Shows / A Moment of Science
A Moment of Science
A Moment of Science is a daily audio podcast, public radio program and video series providing the scientific story behind some of life's most perplexing mysteries.
Episodes
- A Moment of Science
Why do giraffes need such long necks?
Have you ever wondered why giraffes have such long necks?
- A Moment of Science
How mosquitoes will be impacted by global warming
Scientists think that as many as a billion people around the world could be newly exposed to the diseases spread by mosquitoes within the next fifty years as…
- A Moment of Science
The unique species of the tufted deer
This small species lives throughout southern China, from high eastern Tibetan mountains to low coastal mountains, preferring forests and shrubby habitats. And…
- A Moment of Science
Virtual reality and yawning
There’s a big gap between how we act in virtual reality and how we act in real life, as scientists who did an experiment focused on yawning found out.
- A Moment of Science
Not all antioxidants are the same
We've heard a lot about how antioxidants can help prevent disease. Does that mean we should eat as many antioxidant-rich foods as possible?
- A Moment of Science
Moths use acoustic camouflage
Most moth species are active at night. It must be really dangerous to be a moth. Luckily, they've developed a few ways to protect themselves.
- A Moment of Science
Why do humans like coffee?
Scientists think that animals evolved the ability to detect bitter tastes in order to avoid things that are harmful or even poisonous. So why do we like coffee?
- A Moment of Science
What makes swatting a fly so hard?
Where most of us are concerned, the question is not whether we would hurt a fly but whether we could.
- A Moment of Science
The mysteries of Oumuamua
In October, 2017 astronomers at Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii discovered something strange. It was an object, moving through the solar system too fast to…
- A Moment of Science
Red cone, green cone
Did you know that compared to creatures such as dogs and cats, humans can distinguish millions more shades of color?
- A Moment of Science
Tsunamis in the oceans of Mars
There's evidence that the northern lowlands of Mars are the basin of a huge ocean that existed more than 3 billion years ago, and covered about a third of the…
- A Moment of Science
Fighting back against root rot
Root rot is a condition of indoor and outdoor plants. Root rot may be caused by poorly drained or overwatered soil, or soil-borne pathogens and nematodes.
- A Moment of Science
In the atmosphere, microbes are walking on air
Microbes are everywhere, from the deepest ocean to the highest mountaintop. They're also in the air all around, riding the breeze up, up, up into sky.
- A Moment of Science
The ant with moves like a cheetah
But a cheetah isn’t the fastest animal in the world, even though a lot of people think it is. The animal that can move the fastest is actually a lot smaller…
- A Moment of Science
Background noise and sleep quality
Background white noise can help some peoples’ sleep quality by minimizing the length of time it takes them to get to sleep. So, what exactly is white noise?
- A Moment of Science
Different rates of sea level rise
Mid-Atlantic states such as North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland have been hit particularly hard by rising sea levels
- A Moment of Science
How your attitude affects your body
Our attitudes might affect us more than our genes do.
- A Moment of Science
Can animals tell time?
Does your pet give you the evil eye when they get fed a few minutes late? Its like they know...but do they?
- A Moment of Science
Could The Gulf Stream collapse?
The Gulf Stream is a current of warm water in the North Atlantic Ocean that travels up the Eastern coast of North America. Media reports have raised concerns…
- A Moment of Science
Ice age plant survived the big chill
Like a science fiction time traveler, an arctic plant of the late Pleistocene age, over 31,000 years old, was resurrected after a long frozen sleep.
- A Moment of Science
Every time you eat a fig, remember a fig wasp lost its wings
Figs have their thousands of individual flowers folded up inside them, so they can't rely on bees or wind to pollinate them with a male fig's pollen. That's…
- A Moment of Science
Study links air pollution and a decline in cognitive function
Has your brain been feeling foggy lately? Or maybe, smoggy? If you live somewhere affected by air pollution, there might be a connection.
- A Moment of Science
The jellyfish that never grows old
Scientists once thought that aging and death were the inevitable fate of all complex living things. But then, by accident, they discovered they were wrong.
- A Moment of Science
The great cilantro debate
On today's Moment of Science, we'll be sniffing our way through a controversial culinary conundrum: the great cilantro debate.
- A Moment of Science
Elephant grandmothers means more elephant calves
Grandmother elephants are important for the survival of baby calves.
- A Moment of Science
Looks delicious! The connection between appearance and taste
English is full of phrases that connect appearance to taste. However, scientists have been discovering that the connection between the two runs deeper than…
- A Moment of Science
Escaping alive from a frog's stomach
Sometimes, when a frog eats a large insect, you can see it squirming in the frog’s belly, desperate to escape. Lack of air, acids, and digestive enzymes seal…
- A Moment of Science
Copy your neighbors, but only when they're successful
Scientists looked at the nestbox choices of pied flycatchers after the birds observed the "success" of nesting great tits.
