October 18, 2018 |
Kangaroos in Trees
- Tree kangaroos hop up trees instead of swinging through them like monkeys.
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October 8, 2018 |
Giraffe Spot Inheritance
- Scientists discover that giraffes inherit their spots.
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September 26, 2018 |
IDing Ivory Poachers
- Elephant DNA and complex data analysis are helping to prosecute poachers.
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September 12, 2018 |
Flightless Genes
- Researchers identify genetic factors that grounded a species of birds whose relatives all can fly.
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September 7, 2018 |
INSECTS & SPIDERS
- INSECTS & SPIDERS (Encore Edition) - Could spider venom be the next insecticide? Why mosquitoes smell you better at night. And debunking the myth of extracting dinosaur DNA from insects preserved in amber. Also, insect legs that bear an uncanny resemblance to modern machinery.
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August 28, 2018 |
Queen Bees
- The diet of baby bee larvae activates genes that turn some into workers and others into queens.
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August 10, 2018 |
DNA in Amber
- Could scientists really get dinosaur DNA from insects preserved in amber?
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July 31, 2018 |
Prettier Produce
- With the help of gene editing, fruits and vegetables may soon become prettier and more delicious.
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July 20, 2018 |
Smart Houseplants
- Could genetically engineered houseplants protect our homes?
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July 16, 2018 |
Lost Whales
- Whales used the Mediterranean as breeding grounds during ancient Roman times.
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June 26, 2018 |
Songbird Culture
- How a small songbird’s cultural traditions persist for more than a thousand years.
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May 29, 2018 |
Green-Blooded Lizards
- Some lizards thrive despite a toxic pigment that turns their blood green.
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May 22, 2018 |
Our Insect-Eating Ancestors
- What did our mammalian ancestors eat during the age of the dinosaurs? The answer might bug you.
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April 26, 2018 |
Earth Genome
- Scientists set out to sequence the genome of every species on Earth.
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April 13, 2018 |
Sizing Up Dogs II
- A listener asks whether it's true that large dogs don't live as long as small dogs.
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April 4, 2018 |
Designer DNA
- Bits of DNA may prevent neurons from producing a disease-causing protein.
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March 20, 2018 |
Venomous Mammal
- Scientists decode the genome of a rare, primitive mammal with a venomous bite.
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February 28, 2018 |
Loopy DNA
- How a protein keeps DNA neat, tidy, and ready to replicate.
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February 22, 2018 |
UV Extinction
- A new theory into a cataclysmic die-off.
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January 25, 2018 |
Pachyderms get the Point
- Elephants, unlike mammals much more similar to us, seem to instinctively understand pointing gestures.
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January 9, 2018 |
Anti-Poaching Rhino DNA
- Matching poached rhino horns to the scene of the crime using DNA to nab wildlife traffickers.
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January 8, 2018 |
Bonobo Bad Guys
- One of our closest relatives, the bonobos, may have very different attitudes toward altruistic behavior in others.
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January 3, 2018 |
Halitosis Gene
- Researchers sniff out a halitosis gene.
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December 12, 2017 |
Pterosaur Eggs
- A new fossil find in China sheds light on how pterosaurs reproduced.
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December 11, 2017 |
No Cut Gene Editing
- A new form of gene therapy could correct genetic disorders with less risk.
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December 4, 2017 |
Nucleic Acid Dipstick
- Scientists develop a device that can purify genetic material from any organism right in the field.
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November 14, 2017 |
Human Size Evolution
- Our ancestors and their extinct relatives grew in height and weight at different times.
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October 30, 2017 |
Masked Dinosaur
- Remnants of pigments in the fossils of dinosaur feathers provide clues to how they looked and behaved in life.
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October 20, 2017 |
Beak Evolution
- More than a century of backyard bird feeding may have lengthened one bird species’ beaks.
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October 17, 2017 |
Skin Tone Genes
- The genetic origins of dark and light skin.
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October 9, 2017 |
Identical Triplets
- A listener asks if identical triplets are possible.
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October 5, 2017 |
Origins of RNA
- Ephemeral pools of water may have been the cradle of life.
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September 22, 2017 |
Poison Frogs
- Why don’t poison frogs poison themselves?
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September 21, 2017 |
Bash the Bug
- Citizen scientists help search for the best treatments for tuberculosis.
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September 20, 2017 |
Sizing Up Extinction
- Being the “right-size” helps protect species from extinction.
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September 19, 2017 |
Butterfly Wing Patterns
- Butterfly wings help reveal the genetics underlying coloration patterns.
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September 15, 2017 |
DNA Cargo Robots
- DNA robots move and sort nanoscale-sized payloads.
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September 7, 2017 |
Environmental DNA Collection
- Conducting a census of species using environmental DNA.
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September 1, 2017 |
Leaf Size Limits
- What limits the maximum size of a plant’s leaves?
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July 24, 2017 |
Whale Diet & Genetics
- A genetic difference between the two types of whales that could partially explain why some became so gigantic.
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July 10, 2017 |
Mosquito-Killing Fungi
- Scorpion and spider genes boost a fungi’s mosquito-killing ability.
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June 26, 2017 |
Egg Shape
- An exhaustive analysis of birds and their eggs may explain why eggs vary in shape.
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June 2, 2017 |
Flightless Genes
- Researchers identify genetic factors that grounded a species of birds whose relatives all can fly.
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May 29, 2017 |
Giant Whale Evolution
- A changing climate three million years ago drove whales to evolve to the giant size they are today.
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May 8, 2017 |
Albatross Satellites
- High-resolution space satellites monitor threatened albatross populations in remote areas of the world.
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April 26, 2017 |
The Amino Acids of Life
- How did the proteins forming life on earth come to be formed from just twenty of the the many possible amino acids available?
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April 25, 2017 |
Dinosaur Proteins
- Ancient dinosaur proteins could reveal how the Mesozoic creatures dealt with high carbon dioxide levels.
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April 24, 2017 |
Star-Nosed Moles
- What star-nosed moles reveal about the specialized mammalian brain.
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April 21, 2017 |
Oxygen-Deprived Mole-rats
- An odd-looking little mammal uses a trick from the plant kingdom to survive without oxygen.
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March 10, 2017 |
Avian Athletes
- Scientists are learning from birds’ amazing metabolisms to help human athletes perform better on the ground.
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