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

SSS 2010-04-14

One main goal in the renewable energy field is to find an efficient, inexpensive way to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen could then be used as a fuel source for vehicles or fuel cells. Typically, an electric current breaks the water

SSS 2010-04-16

Invasive species can decrease biodiversity and drive resident species to the brink of extinction. But how do these interlopers fare so well in unfamiliar territory? One idea is that theyve escaped their enemies, for example, the parasites that keep t

SSS 2010-04-15

Last week, scientists announced the discovery of a remarkably well-preserved skeleton of what might be a new species of an ancient hominid that lived almost 2 million years ago. The bones were found in 2008. This February, they were analyzed by one o

SSS 2010-04-20

Hows this for a possible new culprit for breast cancer sufferers: they may be able to blame their grandmas diets. Thats the implication of a study done with rats. Researchers affiliated with the Georgetown University Medical Center fed a group of pre

SSS 2010-04-21

A New York Times reporter recently wrote this sentence: Like most heck, all of the women I know, my relationship to food, to my weight, to my body iscomplicated. That relationship is now visible in our brains. When anorexic and bulimic women see imag

SSS 2010-04-22

I used to scoff vi.(at)嘲弄，嘲笑at the idea of Minute Rice. I mean, are we really in such a hurry that we cant wait, like, 10 minutes for a regular old bowl of rice? Well, yes, yes we are. And fast food may be making matters worse. Because a st

SSS 2010-04-23

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Thats more than a folksy aphorism when it comes to infectious diseases. Because according to a report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, its more cost effective to reduce the cases of a disease i

SSS 2010-04-26

Shhh, keep this podcast a secret. Because new research points to a possible blind spot in airport security screening: it may be easier to sneak something dangerous past securitya box cutter, for exampleby also including an obvious and innocuous banne

SSS 2010-04-28

If you've ever driven up to a mountain pass, you know that the higher you climb, the colder it gets. But on clear, calm days, it can actually (be) colder in the valleys. That's because under high-pressure systems, cold air slides down mountain slopes

SSS 2010-04-27

In 1970, the Soviet Union put a laser reflector on the moon, carried by a rover. A few months later, it disappeared. Some speculated that the rover had fallen into a crater or parked in such a way as to render the reflector inaccessible. Now after 40

SSS 2010-04-29

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin. Thisll just take a minute. Any school kid can tell you that comets are made of ice. That frozen water burning off is what gives comets their characteristic tails. But asteroids were g