Indoor Tanning
Despite the serious risk of melanoma, indoor tanning remains alarmingly popular, especially among young women.
Podcast for 10 May 2013
EYES, EARS & THE BRAIN - How short-term hearing loss protects the ears. The brain's number hotspot. And: could lasers wipe out cocaine addiction? Also: A nanosponge that soaks up toxins in the body.
Numeral Hotspot
Scientists have discovered the area of the brain dedicated to recognizing numerals.
Sound & Memory
Playing soundwaves synchronized with a person's own deep sleep rhythms may improve short-term memory.
Podcast for 12 April 2013
ATHLETES & ROBOTS - Elite athletes are far from dumb jocks. A common ingredient in energy drinks could promote heart disease. Also: Robots that learn by watching us, and robots that can walk on sand.
Sharing Kids
New research suggests that young children understand the concept of fairness, but desire gets in the way of sharing.
Psychology Roundup
A new study suggests that mindfulness training can help people stay focused on tasks.
Highly Observant Robots
New robots are learning how to handle objects by watching humans.
Fragile X Neurons
Fragile X Syndrome, a leading genetic cause of intellectual impairments, may actually result from too much brain activity.
Humidity vs. The Flu
Low humidity may increase the transmissibility of the influenza virus indoors.
Sleep & Gene Expression
Just one week of sleep deprivation alters the expression of at least 711 different genes.
Mental Housekeeping
Cells that eat up defective brain cells may also target healthy cells during development.
New Genetics Roundup
Scientists discover shared genetic markers for five common psychiatric disorders.
Podcast for 8 March 2013
INSECTS & ALCOHOL - Insects that arm their offspring with alcohol. Drinking may have a 10 million year history. And the importance of wild insects to the worldwide food supply. Also: prosthetic ears from a 3-D printer and seals that sleep with one eye open.
Video Game Roundup
Some video games can improve surgeons’ skills and help children with learning disorders.
Alcohol Origins
Did our ability to digest alcohol first emerge at the dawn of civilization or millions of years earlier?
Podcast for 1 March 2013
SWEET SCIENCE - What tomatoes can tell us about cutting back on sugar and a diabetes cure for dogs. Also, behind the mechanics of beatboxing, the evolution of whales, and writing your way to a better relationship.
Dental Roundup
Ancient people had beneficial bacteria to fight dental plaque that is absent in modern populations.
Beatbox Sounds
MRI scans of beatboxers show that they've unwittingly borrowed sounds from exotic languages.
Relationship Roundup
Could a short writing exercise improve your relationship?
Hard Labor
Other people help human mothers through the emotional and physical aspects of the birth process, which help decrease the risks of childbirth. But apes have easy births, and prefer to go it alone.
Picasso’s Paint
High-energy X rays have resolved a longstanding question about Picasso's materials.
Podcast for 16 February 2013
2013 AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, BOSTON, MA - Researchers are discussing how to treat psychological problems in chimpanzees, and why childbirth is such an ordeal in humans but not in apes. Also: scientific detectives have solved an art mystery. And researchers have unveiled ultrathin, wireless sensors that can monitor your brain activity.
Hard Labor – 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting Coverage
Other people help human mothers through the emotional and physical aspects of the birth process, which help decrease the risks of childbirth. But apes have easy births, and prefer to go it alone.