Science Talk

Science Talk

By Scientific AmericanScience

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Science Talk episodes

December 30, 2014 Lightning May Sink Mountain Summits
Magnetic anomalies in rocks indicate that lightning may be a major player in weathering mountains. Julia Rosen reports

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3 min
December 23, 2014 Budget Bill Stealthily Affects Environment and Energy
Congress took advantage of the pressure to pass a budget bill by adding riders that change rules concerning the environment and energy. Josh Fischman reports

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3 min
December 22, 2014 Plankton Pee May Alter Ocean's Chemistry
The urine of a vast army of tiny fish, jellies and shrimpy things may play an important role in the ocean's nitrogen cycle. Christopher Intagliata reports

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3 min
December 19, 2014 Penicillins Reveal Additional Antibacterial Power
Penicillin and its relatives have been in wide use since the 1940s, but researchers have only now discovered another way that it thwarts bacteria. Karen Hopkin reports

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3 min
December 17, 2014 Short-Term Fasting Made Mice Healthier
Mice that ate their entire food for the day in an eight-to-12-hour window had better markers for health than did mice free to eat whenever they wanted. Steve Mirsky reports

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4 min
December 15, 2014 Laser Zap Determines Fruit Ripeness
The way fruit reflects and absorbs laser light may be a good measure of its progression toward peak ripeness. Christopher Intagliata reports

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3 min
December 11, 2014 Birds Roost on New Evolutionary Tree
In a massive first-of-its-kind whole-genome analysis involving 48 bird species, researchers have created a new avian evolutionary tree. Steve Mirsky reports

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5 min
December 11, 2014 Canary out, Smartphone in for Gas Detection
By using tiny carbon nanotubes tuned electronically to particular gases, researchers turned smartphones into toxin sensors. Cynthia Graber reports

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3 min
December 10, 2014 Quarter-Million Tons of Plastic Plague Oceans
Based on trawling samples and visual observations of plastic debris, computer models calculate that some 5.25 trillion particles of plastic—about 269,000 tons—may litter the world's oceans. Christopher Intagliata reports

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4 min
December 09, 2014 Dumpster Diving Provides Drinking Data
Researchers estimated alcohol consumption at a senior center by putting out recycling bins and counting the bottle contents. Karen Hopkin reports

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3 min

About Science Talk

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Science Talk is a podcast of longer-form audio experiments from Scientific American--from immersive sonic journeys into nature to deep dives into research with leading experts.