Synopsis
Leading science journalists provide a daily minute commentary on some of the most interesting developments in the world of science. For a full-length, weekly podcast you can subscribe to Science Talk: The Podcast of Scientific American . To view all of our archived podcasts please go to www.scientificamerican.com/podcast
Episodes
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Give Us This Day the Bread Wheat Genome
17/07/2014 Duration: 01minA preliminary map of the bread wheat genome includes the locations of more than 75,000 genes. Cynthia Graber reports
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Supercooled Organs Could Stretch Time to Transplant
09/07/2014 Duration: 01minLiver transplant time from human donor to patient is limited to 12 hours, but rats that got livers specially stored for three days were going strong three months later. Cynthia Graber reports
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Space-Based Data Collection Better Predicts Floods
08/07/2014 Duration: 01minSatellite data can help geologists predict major floods up to 11 months in advance in areas where snow melt or groundwater is a significant contributor. Cynthia Graber reports
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Mobile Phones Carry Owners' Microbiomes
02/07/2014 Duration: 01minThe bacteria found on someone's mobile phone is a good match for the most common kinds of bacteria that live on their hands. Christopher Intagliata reports
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Malarial Mice Smell Better to Mosquitoes
01/07/2014 Duration: 02minMice infected with the parasites that cause their type of malaria produce odorous compounds that attract mosquitoes, increasing the odds that the parasites will be spread to the next victims Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Neandertal Diners Had Side of Veggies
27/06/2014 Duration: 01minBy analyzing what came out of Neandertals, researchers have verified that at least some of them mixed vegetation into their meaty diet. Cynthia Graber reports
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21-Second Rule Governs Mammal Micturition
25/06/2014 Duration: 01minAll mammals that weigh more than about six-and-a-half pounds take about the same time to urinate, thanks to the structure of the urethra. Karen Hopkin reports
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Dwarf Galaxies Really Cooking with Gas
25/06/2014 Duration: 01minThe smallest galaxies in the universe gave rise to an unexpectedly large proportion of stars. Karen Hopkin reports
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Cool Kids Get Schooled with Age
23/06/2014 Duration: 01minKids deemed cool in early adolescence have a poor chance to keep that status by their early 20s, because their behavior gets old. Erika Beras reports
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White Bread May Actually Build Strong Bodies 1 Way
20/06/2014 Duration: 01minThe guts of white bread eaters appear to contain more lactobacillus, a type of bacteria that wards off digestive disorders. Karen Hopkin reports
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Plant Spores Hitch Long-Distance Feather Rides
18/06/2014 Duration: 01minTiny spores from mosses, algae and lichens can stick in bird feathers, travel from the Arctic to the bottom of South America and grow into whole new specimens. Erika Beras reports
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Jellyfish Galaxies Get Guts Ripped Out
17/06/2014 Duration: 01minRecently discovered galaxies shaped like jellyfish leave a long trail of hot gas and dust, victims of even hotter gas from their surrounding cluster of galaxies
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2-Face Moon Tells How It Got That Way
13/06/2014 Duration: 02minA new analysis says that the asymmetry between the two faces of the moon is due to crust thickness differences that resulted from variable cooling rates after the molten formation of our companion. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Classroom Decorations Can Distract Young Students
11/06/2014 Duration: 01minFive-year-olds in highly decorated classrooms were less able to hold their focus, spent more time off-task and had smaller learning gains than kids in bare rooms. Erika Beras reports
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Kid Scientist Finds Sweet Pest Control
10/06/2014 Duration: 02minEleven-year-old Simon Kaschock-Marenda's science fair project led to a publication about the insecticidal effects of the sweetener Truvia. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Light Colors Become Fashion Rage for Northern Europe's Insects
09/06/2014 Duration: 01minAs northern Europe warms, the light-colored butterflies and dragonflies typically found in the Mediterranean are moving north, and outcompeting their darker-colored rivals. Erika Beras reports
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London Fish Chip Away at Historical Unknowns
06/06/2014 Duration: 01minIsotope composition within fish tails found in London archaeological digs shows that the city began importing cod from northern Scandinavia some 800 years ago. Cynthia Graber reports
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Meteor Storm Went from Sizzle to Fizzle
04/06/2014 Duration: 01minThe May Camelopardalids meteor outburst turned out to be a dud, because meteor storm prediction is not a sure thing, unlike, for example, calculating the next eclipse