60-Second Science

Mine Injuries Rise Right after Daylight Saving Time

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:30:08 -0500

In a study in the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers found that the Monday after the change to Daylight Saving Time is marked by an increase in work-related injuries. Steve Mirsky reports

Arranged Marriages Can Be Real Love Connection

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:30:08 -0500

Speaking March 10th at the 92nd Street Y's Tribeca site in New York City, Scientific American MIND contributing editor Robert Epstein discussed how arranged marriages can surpass love matches for long-term contentment. Steve Mirsky reports

Message to Mosquitoes: Urine Trouble

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:50:08 -0500

In a study in the American Journal of Physiology--Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, researchers report a novel method for killing disease-carrying mosquitoes: interfere with their urination. Cynthia Graber reports

Does Getting Fat Protect against Fat?

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 08:10:08 -0500

In a paper in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers argue that getting fat is the body's way of storing fat correctly, and that metabolic problems kick in when we get so fat that fat infiltrates organs not equipped to deal with it. Karen Hopkin reports

Attention Shoppers: You Underestimated Your Bill

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 08:27:08 -0500

A study in the Journal of Marketing shows that shoppers are not good at estimating the total cost of what they have in their shopping carts. Karen Hopkin reports

Mosquitoes, Not Birds, Made West Nile National

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 09:40:08 -0500

A study in the journal Molecular Ecology looked at West Nile Virus spread versus bird migration patterns and mosquito movement and concluded mosquitoes, not birds, were probably the primary vector for taking the disease coast to coast in just five years. Adam Hinterthuer reports

Recycling Some Hospital Waste (Not the Really Gross Kind)

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 00:03:08 -0500

A study in the journal Academic Medicine shows that millions of dollars and pounds of refuse can be saved by recycling some medically related waste that often gets thrown away without even being used. Cynthia Graber reports

Whale Predecessors Had 100-Million-Year Run

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 00:03:08 -0500

A study in the journal Science shows that bony fish filter-feeders spent 100 million years developing and occupying the niche that baleen whales do now. Another Science study finds that whale diversity has been determined by the types of tiny organisms they eat. Cynthia Graber reports

Sinking Ships Imply Altruism Takes Time

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 00:20:08 -0500

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looked at the survival rates of men, woman and children from the Titanic and the Lusitania, and found more men stayed alive when the ship went down fast, and panic overtook chivalry. Karen Hopkin reports

Bigger Animals Keep a Stiff Lower Foot

Mon, 1 Mar 2010 09:10:08 -0500

A study in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface found that as mammalian animals increase in size, their feet do not scale up accordingly--but there is a general increase in the stiffness of the footpad. Karen Hopkin reports

Super Chicken Vision

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:43:08 -0500

A study in the journal Public Library of Science ONE finds that chickens have additional retinal cones compared with us, which allows them to discern additional colors. Karen Hopkin reports

End of the World [1999 Edition]

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:03:08 -0500

At the recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Stony Brook University's Robert Crease talked about how a 1999 article in Scientific American on Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and a future Nobel laureate got a few people thinking the planet was in jeopardy. Steve Mirsky reports

To Learn Better, Sleep on It

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:58:08 -0500

Naps help move new info from short-term memory storage in the hippocampus to long-term storage in the cortex, said U.C. Berkeley's Matthew Walker at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego on February 21. (In other words, zzzz's help the three R's.) Christie Nicholson reports

Immigrant Dust Feeds Rain Forests

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:03:08 -0500

Intercontinental dust helps fertilize lush forests in the Western Hemisphere and Hawaii, noted Oliver Chadwick of the University of California, Santa Barbara, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego on February 19th. Steve Mirsky reports

Despite Climategate, IPPC Mostly Underestimates Climate Change

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:46:08 -0500

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, James McCarthy of the Harvard Medical School Center for Health and the Global Environment noted that the IPCC usually errs on the conservative side. Steve Mirsky reports

Finches Seek Out Sick Dining Companions

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:03:08 -0500

A study in the journal Biology Letters finds that male finches prefer dining next to a sick bird despite the risk of infection, probably because the lethargic companion is less likely to engage in food fights. Karen Hopkin reports

Murchison Meteorite's Chemical Bonanza

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:03:08 -0500

The 1969 Murchison meteorite was known to harbor complex organic compounds, but a new analysis in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that it may also contain millions of chemicals and shed light on the timeline of the kinds of chemistry that went on in a much earlier universe. Adam Hinterthuer reports

