Science, Quickly

Measles Is Back, and That’s Scary

April 12, 2024 09:45 - 10 minutes

Today we’re going to look at how measles—a disease that was practically eliminated in the U.S.—has resurged in recent months, because people basically forgot how bad it was and got complacent about vaccines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did the Eclipse Give You the Amateur Astronomy Bug? Here’s How to Get Started

April 10, 2024 18:45 - 16 minutes

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a professional astronomer—with a passion for amateur astrophotography—and she's here to offer tips and tricks for want to get into capturing the night sky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Veteran Eclipse Chaser Explains the Thrill of Totality

April 08, 2024 09:45 - 6 minutes

The feeling of a total solar eclipse is intense, and the sights, sensations and emotions can overwhelm you even if you think you know what's coming. And we sat down with Kate Russo, a psychologist, author and Eclipse Chaser, who's seen 13 total solar eclipses over the last 25 years, to talk about what to expect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three Times Eclipses Eclipsed Previous Science

April 05, 2024 09:45 - 18 minutes

From the discovery of new elements to the testing of novel theories of gravity, solar eclipses have helped spark scientific progress for centuries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humans Find Total Eclipses Startling. What About a Komodo Dragon?

April 03, 2024 09:30 - 11 minutes

Eclipses can affect animals, and biologists are preparing to see what happens during totality on April 8. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside the Race to Protect Artists from Artificial Intelligence

April 01, 2024 09:50 - 12 minutes

AI-generated art is creating new ethical issues—and competition—for digital artists. Nightshade and Glaze are two tools helping creators fight back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tale of the Snail Slime Wrangler

March 29, 2024 09:50 - 11 minutes

Mucus is a miracle of evolution, and some researchers are trying to re-create what nature makes naturally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mucus Saves Your Life Every Day

March 27, 2024 09:50 - 11 minutes

The slimy substance is so powerful that doctors once made hog stomach mucus milkshakes to treat ulcers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Magical Mucus: On the Benefits of Getting Slimed by a Hagfish

March 25, 2024 09:50 - 9 minutes

If you take a journey into the depths of the slime all around us, you find yourself starting to understand that mucus is a miracle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Artificial Intelligence Helped Write this Award-Winning Song

March 22, 2024 09:50 - 15 minutes

Machine-learning algorithms allow composers to create all-new instruments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Short Naps Are Good for You

March 20, 2024 09:50 - 9 minutes

A quick nap can boost your memory, your mood and even your creativity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Great Debate: Could We Ever Travel through Time?

March 18, 2024 14:50 - 9 minutes

Our space and physics editors go head-to-head over a classic mind-bending question. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Science behind Humpback Whales’ Eerie Songs

March 15, 2024 20:55 - 8 minutes

Scientists have long wondered how baleen whales make their songs, and a new study has finally uncovered the anatomical workings behind their melodies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Large Study of ME/CFS Patients Reveals Measurable Physical Changes

March 14, 2024 16:00 - 11 minutes

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, long dismissed by doctors, causes immune system dysfunction and other problems. But treatments are lacking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hunger in Gaza Could Affect Survivors' Health for Decades

March 11, 2024 21:45 - 10 minutes

Epigenetics research reveals how famines can cause health problems later in life — and how these changes might be passed down to later generations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These Invasive Ants Are Changing How Lions Hunt

March 08, 2024 23:09 - 11 minutes

On the African savanna, a single invasive ant species has upset the delicate balance between predator and prey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should You Swab Your Throat Plus Your Nose for COVID?

March 04, 2024 22:00 - 10 minutes

Nose-plus-throat could increase test accuracy—but could create problems too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is This the Earliest Evidence of Human Cannibalism?

March 01, 2024 22:06 - 16 minutes

A newly-examined munch mark on a tibia has become a real pleistocene whodunit. By Natalia Raegan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Do You Mean, Bisexual People Are ‘Risk-Taking’? Why Genetic Studies about Sexuality Can Be Fraught

February 28, 2024 22:04 - 14 minutes

A recent GWAS investigation on risk-taking and bisexuality made some assumptions that some experts don’t agree with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Asexuality Research Has Reached New Heights. What Are We Learning?

