300 measles cases in 2019 after measles was declared eradicated from the U.S. in 2000, some people are still hesitant to vaccinate themselves or their children. |
| 2020-Nov-23 • 2 minutes The Wonderful World Inside Lava Caves Do you live near a dormant volcano? You might have a weird wonderland right beneath your feet. |
| 2020-Nov-20 • 2 minutes Lava Caves Part 1 In Hawaii, there's a lava cave named Kazumura that's over 40 miles long, the largest in the world. When a volcano erupts, it sends lava rivers rushing downhill. As these rivers flow, their sides and surfaces crust over, forming a tunnel. |
| 2020-Nov-19 • 2 minutes Desert Ants Use Magnetic Field To Get Home Desert ants spend the first four weeks of their lives in their underground nest. They keep themselves busy by digging tunnels, building chambers, and doing general maintenance inside. |
| 2020-Nov-18 • 2 minutes What Happens To Nuclear Waste? Today, 440 nuclear reactors are operating in 30 countries worldwide. The energy generated by these plants provides 10 percent of the world’s electricity. But after we use nuclear fuel, what happens to the waste, and how do we handle it? |
| 2020-Nov-16 • 2 minutes Denman Glacier: Assessing The Threat Melting glaciers in West Antarctica might collapse due to the effects of human-caused global climate change, but there are also risks in Antarctica's eastern part. |
| 2020-Nov-16 • 2 minutes Mangrove Forests and Flood Protection Mangrove forests are beautiful all on their own, but they also provide flood protection. The roots of the trees hold in sediment, which prevents erosion, and erosion makes floods a lot worse. |
| 2020-Nov-13 • 2 minutes Mal de Debarquement Syndrome Have you ever had the experience of being on a boat all day, and then later feeling like you were swaying or rocking even though you were no longer on the boat? This is known as "land sickness." |
| 2020-Nov-12 • 2 minutes Bumblebees and Flowering Plants Scientists think that bumblebees can speed up flowering in plants. They go the idea when doing a different experiment and noticing bumblebees using their mouths to pinch the leaves of plants that hadn't flowered yet. |
| 2020-Nov-11 • 2 minutes The Asteroid Did It: A Murder Mystery The extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period is Earth's greatest murder mystery. 66 million years ago, something killed about 75 percent of all animals, including the dinosaurs. |
| 2020-Nov-10 • 2 minutes Coyotes May Soon Enter South America Historically, coyotes roamed a broad expanse, as far east as the Mississippi and as far west as the Pacific, north into Canada and south into Mexico, but since 1900 they’ve extended their range into every corner of the US |
| 2020-Nov-09 • 2 minutes Warm Antarctic Waters Scientists are carefully monitoring the west Antarctic ice sheet. It's melting, and has been responsible for about four percent of the global rise in sea levels to date. |
| 2020-Nov-09 • 2 minutes A Brain Area That Shuts Off Pain During WWII, doctors noticed severely injured soldiers didn't need pain medication. Biomedical researchers have known for some time that the brain has an endogenous opiate system that controls pain. Now, they've found evidence of a new pain relief circuit. |
| 2020-Nov-06 • 2 minutes Isolation and Inflammation An illness all by itself is unpleasant, but the isolation we experience while recovering is also bad for our health. There's research showing that social isolation is associated with increased inflammation in the body. |
| 2020-Nov-05 • 2 minutes Reindeer Could Save The Permafrost Reindeer herds may be saving thawing permafrost, which can release greenhouse gases stored in it and speed up climate change. |
| 2020-Nov-04 • 2 minutes Pain Relieving Profanity When you stub your toe or hit your head, sometimes a swear word will slip out. Some researchers argue that this is a kind of stress-reduced analgesia, or pain-reliever. |
| 2020-Nov-02 • 2 minutes Turtle Moms And Their Decoy Nests Every summer, scores of trained volunteers scan coastal beaches, looking for sea turtle nests. When found, the nests are marked and watched, preventing predators or curious humans from finding the eggs. |
| 2020-Oct-30 • 2 minutes The "Ghost" Hominin It's interesting that modern anthropologists can do more than just study fossil bones and teeth. Ancient remains sometimes contain surviving DNA, and this has let scientists study the genomes of both the Neanderthals and the Denisovans. |
| 2020-Oct-29 • 2 minutes Upside-Down Grasshoppers Have you ever wondered how bugs handle being upside down for so long? It's a puzzling question, especially since insects don't have a closed circulatory system like we humans do. |
| 2020-Oct-28 • 2 minutes Insect Flours Over the next few decades, bread may become an important protein source for many consumers, and animal protein alone won’t be able to meet the demand. Right now, researchers are engineering a new kind of flour for bread making, a flour that is made from insects. |
| 2020-Oct-27 • 2 minutes Will Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Harm Our Ability To Think? According to a study published by American researchers in 2020, unless we change current practices, by the end of this century there will be more than twice as much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as there was before the industrial revolution. |
| 2020-Oct-26 • 2 minutes Volcanic Eruptions And Rainfall Scientists have noticed that global precipitation tends to drop after a volcanic eruption, but they haven't known all the factors that can influence this effect. Now, thanks to a new study, a group of researchers thinks the missing link is El Niño, the weather pattern we normally see every 2 to 7 years. |
| 2020-Oct-23 • 2 minutes Beluga Whales Are Just Like Us Beluga whales have complex social networks, where support structures and cooperation extend beyond the nuclear family. Beluga communities often have a mix of family members, extended relations, and non-kin. |
| 2020-Oct-22 • 2 minutes What Events Make Us Really Happy? A research team did a study on how major life events affect our wellbeing, using a sample of 14,000 Australians who had participated in a survey that examines households’ economic and personal well-being, labor market dynamics and family life |
| 2020-Oct-21 • 2 minutes Saber-Toothed Tigers Were Really, Really Big Maine Coons seem huge for domesticated cats. But Smilodon populator is the biggest species of one of the biggest cats of all time: the saber-toothed tiger. |
| 2020-Oct-20 • 2 minutes Methane, The Other Greenhouse Gas Greenhouse gases trap the sun’s heat in a planet’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the most familiar example The release of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels is the main cause of global climate change. |