- A Moment of Science
Why are operating rooms so cold?
Is there a reason operating rooms are always so cold and drafty?
- A Moment of Science
Starfish are all heads, no tails
Colorful or plain, skinny or chubby, big or small, the nearly 2,000 species have it all.
- A Moment of Science
Skeptics think about vaccines differently
Vaccine skeptics might see vaccines the way they do because they tend to overestimate the likelihood of rare negative events.
- A Moment of Science
Walked or swam? An index can answer
How do scientists figure out even basic facts such as whether an animal walked on land or swam in the sea?
- A Moment of Science
Play and the brain
Researchers classify an animal behavior as play when it doesn’t involve an external reward, such as food, seems to serve no purpose, occurs repeatedly, and…
- A Moment of Science
What we can learn from ancient climate records
Scientists find clues to how the earth's climate is changing by looking to the past.
- A Moment of Science
Tetrataenite as a solution to the rare earth crisis
Demand for rare earth elements is soaring, and it will continue to grow in the future.
- A Moment of Science
The effects of bismuth in Pepto Bismol
When the bismuth combines with the trace amounts of sulfur in your saliva and in your gastrointestinal tract, it reacts to form a black substance called…
- A Moment of Science
King Tut's dagger from space
King Tutankhamen of Egypt has fascinated people ever since archeologist Howard Carter discovered his splendid tomb in 1922.
- A Moment of Science
Where does bitterness come from? Ask the sharks
Bitterness, like sweetness or saltiness, is one of the major taste sensations. And while it makes our food flavorful, detecting bitterness can sometimes be a…
- A Moment of Science
Why are sunrises faster than sunsets?
It takes much less time for the sun to light up the sky at dawn than it does for all the light to disappear after the sun sets at dusk.
- A Moment of Science
The temperature of ice on a hot day
If you drink a glass of ice water on a hot day, what temperature is the ice?
- A Moment of Science
Do brains differ with biology?
There are some biological differences between the sexes, but do they extend to the brain?
- A Moment of Science
Can plants hear?
In 2019 a team of Israeli scientists published evidence that the evening primrose plant can detect the specific sound vibration frequencies of the buzz of an…
- A Moment of Science
Patient HM: Henry Molaison and the neuroscience of memory
Every student who has ever taken a course in neuroscience or psychology has heard of Patient HM.
- A Moment of Science
Monkeys can be petty, too
We share a lot of genetic material in common with our chimpanzee relatives, and maybe some personal characteristics too.
- A Moment of Science
Snowshoes and physics
One frosty morning you awake to a blanket of fresh snow. Adventure awaits! Do you go skiing? Skating? Building snowmen? Or you could do some physics!
- A Moment of Science
Dogs can recognize their own species
French scientists tested dogs to see if they could recognize the faces of other dogs on a computer screen.
- A Moment of Science
Being able to stomach bugs
While not an ordinary part of the cuisine of the United States, insects are a common food source for millions of people around the world. It might be time…
- A Moment of Science
Are eyes evolving?
In evolutionary theory, an inherited trait is favored by natural selection when it helps an individual to produce more offspring than its competitors.
- A Moment of Science
The proteins in dinosaur feathers
Modern birds are the descendants of dinosaurs. Specifically, paleontologists have shown that birds evolved from a group of two legged dinosaurs called…
- A Moment of Science
UFO attack or meteor fragments?
June 1969. Not one airliner but two, plus the pilot of an Air National Guard fighter plane, report being harassed by a team of UFOs.
- A Moment of Science
Beans get their flavor from yeast
Coffee and cacao beans are fermented. Similar to wine, the flavor of the beans is determined by the type of yeasts and microorganisms present.
- A Moment of Science
Solving a new problem with an old remedy
From DIY oven cleaner to removing odor from rugs, baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, has long been known as an essential home cleaning agent.
- A Moment of Science
Think like a penguin: Finding your niche
A "niche" is an organism's special "slot" in an ecosystem that allows it to co-exist with other species.
- A Moment of Science
Going for a spin and getting dizzy
When someone moves, fluid sloshes inside the ears’ semicircular canals. The fluid tugs at tiny strands of hair.
- A Moment of Science
The risk astronauts take with the Sun
The Apollo astronauts were at risk of something many people don't know about. The Sun.
- A Moment of Science
Are you a tick magnet?
We all know someone who goes for a walk in the woods, and comes back with many ticks crawling on them.