60-second Science

Anthropologists found parasite eggs in ancient poop samples, providing a glimpse of human health as hunter-gatherers transitioned to settlements. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Murray Gell-Mann, 1969 Nobel Laureate in Physics who identified the quark, died May 24th.

Some wild female bonobos introduce their sons to desirable females—then make sure their relations won’t be interrupted by competing males. Karen Hopkin reports. 

Preterm babies who listened to music in the neonatal intensive care unit had brain activity that more closely resembled that of full-term babies. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new study suggests women's performance on math and verbal tasks increases as room temperature rises, up to about the mid 70s F. Christopher Intagliata reports.

A study found that only a small percentage of bird beak shape variation is dependent on diet, with other factors like display and nest construction probably playing parts too.

Chewing gums discovered in western Sweden contain the oldest human DNA found in Scandinavia. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frances Arnold, the Caltech scientist who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, says evolution can show us how to solve problems of sustainability.

Growing up in a home filled with books enhances enhances intellectual capacity in later life, even if you don't read them all.

A study finds that kids, especially daughters, are effective at teaching their parents about climate issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ammonia from penguin poop gets carried on Antarctic winds, fertilizing mosses and lichens as far as a mile away. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

The residue of ancient urine can reveal the presence of early stationary herder-farmer communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By dampening the energy of waves, coral reefs protect coastal cities from flooding damage and other economic losses. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

Researchers want to outfit air conditioners with carbon-capture technology. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

In his memoirs, the womanizing writer Giacomo Casanova described suffering several bouts of gonorrhea—but researchers found no trace of the microbe on his handwritten journals. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Algorithms learned to sift ultrasonic rat squeaks from other noise, which could help researchers who study rodents’ emotional states. Lucy Huang reports. 

Scientists propose that the moon could have formed when a Mars-sized object slammed into an Earth covered in magma seas. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Felines move their ears, heads and tails more when they hear their names compared to when they hear similar words. Jim Daley reports.

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Liberia to Hawaii, including one on the discovery in Northern Ireland of soil bacteria that stop the growth of MRSA and other superbugs.

The likelihood of an event like Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and of its massive precipitation, is fivefold higher in the climate of today than it would have been some 60 years ago