Water Skiing Beetles
Specialized wings and claws propel a beetle across water at breakneck speeds.
Aggressive Mouse Brains
Researchers probe the neural roots of violence by studying the brains of belligerent mice.
World Champion Dragonflies
One species of dragonfly traverses vast oceans to breed.
Birds & Alligators
Though mortal enemies, alligators and water birds team up against raccoons in the Florida Everglades.
Insects vs. Birds
The loud noise of insects causes some tropical birds to delay the onset of their morning song.
Podcast for 5 August 2011
BATS & DOLPHINS (Encore Presentation): Dolphins that heal themselves, and dolphins that use electroreception in addition to echolocation. Also, How vampire bats find their prey, and how a Cuban plant takes advantage of a bat's ability to echolocate.
Female Songbirds
Female house wrens sing to defend their nest sites from intruders.
Robo-Roaches
Small, maneuverable robots based on cockroaches could be deployed in disaster zones to find human survivors.
Parasites & Chimp Behavior
A microscopic parasite compels chimpanzees toward their worst enemy.
Singing Fruit Flies
Scientists listen in on fruit fly courtship calls to study the neural underpinnings of communication.
Hares & Climate Change
Snowshoe hares can’t help turning white in winter, even though climate change is delaying the first snowfall, making them easy prey.
Casino Rats
Studying how rats respond to the same cues that encourage people to make unwise bets could lead to better treatments for problem gambling.
Arthropods Among Us
Researchers attempt to inventory all of the insects and other creepy crawlies in people’s homes for the first time.
Caffeine Eating Microbes
A major coffee pest consumes otherwise lethal doses of caffeine with help from a few of its friends.
Moonlit Migrations
Zooplankton in the Arctic Ocean migrate by the light of the moon.
Bee Maps
A first-ever national bee map reveals where native bees are most in need of help.
Nesting Dogs
A listener asks why dogs sometimes turn around in circles before lying down.
Cheetah Genes
The African cheetahs we know today likely migrated there from North America around 100,000 years ago.
Prairie Vole Fidelity
Prairie voles that cheat on their mates might be able to blame their spatial memories.
Toads vs. Fungi
Scientists demonstrate that it’s possible to locally vanquish a fungal disease that’s been wiping out frogs, toads and salamanders around the world.
Vibrating Flies
Researchers keep a citrus-killing fly from mating by jamming its unique courtship calls.
Jellyfish Propulsion
Jellyfish swim the opposite way of how we assumed.
High-Tech Bee Monitors
Scientists monitor the health of bee colonies by analyzing the vibrations the insects make within their hives.
Invisible Frogs
A Science Update listener wants to know the identity of a nightly neighborhood noisemaker.