| 2020-Oct-19 • 2 minutes Seductive Details And Learning Seductive details are attention catching details that make a lesson or presentation more interesting but aren't relevant to the content. Even though these kinds of things can make the presentation more interesting, they could inhibit learning. |
| 2020-Oct-15 • 2 minutes Plastic Dust Is Covering Our National Parks According to a recent study, our national parks are being coated in plastic dust. Most of it is from around the world, but a lot of it originates in nearby cities, and get brought to the parks by passing storms. |
| 2020-Oct-14 • 2 minutes Paranoia In times of unexpected uncertainty, people may be more prone to paranoia. For instance, during the current global pandemic, many people have been thrown into unanticipated volatility, and this can compel some to seek out who, or what, to blame for that volatility in order to make sense of it. |
| 2020-Oct-14 • 2 minutes Shedding Microfibers It's hard to keep our planet pollution-free. Even our clothes are contaminating the planet with all the microfibers they release. New research shows that even wearing clothes releases a significant number of microfibers into the air. |
| 2020-Oct-13 • 2 minutes Dogs' Noses Can Seek Out Heat Did you know that a dog's nose can be tens of thousands of times more sensitive than ours? A recent study even suggests that dogs' noses can actually sense heat. |
| 2020-Oct-12 • 2 minutes Cutting The Salt But Keeping The Flavor Pretzels, potato chips, and popcorn are all covered in it. It's baked into our bread and mixed into our butter. It snows down on our fies and even our cucumber slices. |
| 2020-Oct-09 • 2 minutes Do Carnivores Care About Us? While you’re out in nature, do you ever wonder if your presence changes the way animals interact with each other? | Well, in 2018 researchers in California conducted a study showing how human activity can actually influence how carnivorous animals divide shared resources, referred to as resource niche partitioning. |
| 2020-Oct-08 • 2 minutes Canines Conquer The East Eastern wolves and coyotes have been interbreeding more frequently over the past several hundred years, and now their hybrids are widespread from the Great Lakes region to the east coast. |
| 2020-Oct-07 • 2 minutes The Trees That Farm Their Own Drought Tolerance With climate change, stronger droughts are challenging the world's forests, meaning species' niches, or environmental requirements, aren't matching up with the environment they live in. But what if forest trees could expand their niches by farming gardens of drought tolerance, where istead of food they grow tiny helpers? |
| 2020-Oct-06 • 2 minutes Speaking With Tongues Today, we're talking about talking, and parrots, which can learn to talk, and is why studying the way parrots vocalize can help scientists better understand the way humans vocalize. If you think about it, bird song and talking have a lot in common. |
| 2020-Oct-05 • 2 minutes Your Skin's Thermometer What skin temperature feels comfortable to you? I'm not talking about air temperature, I'm talking about the temperature of your skin itself, under your clothes. Chances are, it's about 86 degrees Fahrenheit. |
| 2020-Oct-02 • 2 minutes Of Figs And Fig Wasps Figs have their thousands of individual flowers folded up inside them, so they can't rely on bees or wind to pollinate them with a male fig's pollen. That's where the fig wasp comes in. |
| 2020-Oct-01 • 2 minutes Black Tongues And Stomach Aches Sometimes, when people get stomach aches they are alarmed to find that their tongue has turned black. Fortunately for them, it isn't a life threatening condition. |
| 2020-Sep-30 • 2 minutes Murphy's Toast If you're eating toast, and you accidentally bump it to the floor, it seems more likely to land buttered side down. This is one of the most common formulations of Murphy's Law--the tongue-in-cheek axiom that states "If something can go wrong, it probably will." |
| 2020-Sep-29 • 2 minutes Growing Plants Indoors It can be hard to grow plants indoors, especially in a room without a lot of sunlight. Sometimes it's just a matter of choosing the right plant, though. |
| 2020-Sep-28 • 2 minutes Cockroach Milk A cockroach species in Hawaii called the Pacific beetle cockroach can actually give milk. This isn't the only thing this cockroach has in common with mammals, either. It also gives birth to live young. |
| 2020-Sep-25 • 2 minutes Airplane Contrails Have you ever seen a perfectly cloudless sky? Cloudless--that is--except for two or three long white lines smeared across the perfect blue sky by airplanes like smudges on a pane of glass. |
| 2020-Sep-23 • 2 minutes The "Frankenstein" Galaxy Today's Moment of Science is about a galaxy called UGC 1382. For a long time, scientists thought it was a fairly small, run-of-the mill galaxy, but then they realized it actually had huge spiral arms. |
| 2020-Sep-22 • 2 minutes How Cold Does It Feel? If you're lucky enough to live where it's sometimes windy and cold, you've probably heard your weatherperson give out two temperatures: the actual temperature outside, and a temperature based on the wind-chill temperature index. |
| 2020-Sep-21 • 2 minutes Trees Know When Something's Eating Them German scientists studying young beeches and maples knew plants responded to predation, but they wanted to know if plants could tell the difference between a deer chewing their leaves verus being damaged by other factors like storms, or being trampled upon. |
| 2020-Sep-18 • 2 minutes Sunrise, Sunset Why does the sunset take more time than the sunrise? It takes much less time for the sun to light up the sky at dawn than it does for all the light to disappear after the sun sets at dusk. |
| 2020-Sep-17 • 2 minutes Parenting Styles And Bullying Why do some kids become bullies or the victims of bullies? How closely is this linked to how their parents raised them? |
| 2020-Sep-10 • 2 minutes Ancient Asteroid Impact Scientists have discovered evidence of another ancient asteroid impact, but not the one that killed the dinosaurs. This asteroid is much, much older than that. |
| 2020-Sep-09 • 2 minutes Skinny Diabetes A lot of doctors have been stumped by slim patients showing signs of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes. They'd see or hear about someone who had all of these conditions associated with excess fat, but who didn't have an ounce of extra fat on their bodies. |
| 2020-Sep-08 • 2 minutes The Galactic Positioning System In 1967 a team of astronomers in Great Britain thought they had found extraterrestrial intelligence. They discovered radio sources in deep space that produced pulses of energy at very precise intervals ranging from milliseconds to seconds. |
