Best A Moment of Science (amomentofscience.org Podcasts (2024)

1
Why do our eyes get puffy when we cry? 2:00

1d ago2:00

2:00

When you cry for emotional reasons, your eyes act differently. So what happens next?By Indiana Public Media

1
Immune cells and the struggle against aging 2:00

2d ago2:00

2:00

Aging is a complex process involving accumulating damage to the cellular mechanisms of life. Anti-aging researchers want to understand and combat this process to give us healthier and longer lives.By Indiana Public Media

1
Color-changing monkeys 2:00

3d ago2:00

2:00

A species of howler monkey isn't dying its fur, but they are changing color.By Indiana Public Media

1
The spider that gives milk 2:00

6d ago2:00

2:00

Cows and humans aren't the only ones who produce milk. There are also some insects and spiders that produce a milk-like substance to feed their young.By Indiana Public Media

1
Queen of the drowned: Bumblebees that can survive a week underwater 2:00

7d ago2:00

2:00

When water leaked into containers of dormant queen bumblebees, the scientists assumed they’d need to hold a state funeral. But amazingly, the regal insects lived, despite drowning!By Indiana Public Media

1
Climate change is making insects eat more crops 2:00

8d ago2:00

2:00

Scientists are saying that as the climate warms and temperatures rise, we might lose more crops to insects.By Indiana Public Media

1
Brick by magnetic brick 2:00

9d ago2:00

2:00

Did you know that ancient bricks are magnetic?By Indiana Public Media

1
Pandas always know what's for dinner 2:00

10d ago2:00

2:00

These days, pandas have bamboo for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But that wasn't always the case.By Indiana Public Media

1
Emotion differentiation makes you less angry 2:00

13d ago2:00

2:00

Although we all get angry at times, for some people anger turns to aggression, while for others it doesn’t. The reasons for this have to do with how we regulate our emotions.By Indiana Public Media

1
An amphibian mother feeds her offspring with 'milk' 2:00

14d ago2:00

2:00

Human mothers secrete milk to feed their babies. So do other mammals. Biologists now know that many other kinds of animal mothers also secrete milk-like nutritious substances to feed their offspring.By Indiana Public Media

1
Cultured fruit flies 2:00

15d ago2:00

2:00

Fruit flies might not have manners when they invade your home, but they do have culture.By Indiana Public Media

1
The ocean's fish need more clean water 2:00

16d ago2:00

2:00

Making their way through polluted water, fish become disoriented, as sights, smells, and sounds crowd the waters. Chemical and noise pollution, and reduced water clarity, interfere with the senses, as well as the fishes’ natural instincts.By Indiana Public Media

1
Putting science on display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 2:00

17d ago2:00

2:00

These days, you can hear about self-driving cars when you turn on the news, or you can browse store shelves for high-tech gadgets. But in the mid-nineteenth century, there was one go-to place for the public to view scientific achievement: the Great Exhibition.By Indiana Public Media

1
Optics and glue 2:00

20d ago2:00

2:00

A simple exercise to do at home with A Moment of ScienceBy Indiana Public Media

1
Would you drink this? 2:00

21d ago2:00

2:00

Would you drink a mixture of acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, acetone, acetic acid, and a few of the compounds known as hexenals, which give fresh-cut grass is characteristic odor?By Indiana Public Media

1
Schools of fish are silent swimmers 2:00

22d ago2:00

2:00

Swimming in a school has a lot of benefits for fish, from social opportunities to avoiding predators to finding more food.By Indiana Public Media

1
Orangutans talk about the past 2:00

23d ago2:00

2:00

Researchers have heard orangutans make the noise after the danger has passed—a sign that they’re communicating about the past, and the first evidence that primates other than humans have that ability.By Indiana Public Media

1
Making an egg-cellent cake 2:00

24d ago2:00

2:00

Craving dessert? Today’s episode considers some particularly sweet science: the importance of eggs for baking a cake.By Indiana Public Media

1
Giving a gull a break 2:00

27d ago2:00

2:00

It’s a tough world out there, so really, what’s a gull to do?By Indiana Public Media

1
It's not just the heat, it's the humidity 2:00

28d ago2:00

2:00

If the air temperature gets close to our body temperature, something more is needed to keep the skin cooler than the inner body. We sweat.By Indiana Public Media

1
Coprophagy keeps birds healthy 2:00

29d ago2:00

2:00

By human standards, some animals’ eating habits are strange, and even disgusting. One example is coprophagy—eating poop.By Indiana Public Media

1
How to see what soap does to water 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

Water molecules attract each other. The molecules at the surface of a body of water make a film under tension. That film is strong enough to support a needle or a small insect like a water strider.By Indiana Public Media

1
Your friendly Amazonian slingshot spider 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

Researchers reported that they discovered a tiny spider in the Peruvian Amazon rain forest that has a behavior that’s surprisingly similar to the web-slinging superhero.By Indiana Public Media

