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
What are contrails?
Why do airplanes sometimes leave contrails behind, and what are they exactly?
- A Moment of Science
How does carbon dioxide impact our ability to think?
At high levels, carbon dioxide can affect the brain to cause impaired thinking.
- A Moment of Science
Dinosaurs may have had malaria
Scientists discovered a type of malaria in a twenty-million-year-old mosquito fossil from the Dominican Republic preserved in amber.
- A Moment of Science
Murphy's breakfast never goes to plan
If you're eating toast, and you accidentally bump it to the floor, it seems more likely to land buttered side down.
- A Moment of Science
Bacteria feel full, too
We've been hearing a lot about the importance of gut bacteria. Now it seems that bacteria also have a say in how and when we eat.
- A Moment of Science
How the motor cortex treats words
The instant you decide to move your foot, the part of your brain's motor cortex responsible for sending commands to the foot goes into action. So what does…
- A Moment of Science
What a steel!
Have you ever prepared a meal that required lots of garlic and found that after all of that chopping your hands reek of garlic for the rest of the night?
- A Moment of Science
Cafeteria plate dispensers reveal facts about atoms
You take a plate off the top of one stack. The other plates in the stack rise from below just far enough to present the next plate at the same height as the…
- A Moment of Science
Is it ok to swallow watermelon seeds?
A few seeds from fruits such as watermelons or apples passing through your digestive tract won't hurt you. But they won't help you much either.
- A Moment of Science
What exactly was Little Miss Muffet eating?
Little Miss Muffet, sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey. But what even is that?
- A Moment of Science
Vampire bats are good at sharing
It may surprise you to learn that vampire bats are one of the most well-known examples of sharing in the animal kingdom.
- A Moment of Science
Testing your reaction time
How fast are your reflexes? Test them out with a falling dollar.
- A Moment of Science
Why don't elephants get cancer?
Since elephants are so big, they have way more cells than most animals. Which means more opportunities for elephant cells to go crazy and become cancerous. So…
- A Moment of Science
What events actually make us happy?
Major events often make people happy, but does this last very long?
- A Moment of Science
Desert ants navigate with the magnetic field
When ants first leave their nest to begin their jobs as foragers, they first have to make sure they can find their way home.
- A Moment of Science
Life thrives in the seabed of hydrothermal vents
From stories of giant monsters to little green Martians, we humans can imagine some pretty strange creatures. Life, however, offers plenty of surprises here on…
- A Moment of Science
Moths are evolving to avoid city lights
Moths are a lot less attracted to artificial light than they used to be. Learn more about what that means with today's A Moment of Science!
- A Moment of Science
Recognizing different relatives
Other animals besides humans learn to recognize their relatives
- A Moment of Science
Jellyfish thrive in cold water, too
Jellyfish, delicate and soft as they may be, thrive even in places you might not go swimming—including the Arctic.
- A Moment of Science
Mona Lisa's smile: now you see it, now you don't
Any list of the world's top ten most famous paintings will surely include da Vinci's "Mona Lisa." Part of the painting's appeal is its mystery.
- A Moment of Science
Rethinking dopamine
Scientists are now considering the role that dopamine plays in our bodies’ response to other stimuli, such as surprising, new, or negative events.
- A Moment of Science
The sensitivity of dog noses
Did you know that dog’s noses can be tens of thousands of times more sensitive than ours?
- A Moment of Science
The curious case of microbial invasion
‘Biological invasion’ is a phenomenon that occurs when a foreign organism establishes within a community of organisms that it otherwise wouldn’t be associated…
- A Moment of Science
What's the difference between hair and fur?
Hair and fur are practically identical. How can that be?
- A Moment of Science
Bees have figured out some sweet, sweet math
When you think of beehive, your first thought may be of honey oozing out of the iconic hexagonal cells. Remarkable as the honey may be, though, the cells…
- A Moment of Science
Making a new mouth for every meal
Microscopic hydras will trap and paralyze their prey. The next step usually is to stuff their mouths, only hydras usually don't have mouths.
- A Moment of Science
DNA and RNA in a genetic museum
When it comes to researching extinct animals the focus has almost entirely been on DNA because it tends to stand the test of time better, but RNA is the real…
- A Moment of Science
How cockroaches get away
The all-too-familiar American cockroach almost seems to know where you're going to strike. What's the tip-off that sends the cockroach running?
- A Moment of Science
Seeing color out of the corner of your eye
If you look at a green door at the edge of your field of vision, it's still green. Simple right? Not quite.