| 2020-Sep-03 • 2 minutes Meet Lichen's Secret Third Partner, Yeast If I asked you what lichen was, you might say that it's a symbiotic organism that's made up of fungus joined with algae or cyanobacteria. This is what scientists would have said from 1867 up until recently. |
| 2020-Sep-02 • 2 minutes The Origin Story Of Earth's Oldest Rock Scientists have found zircon crystals in Australia that are over 4 billion years old. Since the Earth is just over 4 and a half billion years old, those zircon crystals are the closest thing we have to a time capsule from Earth in its early years. |
| 2020-Sep-01 • 2 minutes The Secrets Of Sandpaper Sandpaper isn't made of ordinary sand, it's made of abrasive minerals like aluminum oxide or garnet that are glued onto a paper backing. |
| 2020-Aug-31 • 2 minutes Whollydooleya tomnpatrichorum: A Newly Identified Flesh-Eating Marsupial Scientists in Australia identified a new extinct marsupial using a fossil of its molar tooth they found in a newly discovered fossil site in remote Queensland. They decided to name is Whollydooleya tomnpatrichorum. |
| 2020-Aug-28 • 2 minutes The Milky Way Is More Than A Candy Bar Did you know that a third of the people living on Earth can't see the Milky Way at night? More than 80 percent of North Americans and 60 percent of Europeans are unable to see the Milky Way at night. |
| 2020-Aug-27 • 2 minutes The Hairy Truth The main difference between hair and fur is where it grows, not what it's made of. Hair length is a trait that's specific both to you as an individual, and to your species. |
| 2020-Aug-26 • 2 minutes Does Trampling Harm Grass? Parking your car on your lawn might look strange, but it doesn't harm your grass. The part of the grass that's responsible for new growth is at the base of the plant, so even if the blades are harmed it isn't a big deal. |
| 2020-Aug-25 • 2 minutes Elephant Grandmothers Equal More Elephant Calves Multigenerations groups aren't common in zoos, but they're a really good idea for elephants. A recent study showed how important grandmother elephants are for the survival of baby calves. |
| 2020-Aug-24 • 2 minutes Lost Underwater City Not A City At All In shallow water off the Greek island Zakynthos there is what could be the ruins of an old Greek or Roman city. When it was discovered, people thought it was a forgotten city that had been destroyed by tidal waves that hit the island long ago. |
| 2020-Aug-21 • 2 minutes Fish Can Recognize Human Faces How do people recognize faces? Is it a special ability that relies on custom circuitry in the human brain? Or, do we learn it with the same brain circuitry that we use to recognize other objects? |
| 2020-Aug-20 • 2 minutes King Tut's Space Dagger King Tutankhamen of Egypt has fascinated people ever since archeologist Howard Carter discovered his splendid tomb in 1922. He ruled ancient Egypt as Pharaoh around 1330 BC, and died when he was only eighteen years old. |
| 2020-Aug-19 • 2 minutes Red Planet With A Ring It might sound odd, but scientists think Mars is going to have a ring around it in tens of millions of years. They're predicting that one of Mars' moons, Phobos, is going to break apart, and its particles are going to make a ring around Mars. |
| 2020-Aug-18 • 2 minutes Why Women Live Longer Than Men According to lots of evidence, women do live longer than men, on average. In fact, humans are the only species for which this appears to be true under all conditions. |
| 2020-Aug-17 • 2 minutes Kids And Money Money is known to alter behavior, for better and for worse. Some experiments have found that even just handling money can change the behavior of kids as young as three. |
| 2020-Aug-14 • 2 minutes Be Generous, Or Else According to scientists, belief in a divine god makes people more generous. |
| 2020-Aug-13 • 2 minutes Bean Yeasts Create Flavor Coffee and cacao beans are fermented. Similar to wine, the flavor of the beans is determined by the type of yeasts and microorganisms present. |
| 2020-Aug-12 • 2 minutes Seeing Motion And Avoiding Obstacles Robotic aerial vehicles designed for functions such as search and rescue need ways to avoid crashing into trees, buildings and walls. There's a lot that robot designers can learn from studying how insects conrol their flight. |
| 2020-Aug-11 • 2 minutes Dogs Show Evidence Of Empathy Dogs always seem to know how to improve our mood. It's almost as if they can tell exactly what we're feeling. |
| 2020-Aug-10 • 2 minutes Tsunamis And The Oceans Of Mars Although the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity found geological evidence that ancient Mars had standing liquid water a long time ago, scientists are now talking about water on Mars again. |
| 2020-Aug-07 • 2 minutes How Sign Languages Develop Researchers think that the first steps in the creation of a sign language likely resemble a game of charades. According to one study, it only takes five generations of learners for a pantomime to become a stable sign. |
| 2020-Aug-06 • 2 minutes City Moths Evolve To Avoid City Lights Did you know that moths are a lot less attracted to artificial light than they used to be? Huge numbers of moths die from flying toward artificial lights and accidentally frying themselves. |
| 2020-Aug-05 • 2 minutes Jupiter's X-ray Aurora A planet has to have a magnetic field to make aurora lights. The sun is always sending out particles called the solar wind. That wind frequently increases in intensity to become a solar storm when large numbers of particles are released. |
| 2020-Aug-04 • 2 minutes Fungi Help Trees Share Carbon Once you know something about forests, it's easy to think of trees as competitive: they have to battle it out with each other for space, sunlight, water and nutrients. But researchers are finding that there's a lot more sharing going on than they previously thought. |
| 2020-Aug-03 • 2 minutes Were Unicorns Real? Today's Moment of Science is about unicorns. These creatures may be legendary, but there is growing evidence that the legend may have been inspired by a real animal. |
| 2020-Jul-31 • 2 minutes Dinosaur Malaria There are hundreds of millions of malaria cases worldwide every year. It's caused by a protozoan called Plasmodium and is spread by anopheline mosquitoes. It also might have helped kill of the dinosaurs. |
| 2020-Jul-30 • 2 minutes A More Nutritious Cassava Plant If you live in the United States, you probably haven't given a lot of thought to vitamin B6. Our bodies can't produce it, but it's in a lot of staple food we eat. But some diets that rely on cassava produce deficiencies. |
| 2020-Jul-29 • 2 minutes The Orchid That Smells Like People It might sound strange, but some orchids smell like people. Others smell like rotting meat or fish to attract pollinators. |
