Science Talk

By Scientific AmericanScience

Science Talk episodes

February 01, 2020 Did Animal Calls Start in the Dark?
One hypothesis says the ability to vocalize arose in nocturnal animals—and a new evolutionary analysis suggests there may be some truth to it. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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4 min
January 30, 2020 Sign Languages Display Distinct Ancestries
Well more than 100 distinct sign languages exist worldwide, with each having features that made it possible for researchers to create an evolutionary tree of their lineages.

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5 min
January 30, 2020 How to Make a Mass Extinction
Journalist and author Peter Brannen talks about his book The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions.

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41 min
January 26, 2020 Docs Given Updated Opioid Prescribing Habit
Researchers dialed down the default number of opioids in two hospitals’ prescription systems—and doctors ended up prescribing fewer pills. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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4 min
January 25, 2020 Some Wolf Pups Show Innate Fetching Talent
Some wolf pups will play fetch with a stranger, suggesting that an ability to playfully interact with people could have come before, and played a role in, dog domestication.

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4 min
January 24, 2020 Barred Owls Invade the Sierra Nevada
By listening to the sounds of the forest, biologists were able to identify an invasion of barred owls in spotted owl habitat. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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5 min
January 23, 2020 Curiosity Killed the ... Mouse?
The cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii boosts curiosity in mice—which makes them more likely to be caught by cats, thus continuing the parasite’s life cycle. Karen Hopkin reports.

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5 min
January 17, 2020 This Fish Knows How to Stick Around
The remora clings to other fish—and appears to use an unusual sense of touch to do so. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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4 min
January 15, 2020 Antarctic Is Ripe for Invasive Species
Mussels and crabs are two of the creatures most likely to invade Antarctica in the next 10 years, a panel of scientists say. Christopher Intagliata reports.

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4 min
January 14, 2020 Bacteria Helped Plants Evolve to Live on Land
Soil bacteria may have taken residence in early algal species, gifting the algae with the ability to withstand drier conditions on land. Annie Sneed reports.

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4 min

About Science Talk

From the publisher's feed

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.