- A Moment of Science
Tardigrades are even stranger than they appear
Tardigrades look strange, but they're made up of even stranger stuff.
- A Moment of Science
The mermaid, the witch, and climate change?
Some academics have turned to creative sources to translate what existing research tells us about climate problems and policy responses: fairy tale characters.
- A Moment of Science
You are what you eat, even for extinct Caribbean rodents
In 2018, scientists from Johns Hopkins and the University of Cincinnati attempted the first study of extinct Hispaniolan rodents using isotopes. What can…
- A Moment of Science
Firefly flashes are mating signals
Male fireflies cruise the evening air, flashing their lanterns in a pattern characteristic of their species, looking for females of their own kind.
- A Moment of Science
The ocean is changing color
About 56% of the ocean’s surface has changed in color. An expanse larger than Earth’s entire land surface has become slightly greener.
- A Moment of Science
What makes fluorescent colors so bright?
Have you ever wondered why fluorescent colors -- like you see in highlighters or clothing dyes, for instance - seem so much brighter than other colors?
- A Moment of Science
The importance of the magnetic field for life on Earth
What did the Earth need to become habitable?
- A Moment of Science
Why are dogs such messy drinkers?
Dogs aren't quite as graceful as we humans when it comes to taking a drink. But you might give your pooch more credit if you knew that her lapping method is…
- A Moment of Science
Wallabies in England?
Imagine yourself walking through the English countryside. You might expect to come across some squirrels, moles, foxes, and badgers. However, you may find an…
- A Moment of Science
Rats stay closer together in colder temperatures
Have you ever watched a bunch of rats hanging out together? You might notice something interesting.
- A Moment of Science
Air pressure and drinking straws
When you sit down to a glass of iced tea with a straw in it, you might say that you are sucking the tea up through the straw. But is this accurate?
- A Moment of Science
Today's sturgeon is a blast from the past
If you want a piece of living history, where would you look? You could visit California’s giant redwoods, or simply watch the birds, those descendants of…
- A Moment of Science
Your skin's thermometer
What temperature is comfortable for your skin? The answer might be different from air temperature.
- A Moment of Science
Don't count out moths when it comes to pollination
When you think of pollination, you probably think of bees buzzing around on a bright summer day.
- A Moment of Science
Why would you drive a cockroach?
Scientists found a way to drive a cockroach the way you might drive a car. What does that mean?
- A Moment of Science
How do insects drink?
Insects need water just like the rest of us, so how do they drink?
- A Moment of Science
Healing damage from a heart attack
Some medical researchers are looking for new ways to prevent heart attack damage from happening.
- A Moment of Science
Does money bring happiness?
According to that famous Beatles song, no: "Money Can't Buy Me Love." But, of course, the Beatles also had a hit with their cover of the Motown song "Money…
- A Moment of Science
The yeast that was lost and found
Ask any brewer and they will tell you that yeast is the secret to making beer.
- A Moment of Science
Does trampling the lawn really harm the grass?
Hurting a blade of grass isn't the end of its life. But how does it affect the soil?
- A Moment of Science
Stink bugs aren't all bad
Many species of stink bugs are also pests, but some are beneficial.
- A Moment of Science
Don't tie yourself in (muscle) knots
You might be sitting in your car. Or slouching at your desk. Or hunched over your phone. Take a minute to think: are you comfortable?
- A Moment of Science
Gone fishing, virtually
A lot of the time phishing is used by people who want to steal your personal information and bank account numbers.
- A Moment of Science
Stressed out quails and their eggs
There's been a long debate between nature and nurture. Scientists have found evidence of a quail's environment impacting egg development.
- A Moment of Science
Social isolation and inflammation
There’s research showing that social isolation is associated with increase inflammation in the body.
- A Moment of Science
There's plastic dust all over our national parks
Our national parks are being coated in dust: plastic dust.
- A Moment of Science
Wishing on a meteor shower's shooting stars
If you see a shooting star, make a wish. If you see scores of shooting stars, make a note: you’re witnessing a meteor shower.
- A Moment of Science
How do apples get their shine?
All fruits and vegetables produce a natural, dull waxy coating that acts a barrier to the outside world.
- A Moment of Science
Why do we get so enraged?
Sometimes, something small can really set our anger off. Why does this happen?
- A Moment of Science
Chewers, crunchers, smooshers, and suckers. How do you eat?
While we all have different tastes when it comes to food, the process of chewing seems to be something we share.