| 2020-Jul-28 • 2 minutes Really Tiny Thermometers Researchers at the University of Montreal have created a programmable thermometer made from DNA. It's 20,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. |
| 2020-Jul-27 • 2 minutes Ant Antennae: Two-Way Communication Once one ant finds food, it leaves a pheromone scent trail so others can find the way with their antennae. Ant antennae not only pick up information, they can also give information. |
| 2020-Jul-23 • 2 minutes Ancient Climate Records Sophisticated digital climate models help scientists measure the effects of carbon dioxide on the warming and cooling of the planet. Water scientists also find clues to how the earth's climate is changing by looking to the past. |
| 2020-Jul-22 • 2 minutes The Magnetic Field And Life On Earth The Earth needed a number of things to become habitable. First of all, it needed to be close to a star, but not too close. It also needed water, a rocky surface and atmosphere. Most important of all, however, it needed a magnetic field. |
| 2020-Jul-21 • 2 minutes The Radical Radial Symmetry Of Moon Jellyfish Imagine you're a moon jellyfish for a second. Now imagine suddenly finding yourself missing one of your arms. As a jellysih missing an arm, what would you say is at the top of your list of concerns? |
| 2020-Jul-20 • 2 minutes Is ET Hiding? We are closer than ever to finding inhabited worlds. When an alien planet passes in front of its star, an event that's called a transit, there is a small dip in the intensity of starlight that astronomers use to detect the planet. |
| 2020-Jul-17 • 2 minutes When To Copy Your Neighbors Have you ever planted a garden because your neighbor's garden was growing well? This kind of imitative behavior was the inspiration behind a 2013 study where scientists looked at the nestbox choices of pied flycatchers after the birds observed the success of nesting great tits. |
| 2020-Jul-16 • 2 minutes Remembrance Of Things Past For Babies Most people say their earliest memory is from around the age of three, which led researchers to believe that children start forming long-term memories at around three and a half years old |
| 2020-Jul-15 • 2 minutes A New Mouth For Every Meal Outside of Greek mythology, hydras actually exist in the real world, although you can't see them without a microscope, otherwise it just looks like a slide of dirty water. |
| 2020-Jul-14 • 2 minutes Bacterial Hooks Many women get a urinary tract infection at some point, and they are quite painful. The infection is caused by bacteria that enter the body through the urethra to colonize the bladder. |
| 2020-Jul-13 • 2 minutes A New Ninth Planet We're going to have a solar system with nine planets, and it has nothing to do with Pluto. Caltech researchers have evidence of another more normal-sized planet in our solar system. |
| 2020-Jul-10 • 2 minutes Fish Brains Have An Alert System Did you know that your brain has an alerting system? There is a structure in the brain that combines information from all of the senses, and detects important changes. |
| 2020-Jul-09 • 2 minutes Recounting Our Bacteria: Fewer Than We Thought In the last few decades, scientists have begun to understand the importance of bacteria that live in and on our bodies. The accepted estimate has been around 10 times as many bacteria as human cells. |
| 2020-Jul-08 • 2 minutes Are Dragons Real? On today's Moment of Science, we're going to talk about dragons. This might seem like an inappropriate topic for a science program, but there are stories and myths about dragons from everywhere in the world. |
| 2020-Jul-07 • 2 minutes Do Sharks Navigate By Smell? The deep ocean is a confusing place to navigate. There are almost no visual landmarks, and water currents can carry an animal off course. Yet many species of sharks reliably find their way over long distances in the open ocean. |
| 2020-Jul-06 • 2 minutes Why We Become Enraged Sometimes when we're driving, we can become so enraged we can't really explain why. This is because our brains evolved to be extremely aware of threats and to react when a true threat emerges. |
| 2020-Jul-03 • 2 minutes Brains Are The Same Men and women have some obvious biological differences. But what about the brain? Are there such things as "female brains" and "male brains." |
| 2020-Jul-02 • 2 minutes The Green Door Here's a simple demonstration you can do with cool implications. Find a large object that is brightly colored, like a green door. Stand with that door to your side, but don't look directly at it. |
| 2020-Jul-01 • 2 minutes Dogs Recognize Their Own Species French scientists recently tested dogs to see if they could recognize the faces of other dogs on a computer screen. This might not sound that difficult, until you think about the wide variety of dog faces. |
| 2020-Jun-30 • 2 minutes Camouflage Is Not Infallible There are a few different types of camouflage in the natural world. There's disruptive coloration, like stripes or spots that break up your form against the background. There's also background matching, which blends in with the background. |
| 2020-Jun-29 • 2 minutes My Bacteria Are Full We've been hearing a lot about the importance of gut bacteria to our health. Now it turns out that bacteria also have a say in how and when we eat. |
| 2020-Jun-26 • 2 minutes How Insects Drink Insects need water. How they get their water depends a lot on their diets. Herbivorous insects get most of their water from their food because plants contain a lot of water. |
| 2020-Jun-26 • 2 minutes Evolving Better Eyes Although the eye is complicated, biologists still have a good understanding of how it evolved. In modern animals, they have found eyes of all different degreees of complexity. |
| 2020-Jun-25 • 2 minutes Tardigrades: Stranger Than They Appear Tardigrades are little animals that can survive dehydration, radiation, and survive in outer space without a space suit. As strange as all of the above sounds, they are apparently even stranger. |
| 2020-Jun-23 • 2 minutes Recognizing Distant Relatives In 2015, a team of European biologists published evidence that Siberian jays can distinguish relatives they've never seen before. |
| 2020-Jun-22 • 2 minutes Spiteful Monkeys We humans may share around 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees and other simians, but we're still pretty different. After all, we have smart phones, and monkeys have--well--they don't have smart phones. |
| 2020-Jun-19 • 2 minutes Think Like A Penguin A "niche" is an organism's special "slot" in an ecosystem that allows it to co-exist with other species. It's defined by the resources it needs to survive and the impact it has on its environment. |
| 2020-Jun-18 • 2 minutes Driving A Cockroach Scientists recently found a way to drive a cockroach the way you might drive a car. They put electrodes in its brain, and by stimulating it in the right places they could move it around like a car. |
| 2020-Jun-17 • 2 minutes Drinking And Smoking Most alcoholics smoke at about three times the rate in the general population. But a study suggested that what you're dealing with isn't just behavioral--it also has to do with brain chemistry. |
| 2020-Jun-16 • 2 minutes Word Up, Brain On today's Moment of Science we're going to perform a little experiment in order to learn a little bit about the motor cortex--a strip of tissue running from ear to ear across the surface of the brain that is responsible for controlling voluntary movement. |
| 2020-Jun-15 • 2 minutes Stink Bugs Are Not All Bad It isn't uncommon for people to hate stink bugs, but not all stink bugs are bad. Some are beneficial, like spined soldier bugs. They are predators that feed on over 90 agricultural pests, including Mexican bean beetles and cabbage loopers. |
| 2020-Jun-12 • 2 minutes UFO Attack! In 1969 two airliners, plus the pilot of an Air National Guard fighter plane, report being harassed by a team of UFOs. |
| 2020-Jun-08 • 2 minutes Why Elephants Don't Get Cancer Scientists at the University of Utah and at Arizona State studied the elephant genome and found that they have up to 40 extra copies of genes that code for a protein called p53, which has strong cancer-preventing properties. |
| 2020-Jun-05 • 2 minutes Mona Lisa's Mysterious Smile Harvard neuroscientist Margaret Livingstone is pretty sure she's solved the puzzle of the Mona Lisa's changing smile. Presuming nothing, Livingstone reasoned that the famous portrait's flickering smile is caused by the way we see. |
| 2020-Jun-04 • 2 minutes How Full Is That Glass? Psychologist Jean Piaget claimed that children overestimate the volume of vertical dimensions, but that as their brains mature, they develop the capacity to more accurately compare vertical and horizontal dimensions. |
| 2020-Jun-03 • 2 minutes Fermi's Paradox Part Two According to reasonable estimates of how many stars have planets, how many planets may be suitable for the evolution of organisms, and so on, our Milky Way Galaxy should be brimming over with life. |
| 2020-Jun-02 • 2 minutes Fermi's Paradox Probability would lead us to believe that extraterrestrial life does exist, so why have we not found any? |
| 2020-Jun-01 • 2 minutes Babies and Bacteria Fetuses have some bacteria while still in the womb, but during birth they're coated with microbes as they travel down the birth canal, including bacteria that help newborns digest their first meal. |
| 2020-May-27 • 2 minutes The Cyclopean Eye Since we have two eyes, why is it that we don't see two of everything? We seem to see like the cyclops in Greek mythology, as if we had one eye on our forehead. |
| 2020-May-22 • 2 minutes Put This In Your Pipe And Smoke It We all know that smoking cigarettes is bad. But what about smoking a pipe or cigars? Since you don't inhale, is it better for your health? Or at least less bad? |
| 2020-May-21 • 2 minutes What Makes Hummingbird Feathers So Beautiful If you've ever had a bird feeder, you've probably noticed how much more colorful hummingbirds are compared to other birds. So how are hummingbirds so colorful, anyway? What makes their feathers so special? |
| 2020-May-20 • 2 minutes Why Do Wind Turbines Have Three Blades? If you've ever driven by a wind farm, you may have noticed that the turbines most likely have three blades. Not two, not five, but three. |
| 2020-May-15 • 2 minutes Iridescence As Camouflage Some beetles have beautiful, shiny carapaces that look like metal, or a jewel. That shininess is called iridescence. It's caused when tiny structures in the carapace interfere with certain wavelengths of light, so that different colors are seen from different angles. |
| 2020-May-14 • 2 minutes Making Love, Not War Scientists have compared chimpanzee and bonobo brains and think their different behavior could be due to brain structure. |
| 2020-May-13 • 2 minutes Sand Dunes Repel Each Other Sand dunes are everywhere. They form deserts on Earth, Venus, Mars, and Saturn's moon Titan. They even form underwater on seafloors and riverbeds. |
| 2020-May-12 • 2 minutes Does Money Make Us Happy? Does money make us happy? The answer, according to psychologists, is both: up to a certain point money can buy happiness, so to speak. |
| 2020-May-07 • 2 minutes Helpful Parrots Humans are often quite willing to help one another, but it's not an exclusively human trait. Thanks to new research, scientists have learned that African grey parrots do, too, in some circumstances. |
| 2020-May-06 • 2 minutes Do Flying Fish Actually Fly? There are around sixty-four species of flying fish, and they really do fly. |
| 2020-May-01 • 2 minutes The Oceans Are Warming The world's oceans are like a sponge for heat, absorbing about 90 percent of the excess warming caused by carbon emissions from human activities. That would mean that measuring changes in the temperature of the oceans is an independent and critical measure of climate change. |
| 2020-Apr-29 • 2 minutes Fossils Of The Future Our era has a tentative name: the Anthropocene era. There’s debate over when it started, and whether we merit a new geological epoch at all, but some researchers argue that the future fossil record will clearly show both that a new epoch has begun and when it started. |
| 2020-Apr-28 • 2 minutes How Old Is Cosmic Dust? By studying various kinds of rocks, scientists know that our solar system is about 4.6 billion years old. However, in 2019 an international team of researchers reported that they found tiny grains of dust in a meteorite that fell in Australia in 1969 that may be 7 billion years old. |
| 2020-Apr-27 • 2 minutes The Urban Coyote Patrol It’s nighttime. The moon is bright, and the day’s hubbub has quieted. In the distance, you hear a coyote howl. This scene sounds like something from the U.S. countryside. Increasingly, however, you’ll hear those howls in the town streets. |
| 2020-Apr-24 • 2 minutes Why Do Opossums Hang Upside Down by Their Tails? Have you ever seen a cartoon of a sleeping opossum hanging upside down by its tail? Well, you may be surprised to learn that 'possums don't actually sleep that way. |
| 2020-Apr-23 • 2 minutes Monocarpic Plants Agave, like aloe, is a succulent, meaning it has a number of characteristics that help it survive hot, dry desert climates. It's also a monocarpic plant, and a spectacular one at that. |
| 2020-Apr-17 • 2 minutes Cloudy Apple Juice Many people prefer clear apple juice to cloudy, mainly because it simply looks better. It turns out, however, that cloudy apple juice is actually better for you. |
| 2020-Apr-16 • 2 minutes The Vampire Bat Cares When most people think of vampires, they picture a scary, solitary, blood-sucking monster from a horror movie. They don't think of a model of sharing and selfless behavior. |
| 2020-Apr-14 • 2 minutes Dancing Fingerprint Even though there are varying degress of skill, everyone can dance. What's more, our dance moves are something like a fingerprint. We all dance in a unique way that's the same regardless of what music we're dancing to. |
| 2020-Apr-10 • 2 minutes The Difference Between White And Dark Meat What's the difference between white and dark meat? Beef if mostly dark meat and fish is mostly white meat. Turkeys, however, have both, so they offer a good illustration of the difference. |
| 2020-Apr-10 • 2 minutes Bacterial Diversity On Your Skin Many people use antibacterial soap in order to get rid of bacteria. However, researchers have discovered that there are at least 250 kinds of bacteria that live on our skin. Some of the kinds they found were completely unknown. |
| 2020-Apr-10 • 2 minutes How Cuttlefish See In Three Dimensions An international team of neuroscientists has discovered how cuttlefish see in three dimensions. First of all, a cuttlefish isn't really a fish. The animals are closely related to octopuses and squids and part of a group called cephalopods. |
| 2020-Apr-08 • 2 minutes Executing Queen Bees In a bee hive, most bees work hard collecting pollen from flowers, except the queen, who doesn't even have to leave her hive. |
| 2020-Apr-06 • 2 minutes Scans, Scans, And More Scans Go to the hospital to have a doctor check out an internal problem and you're liable to hear about MRI scans, CT scans and PET scans. All of these scans take detailed pictures of your body's insides. |
| 2020-Apr-03 • 2 minutes Do Plants Have Ears? If what we mean by hearing is just that a plant detects and responds to sounds, then there's evidence that plants can hear. In 2019 a team of Isreali scientists published evidence that the evening primrose plant can detect the specific sound vibration frequencies of the buzz of an insect's wings. |
| 2020-Apr-02 • 2 minutes Killed By The Sun Do you ever think about the risks the Apollo astronauts took in the name of science? It's amazing. Actually, the astronauts were at risk of something many people don't know about: the Sun. |
| 2020-Apr-01 • 2 minutes The Moon Is Getting New Mirrors It's amazing how much light our moon reflects. Having a few mirrors doesn't hurt, though. They're there because of the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment. |
| 2020-Mar-31 • 2 minutes The Palo Verde, It's Easy Being Green Not just any old plant has what it takes to survive desert heat. Desert plants like cacti are remarkable for their unique adaptations to one fo the harshest climates on the planet. The palo verde is not exception. |
| 2020-Mar-27 • 2 minutes Octopus Games Octopuses can figure out mazes, learn by watching each other, even open jars to get at food. Few people realize how intelligent an octopus is. |
| 2020-Mar-26 • 2 minutes Your Signature Moves Each one of us has a signature style to how we move and walk. Of course, after a long day or over a lifetime, that appearance will probably change. But the inner workings of how our muscles move are stable and distinct to each one of us. |
| 2020-Mar-25 • 2 minutes The Greenland Ice Sheet Is Melting Faster Than Expected The Greenland ice sheet is melting due to global climate change, and this melting may become the biggest single contributor to rising sea levels in this century. The ice sheet is enormous. It's seven times bigger than the United Kingdom and almost two miles thick in places. |
| 2020-Mar-23 • 2 minutes The Duality Of Hummingbird Bills A hummingbird's bill is for both pollination and combat. Hummingbirds use their bills to knock other birds off their perches and to fence while they hover over flowers. |
| 2020-Mar-20 • 2 minutes Firefly Mating Signals Firefly flashes are actually mating signals. Male fireflies cruise the evening air, flashing their lanterns in a pattern characteristic of their species, looking for females of their own kind. |
| 2020-Mar-19 • 2 minutes The Ancestry Of Arctic Sled Dogs Dogs and their closest wild relatives, wolves, both came to North America from Eurasia. The earliest dogs in the Americas were introduced at least ten thousand years ago. |
| 2020-Mar-18 • 2 minutes Curds And Whey Everyone knows the children's rhyme about Miss Muffet eating curds and whey, but what exactly are curds and whey? Let's find out, on today's Moment of Science. |
| 2020-Mar-17 • 2 minutes Koalas Have Sensitive Stomachs Koalas are such picky eaters that sometimes that won't even eat species of eucalypt that aren't their preferred choice. This preference stems from the fact that their stomachs simply can't handle it. |
| 2020-Mar-16 • 2 minutes A Magical Glow? Have you ever wondered why fluorescent colors like the ones you see in highlighers or clothing dyes seem so much brighter than other colors? It's because they seem to reflect more light than they receive. |
| 2020-Mar-11 • 2 minutes Stormy Solar Weather When thunderstorms are strong enough, they can knock over trees and cause large blackouts. Solar storms, however, make blackouts from thunderstorms seem like nothing. If a major solar storm hit the U.S., we'd have to worry about blackouts all over the place. |
| 2020-Mar-10 • 2 minutes Sea Urchin Teeth Sea urchins are small, furry, and sometimes colorful. They usually don't bite humans, but they do have really sharp teeth that researchers learned sharpen themselves. |
| 2020-Mar-09 • 2 minutes The Benefits Of Communicating In Person It is very easy to ignore requests made via email, while similar requests made in person are met with understanding. | All of this has to do with psychology. Email lacks the verbal cues and body languages that signify trustworthiness. |
| 2020-Mar-06 • 2 minutes How Butterflies Found A Place In The Sun Winter mornings can be drab, which is why many people look forward to birds and butterflies returning in spring. Butterflies are good at brightening the day. It sems fitting, since they evolved from the drab moth when they moved into the daytime over 200 million years ago. |
| 2020-Mar-05 • 2 minutes Springs In The Cafeteria You're in a line at a cafeteria. You take a plate off the top of a stack of plates. The other plates in the stack rise from below just far enough to present the next plate at the same height as the one you just took. This system reflects a general principle of springs: if you put twice as much force on a spring, it compresses, or stretches, twice as far. |
| 2020-Mar-03 • 2 minutes A Satellite, Cubed A CubeSat is the size of a toaster, weighs about three pounds, and orbits the Earth. These nanosatellites are a particularly tiny type of research spacecraft. They were originally proposed about 20 years ago, and the first one launched in 2003. |
