Sex, Flies & Alcohol
Sex-deprived male fruit flies consume more alcohol than sexually satisfied flies.
Blowing Away Germs
A listener asks if opening all the windows will spread cold and flu germs around.
Naked Mole Rat Brains
Researchers have figured out why naked mole rats are resistant to stroke.
Australian Extinction
Human hunters drove Australia’s largest animals to extinction around 40,000 years ago.
Podcast for 23 March 2012
EVOLUTION & EXTINCTION - What really happened to Australia's missing megafauna, how carnivores lost their sweet tooth, why lovelorn fruit flies resort to alcohol, strategic miscarriages in monkeys, and a new frog species is discovered in plain sight.
Podcast for 16 March 2012
SCIENCE OF SOCIETY - Do wealthier people tend to have fewer scruples? The social costs of mass incarceration. Seeing-eye smartphones for the blind. And, new evidence calls an accepted tenet of science into question. Also: how to make plastic from plants.
Extremely Tiny Horses
Ancient horses shrank when global temperatures rose.
Cellular Quality Control
A newly discovered protein regulates the quality of our DNA.
Egg-Producing Stem Cells
Contrary to popular belief, women can produce new egg cells in adulthood.
Podcast for 9 March 2012
NEW MEDICINE - A rare mutation that protects people from diabetes and cancer. How the pancreas "tastes" sugar. And a new implantable microchip that delivers an osteoporosis drug. Also: chimpanzees may yawn for the same reason humans do.
Fructose-Tasting Pancreas
Taste receptors on the pancreas may enable fructose sweeteners to boost obesity.
Podcast for 2 March 2012
ALL ABOUT LANGUAGE - Neuroscientists are beginning to reconstruct what we've heard by listening to brainwaves, how scientists measure language delays around the world, using technology to keep endangered languages vibrant, and a musical instrument that allows you to sing...with your hands, Also: decoding the secret language of worms.
Nanotech Roundup
The flight of butterflies could inspire miniature flying robots.
Boosting Photosynthesis
Researchers are trying to boost the efficiency of photosynthesis in crops like soybeans, rice and potatoes to feed the world’s growing population.
Podcast for 18 February 2012
AAAS 2012 ANNUAL MEETING SPECIAL - This week, we're coming to you from Vancouver, British Columbia, where scientists are gathering to tackle issues or global importance, such as how to boost crop productivity to feed a growing population, and making cookstoves safer for the world's poor. Also: video games to combat cataracts, and ultra-thin electronics printed with silver ink.
Worm Language
Nematode worms have a surprisingly complex communication system.
Music-Powered Sensor
Sound waves from music, particularly rap, could charge up medical implants.
Brain Window
Researchers have captured images of single brain cells in a live animal.
Death by Clock Shift
A fruit fly study clearly links biological clock disruption to neurodegeneration and early death.
A Dog’s Eye View of People
One key to our successful long-term relationship with dogs may lie in the eyes.
Kinder, Gentler Monkeys
Rhesus macaque monkeys become kinder after inhaling the hormone oxytocin.
Weightless Flies
Magnetically levitated flies may help researchers study the effects of weightlessness.
Podcast for 20 January 2012
ANIMALS & PEOPLE - Levitating flies, what dogs and babies have in common, how oxytocin makes kinder, gentler monkeys, a fish that mimics an octopus that mimics a fish, and how bats hear with both sides of the brain.