This is scientific American 60 seconds science. I'm hop kin. just take a minute. Thinking of eating out over the holidays, while you might consider bring your own plate, because the new study shows the typical dishwashing procedures used by most rest...
Humpback whales sing most frequently where and when they breed. But researchers have just discovered that whales can sing complex songs even when diving and foraging, when its neither the time nor the place for mating behaviour. The study is publishe...
This is a season when becteria sinus infections run rampant, but some people are better able to ward off that malady. And they can be identified by their taste buds, because those of us who can better detect bitter flavors may also be better equipped...
This Scientific Americans podcast is sponsored by audible.com, the number-one online resource for best-selling audio books and more. And now audible.com is offering Scientific American listeners a free audio book of your choice. For details go to aud...
You vote for politicians based on their views, right? That's how it works in theory. But other factors can sway your vote. Like a politician's voice. Because studies show that the deeper the voice, the more electable the candidate. And not just for m...
You vote for politicians based on their views, right? Thats how it works in theory, but other facts can sway your votes like politicians voice. Because a study showed that the deeper the voice, the more electable the candidate. And not just for men,...
What prehistoric genius first discovered how to transform milk into delicious cheese? We may never find out, but we now know that humans were purposefully making cheese as early as 7,500 years ago. The finding is in the journal Nature. To make cheese...
What does an 800-pound gorilla eat? If you said: anything it wants, youre not thinking like a scientist. A scientist would say, Let me analyze the isotopic composition of its excreta and Ill get back to you. Because a new study shows that the ratio o...
Porcupines sport some 30,000 quills, which easily penetrate fleshand then stay stuck in it. Now, scientists have analyzed the shape of individual quills to discover what makes them so effectiveand how we can harness their power for medical devices. T...
Who was the better artist, a caveman or Leonardo da Vinci? It turns out that early depictions of four-legged animals walking are more accurate in some ways than modern oneseven those crafted by the Renaissance master. The study is in the journal PLoS...
