60-second Science

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Canada to Kenya, including one about how humans thousands of years ago in what is now Argentina butchered and presumably ate giant ground sloths.

Rather than wiping microbes out, antiperspirants and foot powders increased the diversity of microbial flora in armpits and between toes. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two monkey species who last shared a common ancestor 3 million years ago have "eerily similar" alarm calls.

Millipedes, often blind, have come up with clever physical signals to ward off sexual advances from members of wrong species.

People appear to consume between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles annually, and that's probably a gross underestimate.

At the third Scientific American “Science on the Hill” event, “Solving the Plastic Waste Problem”, one of the issues discussed by experts on Capitol Hill was biodegradability.   

Researchers trained a neural network to scrutinize high school essays and sniff out ghostwritten papers. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Anthropologists found parasite eggs in ancient poop samples, providing a glimpse of human health as hunter-gatherers transitioned to settlements. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Murray Gell-Mann, 1969 Nobel Laureate in Physics who identified the quark, died May 24th.

Some wild female bonobos introduce their sons to desirable females—then make sure their relations won’t be interrupted by competing males. Karen Hopkin reports. 

Preterm babies who listened to music in the neonatal intensive care unit had brain activity that more closely resembled that of full-term babies. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new study suggests women's performance on math and verbal tasks increases as room temperature rises, up to about the mid 70s F. Christopher Intagliata reports.

A study found that only a small percentage of bird beak shape variation is dependent on diet, with other factors like display and nest construction probably playing parts too.

Chewing gums discovered in western Sweden contain the oldest human DNA found in Scandinavia. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frances Arnold, the Caltech scientist who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, says evolution can show us how to solve problems of sustainability.

Growing up in a home filled with books enhances enhances intellectual capacity in later life, even if you don't read them all.

A study finds that kids, especially daughters, are effective at teaching their parents about climate issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ammonia from penguin poop gets carried on Antarctic winds, fertilizing mosses and lichens as far as a mile away. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

The residue of ancient urine can reveal the presence of early stationary herder-farmer communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By dampening the energy of waves, coral reefs protect coastal cities from flooding damage and other economic losses. Christopher Intagliata reports.