February 23, 2024 19:00 - 14 minutes

A grassroots online movement has helped shift the way scientists think about asexuality. But much is still unknown. This is part four of a four-part series on the science of pleasure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to Close the Orgasm Gap for Heterosexual Couples

February 21, 2024 19:00 - 14 minutes

Researchers once faced death threats for asking women what gives them pleasure. Now they’re helping individuals and couples figure it out themselves. Part three of a four-part series on the science of pleasure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dominatrices Are Showing People How to Have Rough Sex Safely

February 16, 2024 21:13 - 13 minutes

Research shows rough sex is becoming more common. Dominatrices are helping the general public catch up. Hosted by Meghan McDonough, this is part two of a four-part series on the science of pleasure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to Explore Your Sexuality, according to Science

February 14, 2024 20:12 - 13 minutes

Part one of a four-part series on the science of pleasure, hosted by Meghan McDonough. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You Can't Fix Burnout With Self-Care

February 12, 2024 21:47 - 10 minutes

Individual interventions for burnout don’t work. Researchers explain why. Hosted by Shayla Love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How April’s Eclipse Will Solve Solar Mysteries

February 09, 2024 11:00 - 10 minutes

On April 8, we’re in for a treat. A total solar eclipse will be visible across a broad swath of North America, giving us a view of the edges of the sun as the moon passes in front of its face. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Will We Finally Have Sex In Space?

February 07, 2024 19:16 - 13 minutes

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

How Is This Ancient Cattle Breed Fighting Wildfires in Portugal?

February 05, 2024 21:05 - 14 minutes

Portugal is one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe to climate change. Straddling the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic regions, it’s part of a climate change hot spot. Some of the biggest fuels are shrubs. One study found that shrubland covers 1.6 million hectares in Portugal—about 18 percent of the nation’s land area. And those shrubs are gaining ground. That’s because, for decades, people have been moving out of rural communities such as the one Tommy Ferreira lives in. Most leave ...

The Government's Former UFO Hunter Has a Lot to Say

February 05, 2024 11:00 - 14 minutes

For the last decade, reports of UFO sightings have filled headlines and news broadcasts, and some of these have from a surprising place—the Pentagon. Former defense officials have made a number of claims about, and released videos of, strange sightings made by military pilots. These days, the objects are officially called “UAPs”—unidentified anomalous phenomena. But regardless of the new branding, Congress has demanded answers on them, especially after one former official this summer claimed ...

Quantum Computers Might Make All of Your Private Data Less Secure

January 31, 2024 11:45 - 11 minutes

Experts are starting to plan for the moment when a quantum computer large enough to crack the backbone of the math that keeps things secret will be turned on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For 60+ years, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines have evaded scientists. But now that's changed [Sponsored]

January 30, 2024 20:00 - 8 minutes

This year, healthcare providers have tools to help prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV for older adults. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New IVF Test Could Increase Chances of Pregnancy Success

January 29, 2024 19:00 - 10 minutes

Today’s episode covers a topic that many parents-to-be have struggled with: fertility. In vitro fertilization offers a path to pregnancy for people fortunate enough to be able to access it. But predicting the success of an implanted embryo is hard. Now researchers are developing a test that could make it easier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to Save Indigenous Languages

January 27, 2024 01:00 - 12 minutes

From Papua New Guinea to the Andaman Islands, Indigenous languages are under threat. An Indian linguist helped preserve one language family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can AI Predict When You Die?

January 23, 2024 22:30 - 11 minutes

A new study used machine learning on 6 million Danish people to "autocomplete" their life trajectories –— and when they might kick the bucket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Best Way to Use Home COVID Tests Right Now

January 19, 2024 19:00 - 9 minutes

In today’s episode, we want to talk about some of the current challenges with using home COVID tests. When you first have symptoms, a change in how your body reacts to the virus could lead to a test result showing you’re negative when you’re actually infected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Drunken Stupor to Sober with One (Hormone) Shot

January 17, 2024 15:45 - 10 minutes

We all have our tricks for sobering up after a night of drunken revelry: maybe a pot of black coffee or an ice-cold shower. But for mice in a certain lab in Texas, all it takes is a shot. No, not more alcohol—it’s an injection of a hormone called fibroblast growth factor 21, or FGF21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Does the World’s Largest Seabird Know Where to Fly?

January 12, 2024 18:45 - 9 minutes

Imagine for a moment that you’re a very hungry bird soaring over 30-foot ocean swells in high winds, with no land for thousands of miles. How do you know where you’re going? If you’re a wandering albatross, you listen. But listen to what, exactly? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Without the Moon, You Wouldn't Exist (Probably)

January 08, 2024 19:00 - 15 minutes

The moon has guided our movements and cultures, and though we may think we know it well, it still guards some of its deepest secrets from us. A new book from Rebecca Boyle take us on a deep dive into our sister celestial orb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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