| 2020-Feb-27 • 2 minutes Autism And Tone Of Voice A variety of characteristics are used to diagnose autism in children. Often, it's poor social and communication skills which others observe in children that compel parents to get a child tested. There are currently no unique biological indicators of autism. |
| 2020-Feb-26 • 2 minutes Why Cockroaches Escape The all-too familiar American cockroach almost seems to know where you're going to strike. What's the tip-off that sends the cockroach running? |
| 2020-Feb-24 • 2 minutes Why Don't Animals Have Three Legs? It seems like a lot of animals use only three limbs sometimes, and since using three limbs seems to work well for them, why haven't any of them evolved that way? |
| 2020-Feb-24 • 2 minutes The Origin Of The Electric Eel's Electricity There's a reason you won't find electric eels at your local petting zoo. These fierce creatures can release over 800 volts of electricity. Today we will investigate precisely how these powerful shocks are made by eels. |
| 2020-Feb-21 • 2 minutes Eating More With Friends And Family A new study suggests that people eat more when they eat with family and friends. When eating with strangers, however, people take smaller portions in order to make a good impression. |
| 2020-Feb-20 • 2 minutes Birds In Danger There is reason to worry about the future of birds in North America. A large team of researchers published a study showing that the bird population of North America has dropped by 29 percent since 1970. That's about three billion fewer birds |
| 2020-Feb-20 • 2 minutes The Star That's Almost Too Massive To Exist When a star burns through most of its nuclear material, it can explode in a bright supernove and leave behind a dense core. If that core is massive enough, it'll become a neutron star. |
| 2020-Feb-19 • 2 minutes The Royal Jelly According to legend, King Arther gained the crown by pulling a sword from a rock. Queen honeybees have an equally enchanting way of ascending to the throne. It's called the royal jelly. |
| 2020-Feb-18 • 2 minutes The Camel's Unique Physiology A camel can travel hundreds of miles, over several days, without stopping to drink. On today's Moment of Science, we'll learn how camels survive the dry desert. |
| 2020-Feb-15 • 2 minutes Survival Stripes The stripes on some insects help them survive in the wild. When prey with high-contrast stripes move, their stripes blur, making it hard for a predator to see them. That's what a group of scientists found out in an experiment on praying mantises. |
| 2020-Feb-14 • 2 minutes Mouthwash and Exercise It might not be a great idea to use mouthwash right after working out, at least if you want to experience the blood pressure-reducing effects seen after exercise. Mouth bacteria play an important role in reducing blood pressure after we exercise, and using antibacterial mouthwash can get rid of it. |
| 2020-Feb-13 • 2 minutes Spiders Go Way Back Some spider webs look as though they were thrown together at the last minute, while others look as though they wer meticulously planned months in advance. It's hard to say just how long it took for spiders to evolve such intricate webs, but evidence suggests that orb webs have been around for a long time, at least 100 million years. |
| 2020-Feb-12 • 2 minutes Getting Electricity From Heat In order to fight climate change, we need to find new ways of generating electricity that don't involve burning fuels and generating greenhouse gases. Physicists know that there is energy available in the temperature difference between a hot object and its cooler surroundings. A thermoelectrice device is made of special materials that can capture this energy and convert it directly into electricity, without any moving parts. |
| 2020-Feb-11 • 2 minutes Fighting Peanuts With Peanuts Here’s the common advice about peanuts: if you’re allergic, stay away. Nut allergies are notorious for causing severe, even deadly, reactions. But new treatments for peanut allergies are on the rise. |
| 2020-Feb-10 • 2 minutes Saving Up For A Rainy Day Are you annoyed by that guy in your office who plays solitaire all day and never actually accomplishes anything? Then you'd really be aggravated in the work environment of the Damraland mole-rats of the Kalahari Desert, where up to 40 percent of a colony is "that guy." |
| 2020-Feb-07 • 2 minutes Varying Perceptions Of Pitch People who listen to music a lot can perceive the similarity between two of the same notes in different octaves. This may not seem like such a unique ability, since most people in Western countries are able to do this. Still, scientists have long wondered whether it's innate knowledge or learned through exposure. |
| 2020-Feb-05 • 2 minutes The Last Woolly Mammoths While the first human civilizations grew in Mesopotamia, and the ancient Egyptians were building the pyraminds, there were still woolly mammoths living on a remote arctic island. |
| 2020-Feb-05 • 2 minutes Walking On The Moon In Arizona The Apollo 11 mission that landed the first humans on the moon famously blasted off from Florida, but NASA was in Arizona, too. In 1967, two years before Neil Armstrong left his footprint in the lunar dust, engineers figured out a way to recreate the moon's surface . . . on Earth. |
| 2020-Feb-05 • 2 minutes The Humanizing Voice Voices often indicate thoughts and emotions indirectly. Cues in the form of pitches, tones and pauses are qualities of voices that listeners use to make inferences about a speaker's mind. But those cues aren't always represented in content that we read, like in a transcript or a text message. |
| 2020-Feb-05 • 2 minutes The Mistletoe Bird (Zoochory Part 2) Last time on A Moment Of Science we learned about plants that disperse their seeds via zoochory, meaning they've evolved various ways to hitch rides with animals. A particularly interesting case of this latter form of zoochory is mistletoe, the holiday smooching plant. |
| 2020-Feb-05 • 2 minutes Zoochory Just as animals are often driven to great lengths, literally and figuratively, to propagate their species, plants too are driven to reproduce. To do this, plants need to disperse their seeds, so that they have space to germinate and grow. |
| 2020-Feb-05 • 2 minutes Seed Swallower Seeds aren't as dangerous as some urban legends might lead you to believe, but they also aren't very good for you, either. |
| 2020-Feb-05 • 2 minutes Acting Like An Introvert When making plans for the weekend, some people like to be by themselves, while others prefer to be go out and be social. To learn more about these two types of people, sometimes called introverts and extroverts, researchers tried to see what would happen if one type tried to act like the other. |
