60-second Science

Mice that lost weight and then gained back more than they lost maintained an obesity-type microbiome that affected biochemicals involved in either burning or adding fat--suggesting interventions.  

A meta-analysis found that being of low socioeconomic status was associated with almost as many years of lost life as was a sedentary lifestyle.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In fewer than a dozen generations bumblebee-pollinated plants were coaxed to develop traits that made them even more pleasing to the bees. Christopher Intagliata reports.

For every two species lost in a grassland, the remaining flowers there bloomed a day earlier—on par with changes due to rising global temperatures. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Exposure to specific microbes when an infant is less than a year old seems to have a protective effect against the child's eventual acquisition of asthma.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Astrophysicists propose that mysterious "fast radio bursts" could, in very speculative theory, be produced by an antenna twice the size of Earth. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If anything's alive on the ice-covered ocean world of Europa, a future NASA mission hopes to find it.  

By sequencing DNA in Neandertal dental plaque, scientists were able to find out about their diets—and their good relations with modern humans. Christopher Intagliata reports.

What appears to be accepted science in the courtroom may not be accepted science among scientists.

The gravitational waves found last year were short compared with the monster waves that could be turned up by what's called Pulsar Timing Arrays.  

Atmospheric rivers can carry the same amount of water vapor as 15 to 20 Mississippi Rivers—and deliver punishing winds, too. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

The final holdout woolly mammoths had large numbers of harmful mutations—which would have given them satiny coats and a weakened sense of smell. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Climate change and overfishing have made the penguins’ feeding grounds a mirage—which has led to a drop in penguin population. Jason G. Goldman reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers found that Neandertal gene variants still affect the way genes are turned off and on in modern humans. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

Doing large studies of marijuana's potential as medicine means getting it removed from an official federal list of substances with no official medical use—which requires more proof of its potential as medicine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Red blood cells retain a memory of high-altitude exposure, allowing for faster acclimation next time. But that memory fades within four months. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Properly fermented foods deliver probiotics that could help cut disease risk, said a researcher at the annual meeting of the AAAS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In urban Asian areas myopia among teenagers is topping 90 percent—but foresight may be able to bring those numbers way down.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guppies exposed to predators tend to aggregate into smaller, more tightly knit groups, which may allow them to coordinate their predator avoidance strategies. Jason G. Goldman reports.

Astronauts’ gray matter is compressed by time in space—except in an area that controls feeling and movement in the legs. Karen Hopkin reports.