60-second Science

Gen. John Hyten, Commander, U.S. Air Force Space Command, talks about the task of tracking all the materials in orbit and keeping them from crashing into one another. Steve Mirsky and Larry Greenemeier report    

Sediments at a Britsh archaeological site include wheat remains dating back 8,000 years, meaning that Britons were bringing in European wheat two millennia before they grew it. Cynthia Graber reports        

Flow sensors on the bodies of many fishes act like a hydrodynamic antenna, picking up signals about the flow of water around them. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports   

Science was in the spotlight at the 87th annual Academy Awards ceremony Sunday night, from actors playing scientists to winners thanking them. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beaver enamel is rich in iron—which is even more effective than fluoride at staving off cavities. Christopher Intagliata reports

In addition to fuel, nectar from various plant species contains chemical compounds that reduce the numbers of a common gut parasite in bumblebees. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marijuana boosts users' appetities by changing the signals brain cells produce from sated to still hungry. Karen Hopkin reports.      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rodents fed capsaicin voluntarily exercised more than their furry friends on a lower-heat diet. Karen Hopkin reports

A reexamination of museum mastodon specimens provides evidence that that last ones were gone from what's called the Beringia region well before any humans showed up. Emily Schwing reports       

Some random historical facts about the number 13 may be behind some people's irrational aversion to Friday the 13th. Karen Hopkin reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifteen million unwanted pregnancies in 35 low- and middle-income countries could be avoided if women had access to and freedom to use contraception. Cynthia Graber reports       

Ice cores show a sudden rise in heavy metal air pollution in South America 240 years before the industrial revolution, probably due to metallurgy and mining. Karen Hopkin reports

Scientists sequenced genetic material found in all 468 New York City subway stations, and nearly half matched no known organism. Christopher Intagliata reports

Buried in one of Isaac Newton's college notebooks is a page on which he fairly accurately theorizes on the process of transpiration in plants, two centuries before the concept was elucidated. Karen Hopkin reports     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, most cities that win the right to host the Olympics will spend far more to prepare for the games than they estimate in their winning bid. Steve Mirsky reports       

Quadcopters appear to be a relatively benign tool to study the behavior and numbers of wetland birds. Christopher Intagliata reports

Savino di Lernia, director of the Archaeological Mission in the Sahara at the Sapienza University of Rome, says violence and unrest threaten World Heritage sites and researchers. Cynthia Graber reports       

Regions that send a team to the Super Bowl saw on average an 18 percent increase in flu deaths among those over 65, probably because of increased transmission due to gatherings of people at parties during the height of the flu season. Karen Hopkin reports      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ease with which certain sounds are produced in different climes plays a role in the development of spoken languages. Christopher Intagliata reports

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Susan Desmond-Hellmann talks about some of what needs to be done to make a reality of the foundation's aspiration to cut maternal mortality by two thirds by 2030