John O’Keefe shared the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience in 2014 for discovering that neurons in the hippocampus encode an animal’s location and create a cognitive map for navigation.

	

	This podcast was produced for the Kavli Prize by Scientific American Custom Media, a division separate from the magazine’s board of editors.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kavli Prize Presents: How Your Brain Maps the World [Sponsored]

Host Rachel Feltman, alongside leading science and tech journalists, dives into the rich world of scientific discovery in this bite-size science variety show.

Science

This week’s news roundup features spiders, space and the Supreme Court. “Flying” Joro spiders are making headlines, but are they really taking over the East Coast? Extreme heat leads Greece to close the Acropolis and worry about what the rest of the summer will bring. Levels of ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons are on the decline. Plus, satellite reentry releases ozone-damaging aluminum oxide, and access to medication abortion is preserved.  Recommended viewing: The Ozone Hole Showed Humans Could Damage Earth and That We Could Heal It E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily Today in Science newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Carin Leong, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Elah Feder, Alexa Lim, and Anaissa Ruiz Tejada, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. 
 
   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘Flying’ Joro Spiders Are No Big Deal, and Starlink Satellites Are Not So Great for The Ozone Layer

All aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer, a research vessel making its way through the waters of West Antarctica. Journalist Sofia Moutinho is joining a team of chemists trying to find out how glacial melting is changing ocean chemistry—and what those changes might mean for the global climate. The researchers want to know whether a negative feedback loop could take shape in Antarctica’s seas. Carbon dioxide contributes to the rise in warming that is melting the glaciers. As glacial melting releases iron, phytoplankton feast. Phytoplankton in turn remove carbon from the air, potentially causing a cooling effect. Stay tuned for next Friday’s episode, where Moutinho will embark on a hunt for sea ice and hear about the researchers’ special encounter with Adélie penguins. E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.  Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Carin Leong, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by journalist Sofia Moutinho. Our show is edited by Elah Feder, Alexa Lim, Madison Goldberg and Anaissa Ruiz Tejada, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could Iron from Melting Glaciers Affect Global Climate?

Nearly a third of U.S. adults have tattoos, but how many people know what's really in the ink? Despite new regulations, researchers have found many commercial inks contain unlisted and potentially harmful ingredients. John Swierk, an assistant professor of chemistry at Binghamton University, and his team are trying to figure out exactly what goes into each vial of tattoo ink—and how tattoos actually work—to help make body art safer. Email us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily newsletter.  Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman, with guest John Swierk, assistant professor of chemistry at Binghamton University. Our show is edited by Elah Feder, Alexa Lim, Madison Goldberg and Anaissa Ruiz Tejada, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. 
 
   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s Actually In Your Tattoo Ink? No One Really Knows

In this week’s news roundup, we present the latest from the skies and the pillbox. The Hubble Space Telescope is limping along, operating with just one gyroscope to preserve its research capabilities. China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe is sending back the first ever samples from the far side of the moon. Plus, there are exciting advancements in the world of pharmaceuticals, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsing a “morning-after pill” for STIs and artificial intelligence discovering potential novel antibiotics. E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily Today in Science newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Kelso Harper, Carin Leong, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Kelso Harper. Our show is edited by Elah Feder, Alexa Lim, Madison Goldberg and Anaissa Ruiz Tejada, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rock Samples Taken from Far Side of the Moon and a ‘Morning-After Pill’ for STIs

Can plants “think?" Do they “talk” to one another? These are questions that scientists are asking—and the answers might surprise you. Zoë Schlanger, climate reporter at The Atlantic, sits down with Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman to discuss her new book The Light Eaters, which explores the surprising science of plant intelligence.  Related Reading: Brains Are Not Required When It Comes to Thinking and Solving Problems—Simple Cells Can Do It How Plant Intelligence Can Soothe Climate Anxiety Email us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily newsletter.  Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Kelso Harper, Carin Leong Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Zoë Schlanger from The Atlantic. Our show is edited by Elah Feder, Alexa Lim, Madison Goldberg and Anaissa Ruiz Tejada, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kavli Prize Presents: How Your Brain Maps the World [Sponsored]

Download our free app to listen on your phone