SSS 2011-11-11

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata. Got a minute? A hungry fish can kill prey with a quick bite. That is, of course, if its prey hasn't already died of fright. Take tasty dragonflies. The mere presence of pred

SSS 2011-10-13

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber. This will just take a minute. A new archaeological find may signify one of the great leaps in human cultural and cognitive history. Because researchers have discovered a 100,000-yea

SSS 2010-02-15

Imagine a world where sunlight can be captured to produce electricity anywhere, on any surface. The makers of thin-film flexible solar cells imagine that world too. But a big problem has been the amount of silicon needed to harvest a little sunshine.

SSS 2010-02-12

Its good to keep on your toes. Metaphorically, that is. Not when youre actually out for a stroll. Because a new study suggests that it takes nearly twice as much energy to walk on your toes than it does to land on your heel. Humans are among a small

SSS 2010-02-11

Snowpocalypse. Snowmageddon. Whatever your preferred appellation, this week's winter storms brought misery to denizens of the U.S. East Coast and prompted some at least to question the scientific theory of climate change. After all, shouldn't global

SSS 2010-02-10

Its called functional magnetic resonance imaging, or FMRI. And some neuroscientists call it the greatest scientific advance of the last 25 years. Because FMRI lets researchers look at the human brain in action. By measuring blood flow, it produces co

SSS 2010-02-09

You know what its like. Sit chatting with a friend, and the hours can zip by. But once someone puts you on hold [audio: bad on-hold music] or makes you wait in line, each second feels interminable. But Dan Zakay of Tel Aviv University has some tricks

SSS 2010-02-08

At one time or other, someone has probably told you its written all over your face. Thats because your emotions can influence your expressions. Well, a study in the journal Psychological Science suggests that the reverse is also true: that the look o

SSS 2010-02-05

As we look forward to Sundays Super Bowl Game, we might still think back on the shocking mistakes made during the playoffs, especially so, if your team was the one that made some of the critical errors. Consider the last play of the NFC championship

SSS 2010-02-04

Some people of Italian ancestry, like me, might have a surprise in the family treea man of east Asian descent, who was living and working 2,000 years ago in the boondocks near the heel of the Italian boot. The discovery is the first good evidence of

SSS 2010-02-16

Some call it the hormone of love. Its oxytocin and it helps moms bond with and breast-feed their babies, and even keeps romantic couples content. Now a study suggests that this same hormone might also help people with autismby improving their social

SSS 2010-06-01

This is Scientific America's 60-Second Science. I am Karen Hopkin. Thisll just take a minute. Mmm, sticky rice. Its a glutinous side dish thats perfect for practicing your chopstick skills, for sopping up curry sauce and, amazingly, for building real

SSS 2010-05-03

This is Scientific American's Sixty-Second Psych. I'm Christie Nicholson. Got the minute? Say a teenager takes the car without permission and crashes it. Or pole jumps off a bridge into white water. Bruised, broken or worse, arrested, the first words

SSS 2010-05-05

This is Scientific American's Sixty-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber. This'll just take a minute. This podcast is one minute long. If you listen while going for a walk in a park or working in a garden, youre 20 percent of the way to giving your men

SSS 2010-05-06

The big dream for neuroscientists is to be able to watch our brain cells in action, in real time. Well, new research has maybe found the most promising tool yeta technique to watch individual neurons light up in response to a stimulus, like flipping

SSS 2010-05-07

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin. This'll just take a minute. Its not easy being me; when I was born the doctor told my mother, I did all I could, but he pulled through anyway. Rodney might felt badbut listening to hi

SSS 2010-05-10

Weve all agonized over difficult decisions. Go to college or backpack around Europe? Buy or rent? Apple pie or death by chocolate? Well, agonize no morebecause a study in the journal Science suggests that simply washing your hands after making a toug

SSS 2010-05-11

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber. This'll just take a minute. The Patriot Act and the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act were passed in 2001 and 2002. These laws in part cover research on pathogens and toxins thought to

SSS 2010-05-12

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christie Nicholson. Got a minute? We know someone is in pain just by looking at their face. Winced eyes, grimacing smile. I mean we recognize it immediately. But can we see pain in non-human faces?

SSS 2010-05-13

Twelve men have walked on the moon. And now you can, too. Virtually, that is. Because planetary researchers are enlisting everyday citizens in scientific exploration of the surface of the moon. At the Web site moonzoo.org, you can check out new high-