60-second Science

When jets of charged particles from the sun hit our magnetosphere, some of the ensuing ripples travel toward the northern and southern poles and get reflected back. The resulting interference allows standing waves to form, like on a drumhead.

By tracking duetting choir singers, researchers found that when an individual singer's pitch drifts off tune their partner’s tend to too. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

Researchers aiming to lower the cost of mealworms were able to double the worms' size, but the larger larvae had fewer eggs and weaker offspring. Christopher Intagliata reports.

A new model suggests smashing killer space rocks with insufficient force could let gravity pull the pieces back together. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

Weekday sleep deprivation with weekend make-up sleeping seems to be worse for blood sugar control than even chronic sleep deprivation alone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thyroid hormone, which helps warm-blooded animals regulate body temperature, also appears to put a halt on heart regeneration. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By analyzing nearly 2.5 billion Wikipedia page views, researchers found species searches reflect seasonal animal migrations and plant blooming. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a sports technology conference, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred addressed issues including an automated strike zone and advanced analytics.

Volunteers who listened to music solved fewer word puzzles than others who worked in silence. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Greenland to Palau, including one on the discovery of a trove of mummified cats in Egypt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biologists have taken the genes that produce cannabinoids in weed and plugged them into yeast, making rare and novel compounds more accessible. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Humans traveling to Mars will be required to operate with a degree of autonomy human astronauts have never had, due to communication delays. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grandmothers can enhance the survival of grandchildren. That is, unless grandma’s too old or lives too far away. Karen Hopkin reports.

Artificial intelligence experts, ethicists and diplomats debate autonomous weapons. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The incidence of foodborne illness could jump in a warming world, due to an increase in housefly activity. Christopher Intagliata reports.

A new genetic study of Latin Americans provides evidence that gene variants for lighter skin color came about in Asia as well as in Europe. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Seismologist and policy advisor Lucy Jones says science education needs to teach how science works more than just what it finds out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When researchers fed mosquitoes a drug used to treat people for obesity, the insects were less interested in hunting for their next human meal ticket. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deer populations have exploded in North American woodlands, changing forest ecology—and how sounds, like birdsong, travel through the trees. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elephants have six sets of teeth over their lives, sometimes two sets at once. At those times, they can extract more nutrition from food and put on weight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices