60-Second Mind

By Scientific AmericanScience

60-Second Mind episodes

October 16, 2014 Track Cosmic Rays with Smartphone App
Take part in a citizen-science project by helping researchers track high-energy cosmic rays via a network of smartphone users. Clara Moskowitz reports

2 min
October 09, 2014 Star-Forming Clouds May Spit Out Life’s Building Blocks
Astronomers have discovered one of the largest and most complex organic molecules yet in a gaseous star-forming region of interstellar space. Clara Moskowitz reports
2 min
September 29, 2014 Lots or Little Sleep Linked to Sick Days
Absence from work due to illness increased dramatically for those who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours per night. Christie Nicholson reports

3 min
September 24, 2014 Dark Matter Looks WIMPy
Data from the International Space Station-based Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment supports the idea that dark matter consists of the invisible particles called weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs. Clara Moskowitz reports
2 min
September 11, 2014 Forensic Astronomer Dates Monet Vision
Texas State University astronomer Donald Olson combined solar, tidal and weather data to identify the likely moment of the image in the Monet work Impression, Sunrise

2 min
September 06, 2014 Can’t Take My Eyes off You—Your Face, That Is
The direction of your gaze when looking at someone offers an unconscious, automatic giveaway of whether your initial reaction is romance or sex. Christie Nicholson reports
3 min
September 03, 2014 Milky Way's Home Supercluster Found
Astronomers have identified the Milky Way’s cosmic address—inside the supercluster Laniakea, which means “immense heaven” in Hawaiian. Clara Moskowitz reports
2 min
August 30, 2014 Talking to Strangers Makes You Happy
People who had to strike up conversations on a subway later reported feeling happier than those who didn’t. Christie Nicholson reports.
3 min
August 24, 2014 People Think Experiences Bring Happiness, Still Opt for Things
Survey subjects rated life experiences as making them happier and as a better use of money than buying objects. But they actually spent their cash on material goods, whose value is more easily quantifiable. Erika Beras reports
3 min
August 24, 2014 Neptune Visit Hits 25th Anniversary
On August 24th, 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft rendezvoused with Neptune, making it the farthest planet to pose for a close-up, a record it still holds today.

2 min