60-second Science

Rosemarie Truman, CEO of the Center for Advancing Innovation, says a better system of governance for federally funded inventions could lead to many more good ones becoming commercialized.  

Researchers trained machine-learning algorithms to pinpoint the location of a cargo ship simply by eavesdropping on the sound of its passing. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Analysis of alleged yeti samples found them to be from less fantastic beasts, such as bears, but also shed light on the evolution of those local bear populations.

An analysis of voter opinions finds that half of Republican voters think climate change is happening, and would support regulating CO2 as a pollutant. Christopher Intagliata reports.

At the World Conference of Science Journalists in October, Nathan Myhrvold, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, charged innovation outfits with changing the lives of the world's most disadvantaged.  

A social scientist studies how car stickers turn the roads into actual information highways.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By listening to the calls of their brethren, chimps seem to be able to understand the mind-sets and perspectives of other chimps. Jason Goldman reports.

About half the honeybees in a test exhibited no sidedness, but the other half was split 50–50 between righties and lefties—perhaps to navigate obstacles more efficiently.  

Researchers attached cameras to humpback whales and found that they flap their flippers to help power forward swimming.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Estimating cranberry harvests involves tedious hand-counting. But microwave analysis could change all that. Christopher Intagliata reports.

A new analysis treats bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies as species in an evolutionary model—and finds bitcoin has no selective advantage. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Salmon excavate streambed holes in which to lay eggs, setting off a chain of events that has surprisingly large geographical effects.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New World societies long ago likely had less income inequality than those in the Old World, and the difference might have been an oxen gap. Christopher Intagliata reports.

The crested pigeon, found in Australia, has a modified wing feather that helps produce an alarm signal sound to warn other birds when there's trouble.  

A campaign calls for the creation of a statue to recognize Félicette, the first cat to be sent into space.  

The Bryde's whale has come up with a passive but more efficient feeding strategy in the hypoxic waters of the Gulf of Thailand.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Computer scientists borrowed insights from the fruit fly brain to create a more accurate search algorithm. Christopher Intagliata reports.

With some training, sheep were able to select a celebrity's face over that of a stranger they'd never seen. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SETI pioneer Jill Tarter and Berkeley researcher Dan Werthimer talk about how the discovery of nearby exoplanets is inspiring new efforts to gain info about these galactic neighbors.    

On National Bison Day, a look at the role the Bronx played in reestablishing herds of bison on the American plains.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices