SSS 2010-05-04

This is Scientific American's Sixty-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata. Got the minute? A couple million years ago, mammoths migrated north from Africa to colonize Eurasia. Sometime around then a massive ice age kicked inand it was stay warm

SSS 2010-03-01

Big cats or wolves seem like scaled-up versions of the tabby or terrier sleeping on your sofa. But the proportions do subtly change as animals get larger. For one thing, big animals feet are smaller relative to their bodies than are smaller beasts. B

SSS 2010-03-02

When an ocean liner starts taking on water, what governs whether its women and children first or every man for himself? According to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, mens altruistic versus self-serving behavior depends

SSS 2010-03-03

Sometimes scientific discoveries are hidden in museum specimen drawers and old journal articles. In two studies in the journal Science, researchers who went through the stuff in institutional attics offer new insights into the development and diversi

SSS 2010-03-04

The food industry leads the nation in pounds of waste produced annually. So, whats second? Its health care facilities. They dispose of more than four billion pounds of waste each year. Another shocker? A lot of that waste is perfectly functional. In

SSS 2010-03-08

So, theyre scanning your items at the grocery store, and when the last tomato gets bagged youre stunned at the cost. How did you spend so much? Maybe those cherries were 12 bucks a pound. Or maybe you should have paid more attention to what you put i

SSS 2010-03-09

Last week, the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for energy held its inaugural conference in Washington, D.C.a direct response to a growing sense that the U.S. is losing its technology lead when it comes to the race for cleaner ways to produce an

SSS 2010-03-10

You know how uncomfortable it feels when you really have to go to the bathroom? And you have to hold it in? If researchers get their way, disease-carrying mosquitoes will spend their last moments being that uncomfortable. Cornell University scientist

SSS 2010-03-11

Think arranged marriages are loveless? Not so, says psychologist Robert Epstein, a contributing editor for Scientific American MIND magazine. He spoke March 10 at the 92nd Street Ys Tribeca site in New York City: And theres even a study published in

SSS 2010-03-12

Dont forget to move your clocks forward this weekend. And then dont forget to be more careful in the days after you adjust your clocks. Because a recent study found that the hour of lost sleep was related to increased job-related injuries. Probably b

SSS 2010-06-14

Its probably happened to you: a friend says, I know this place like the back of my hand, and then proceeds to get you hopelessly lost. Well, it could be that they really did know it like the back of their hand. Because researchers have found that peo

SSS 2010-04-01

Spotted hyenas grunt and growl. But you know what they're famous for. So what's all the laughing about? Well, field researchers have noticed that groups of hyenas tend to giggle around a kill, while they're waiting for their hunk of meat. Now a study

SSS 2010-04-02

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Steve Mirsky. Got a minute? A direct effect on human health related to climate change is the likely increase in infectious diseases transmitted by insects or through contaminated water. In the Marc

SSS 2010-04-05

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Steve Mirsky. Got a minute? The National Safety Council estimates that 28 percent of all highway accidents and deaths are caused by drivers paying poor attention to the road because theyre holding

SSS 2010-04-06

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Steve Mirsky. Got a minute? Quality truffles can sell for more than a $1000 a pound. Theyre also valuable in environmental research, work thats discussed in an article called The Hidden Life of Tru

SSS 2010-04-07

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin. This'll just take a minute. Everyone makes mistakes, especially when it comes to entering numbers into a calculator or spreadsheet. Its not such a big deal if youre tracking how much

SSS 2010-04-08

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin. This'll just take a minute. If you want to shell a walnut, it helps to have a nutcracker. And if you want to digest seaweed, it helps to have the right enzymes. Now, a study in the jo

SSS 2010-04-09

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber. This'll just take a minute. As scientists delve deeper beneath the oceans surface, they find bizarre creatures that have adapted to harsh and extreme environments. Now comes a new o

SSS 2010-04-12

Here in New York, the pending state budget includes one provision thats probably making more news than the rest of the budgets contents combined: a tax on non-diet soda and other high-calorie drinks. If the budget is passed by the legislature, sugary

SSS 2010-04-13

People start stereotyping early. Even toddlers react positively to members of their own race, but often distrust those from different groups. The seeds of racism are planted in most everyone. Everyone, that is, except people with a rare genetic condi