| 2020-Jan-25 • 2 minutes Stressed Out Quails People have long debated whether physical or behavioral traits are the result of genetic inheritance or environmental factors. In an effort to end this debate, sometimes called nature versus nurture, Scientists have studied quail eggs. |
| 2020-Jan-23 • 2 minutes How The Monarch Got Its Poison Among butterflies, the monarch really stands out with its beautiful orange and black colors. These colors evolved to warn predators about the monarch's toxic compounds that disrupt a sodium ion pumping mechanism in cells. |
| 2020-Jan-22 • 2 minutes The Superior Quality Of Hot Nectar In the midst of winter, one of the best ways to combat the effects of cold weather is a hot beverage. A new study out of the University of London shows that we're not the only species that likes a hot drink. In fact, bumblebees prefer warm nectar to cool. |
| 2020-Jan-22 • 2 minutes How To See The Northern Lights The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are waving ribbons of green, red and purple in the sky. These curtains of light can be seen as far south as the South Pole. In the southern hemisphere, however, they're called the Aurora Australis. They can also sometimes be seen in New Zealand or Chile. |
| 2020-Jan-22 • 2 minutes Coffee Cup Illusion Things are not always as they seem, and this little demonstration will prove it. All you need is a cup of black coffee and an overhead light. |
| 2020-Jan-20 • 2 minutes Solitary Bees Despite the common fear among many people of "swarms of bees," most bee species are actually solitary. Unlike social bees like the bumblebee, solitary bees don't have queens or worker bees, and they don't reside together in colonies. |
| 2020-Jan-18 • 2 minutes Magma and Oxygen Today on A Moment of Science were going to explain why Earth's air contains oxygen. |
| 2020-Jan-17 • 2 minutes Hairstyles That Lead To Hair Loss Ponytails, cornrows, and tight up-dos are hairstyles that can look great. But wearing your hair pulled tight for extended periods of time can eventually lead to hair loss. |
| 2020-Jan-15 • 2 minutes Galactic Center In 2019, scientists achieved a great goal of astrophysics when they published the first-ever image of a black hole. By coordinating radio telescopes around the world to create, in effect, one Earth-sized telescope, scientists were able to capture an image of a black hole. |
| 2020-Jan-09 • 2 minutes Knuckleball Physics In baseball, hitting a homer against a fastball, or even a knuckleball, can be very difficult, though not as difficult as you might think. |
| 2019-Dec-27 • 2 minutes Luke Skywalker's Hand In a scene from Star Wars: The Emprie Strikes Back, Darth vader cuts off Luke Skywalkers right hand. Afterwards, Luke receives a robotic replacement hand that is as good as new. |
| 2019-Dec-27 • 2 minutes Eyes and Alzheimer's Researchers think that looking at how quickly a person's pupil dilates when taking cognitive tests could predict if a person is at an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease, even before any obvious symptoms show up. |
| 2019-Dec-23 • 2 minutes Crows Choose Whether To Call Humans voluntarily choose some of our actions, but others are automatic. Scientists want to know whether animal behaviors are automatically triggered by environmental situations, or whether animals sometimes choose their behaviors just like humans do. |
| 2019-Dec-18 • 2 minutes Feeling Hangry When people are hungry, this hunger sometimes turns into anger. This mental state is known as "hangry," and could be caused by the stress of the morning mixed with hunger. |
| 2019-Nov-12 • 2 minutes Computing With Light Computers would be much faster, smaller, and consume less energy if they used light signals instead of electrical signals. That's why many scientists are racing to figure out how to make computers that use light. |
| 2019-Nov-11 • 2 minutes A Rock In A Rowboat Imagine you're in a rowboat, in a small pond. You have a huge boulder with you in the boat. You throw the boulder overboard into the water. Does the water level of the pond rise, fall, or stay the same? |
| 2019-Oct-16 • 2 minutes Cloudy Vision Cataracts are the result of the natural breakdown of proteins in the eye’s lens as you age. When lens proteins lose their three dimensional structure they cause the lens to become cloudy. |
| 2019-Oct-09 • 2 minutes A New Atomic Clock Could Help Spaceships Navigate Better A New Atomic Clock Could Help Spaceships Navigate Better |
| 2019-Oct-07 • 2 minutes Birds Of A Feather Flock Together Social niches are made up of the social aspects of a species' environmental relationship. In the case of humans, this means that your friends, family and coworkers influence you just as much as other environmental factors. |
| 2019-Oct-03 • 2 minutes Mosquitoes On The Scent Mosquitoes On The Scent |
| 2019-Sep-30 • 2 minutes The Cleaning Powers Of Goat Stomachs Researchers from the University of Zurich examined 28 goats that were fed different pelleted diets of grit and hay. The scientists performed CT scans of the goats’ stomachs at the beginning of the experiment and then again six months later. |
| 2019-Sep-26 • 2 minutes The Ocean's Fish Are Running Out Of Clean Water The ocean is getting louder. Fish make noise. They whistle, chirp, hum, sing, swish. But boat engines, sonar, and deep-sea mining cause quite the racket, making it difficult for fishes to hear the call of friends or potential mates. |
| 2019-Sep-03 • 2 minutes The Health Consequences Of Parenting Research conducted at Lorna Linda University Health shows that children who grew up with parents who had a “warm” parenting style have an advantage over children who grew up with parents who had a “cold” parenting style when it comes to health and aging. |
| 2019-Aug-27 • 2 minutes Coffee Cup Convection Convection is a common process in nature, and occurs when warmer air or liquid lies under a cooler layer. This is what happens in a coffee cup: the coffee on top is cooled by evaporation, and since cooler is also heavier, gravity pulls it toward the bottom. |
| 2019-Aug-21 • 2 minutes Jabuticaba, The Fruit That Grows On Trees Jabuticaba is a fruit native to Brazil. It’s the size and color of a plum, with a white pulp and several seeds. It’s also known for its health benefits and sometimes gets called a “super fruit.” |
| 2019-Aug-15 • 2 minutes Clouds In The Kitchen Fill a kettle with water, then turn on the burner. In a while, your kettle will start belching white billowy stuff into the air. What is this stuff? Steam? Actually, no. |
| 2013-Apr-08 • 2 minutes Sadness Makes People Short With Money You've probably heard the phrase "Sadder but wiser," implying that feeling low somehow makes us think more clearly. |