1
Reflecting on how others see you 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

One mirror is not enough to see yourself as others see you. When you look at a bathroom mirror you see an image of yourself with left and right reversed.By Indiana Public Media

1
The fault that runs through Scotland 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

If you look at a map of Scotland, you may notice a line cutting straight through the country. This line, called the Great Glen Fault, is the result of a long geological history that has in turn impacted the history of Scotland itself.By Indiana Public Media

1
Why does cotton wrinkle? 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

A cool, dry cotton fiber springs back after being bent. A warm, damp cotton fiber doesn't. Moisture and temperature make the difference.By Indiana Public Media

1
A tarantula with the blues 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

Blue jays, poison dart frogs, and peacocks—each of these animals is distinct for their same vibrant color. But have you ever seen a blue spider?By Indiana Public Media

1
When is yellow really yellow? 2:02

1M ago2:02

2:02

Why a mix of red light and green light looks yellow, in this Moment of Science.By Indiana Public Media

1
Male mammals aren't always bigger than females 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

Evolutionary biologists thought it was a general rule among mammals that males are bigger, but that's not always the case.By Indiana Public Media

1
Robert Hook found a surprise in cork 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

The 17th-century English physicist Robert Hooke was curious about the remarkable properties of cork -- its ability to float, its springy quality, its usefulness in sealing bottles. Hooke investigated the structure of cork with a new scientific instrument he was very enthusiastic about: the microscope.…

1
A summer night mystery: heat lightning 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

One of the more mysterious pleasures of a warm summer evening is the spectacle of lightning from distant thunderstorms, flickering silently on the horizon while stars shine overhead. People usually call it heat lightning.By Indiana Public Media

1
Why one rotten apple can spoil the barrel 2:00

1M ago2:00

2:00

Learn about the role that ethylene plays in ripening fruit with today's A Moment of ScienceBy Indiana Public Media

1
Speedy snails 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Over the past 100,000 years, a snail species has done what it normally takes a species millions of years to do: give live birth.By Indiana Public Media

1
Rediscovered in a museum drawer 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

The distant past is poorly known, and paleontologists find fossil evidence for new large animals all the time.By Indiana Public Media

1
The fruit that grows on trees, literally 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Jabuticaba is a fruit native to Brazil. It’s the size and color of a plum, with a white pulp and several seedsBy Indiana Public Media

1
What makes dreams so hard to remember? 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Perhaps you’ve heard that the average person dreams four to six times each night. But did you know that most of us are unable to recall 90% of our dreams?By Indiana Public Media

1
Otter heroes with a secret mission 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

The carefree southern sea otters of central California’s coast have had a secret mission: working to fight the devastating loss of kelp forests due to anthropogenic climate change.By Indiana Public Media

1
What animals will thrive in the next century? 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Researchers used statistical tools to forecast which characteristics the animals of the future will likely have.By Indiana Public Media

1
Parenting styles and telomeres 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Research suggests there's a link between parenting styles and health effects later in lifeBy Indiana Public Media

1
Saved by the boil 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

As any aficionado will tell you, water can be just as important as the tea leaves themselves when it comes to a good brew.By Indiana Public Media

1
Why are glass bottles different colors? 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

If the color of the bottles was significant enough to control how they’re recycled, then surely the color was more than cosmetic. So what's the reason why wine bottles are olive-green and beer bottles are amber?By Indiana Public Media

1
The future of New Zealand's birds 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Because of the isolation, New Zealand has evolved a unique set of animals dominated by abundant bird species found nowhere else.By Indiana Public Media

1
A matter of preference 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Exposure to music, art, and architecture can have a formative impact on our sense of self.By Indiana Public Media

1
Humans aren't unique when it comes to fingerprints 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Fingerprints might be unique to one person, but they aren't unique to one species.By Indiana Public Media

1
The starch difference 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Have you ever made rice that was perfectly fluffy and then the next day, taken it out of the fridge only to find it hard and crumbly?By Indiana Public Media

1
How do our organs heal themselves? 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Normally, when tissue gets injured, cells start replicating and make new tissue. But what about the heart?By Indiana Public Media

1
Benjamin Franklin and his fabric swatches in the snow 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

In a letter written in 1761, Benjamin Franklin tells how he collected some little squares of broadcloth. Franklin wanted to demonstrate that these colors would absorb different amounts of light from the sun and convert the light to different amounts of heat.By Indiana Public Media

1
Extremophiles go to the ends of the Earth and thrive there 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

Just like Goldilocks, humans have searched for a place that's "just right" to live in. That's not the same for all species, though.By Indiana Public Media

1
Colors and their opposites, with paint 2:00

2M ago2:00

2:00

We usually think of paint as a substance that adds color to things. But, from a physical point of view, paint works by taking colors away.By Indiana Public Media