King Tut's Tough Life

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:05:08 -0500

New analysis of the mummy of King Tut, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that the boy king had severe bone disease and malaria. Christopher Intagliata reports

Oxytocin May Alleviate Some Autism

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:28:08 -0500

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences followed a small group of high-functioning people with autism and found that they responded more to social cues when given the hormone oxytocin. Karen Hopkin reports

Solar Energy Harvesting Using 1 Percent of Current Materials

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:42:08 -0500

A study in the journal Nature Materials details the creation of a nanowire-based technology that absorbs solar energy at comparable levels to currently available systems while using only 1 percent of the silicon material needed to capture photons. Cynthia Graber reports

Heel-to-Toe Walking Is Energy Efficient

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:12:08 -0500

A study in the Journal of Experimental Biology looked at the energetics of walking the way most other animals do, that is, on either the balls of the feet or on the toes. Walking heel to toe is, for humans, much more efficient. Karen Hopkin reports

Smallest Farmers Key to Feeding World's Poorest

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:10:08 -0500

Writing in the journal Science, researchers note that helping developing countries' small farmers find ways to make better use of marginal land and cope with overfarmed fields is key to feeding the world's poorest people. Cynthia Graber reports

Aerobic Exercise Boosts Fitness--For Most

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:42:08 -0500

A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology finds that a small percentage of people--identifiable genetically--get little fitness benefit from aerobic exercise. Karen Hopkin reports

Distracted Customers' Wait Times Fly

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 00:05:08 -0500

A study in the journal NeuroQuantology found that people forced to wait, for example in line, experienced the time spent as being far less if they were amused and distracted. Cynthia Graber reports

Botoxed Face Impairs Bad Feelings

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 10:17:08 -0500

A study in the journal Psychological Science indicates that people who had facial muscles deadened with botox had difficulty processing negative emotions. Karen Hopkin reports

Genetic Doping Next Athletic Cheat

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 09:42:08 -0500

Researchers writing in the journal Science discuss the threat to athletic integrity posed by genetic doping--gene therapy to enhance performance--as well as efforts to test for it. Cynthia Graber reports

Ancient East Asian Found in Roman Empire

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:04:08 -0500

In a report in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, researchers announce the discovery of a body of an east Asian man, buried in Italy two millennia ago. Christopher Intagliata reports

Gunfight Tip: Faster to Draw Second

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 12:41:08 -0500

A study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society finds that reacting to a movement, such as being drawn on in a gunfight, is faster than initiating the movement. Steve Mirsky reports

Bonobo Chimps Stay Childlike

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 00:03:08 -0500

A study in the journal Current Biology finds that bonobo chimps have delayed development of social behavior--which keeps them, well, nice. Karen Hopkin reports

Bees Can Recognize Human Faces

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 10:08:08 -0500

A report in the Journal of Experimental Biology finds that bees can be trained to recognize human faces. Their bee brains could inform computerized efforts at facial recognition. Cynthia Graber reports

Asexual Solution to a Parasite Problem

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:57:08 -0500

A report in the journal Science explains how bdelloid rotifers, which reproduce asexually, clear parasitic infections by drying out to kill the freeloader. Karen Hopkin reports

Forcing Electrons into Superconducting Line

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:55:08 -0500

In a study in the journal Nature researchers created a "pseudo gap," in which electrons in superconducting materials line up just before flowing resistance-free. Sonya Buyting reports

Listening While Driving Is, What'd Ya Say?

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:33:08 -0500

A study in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review finds that not only does talking interfere with driving skills, the act of driving makes listening a much harder task. Karen Hopkin reports

Plants Put the Bend in Rivers

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:37:08 -0500

Studies in the journals Geology and Earth-Science Reviews reveal that ancient rivers were broad straight sheets of water. Colonization by plants changed the water flow. Adam Hinterthuer reports

Men Won't Ask for Shopping Directions Either

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:32:08 -0500

A study in the Journal of Consumer Marketing finds that men are less likely than women to ask for expert advice when shopping, in this case for wine. Karen Hopkin reports

Cleopatra's Eyeliner: Peeper Health Keeper

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:42:08 -0500

A study in the journal Analytical Chemistry finds that the black eyeliner worn by ancient Egyptians may have had properties that helped ward off eye-damaging bacterial infections. Cynthia Graber reports

1 Million Years B.C.: Humans Rare

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:40:08 -0500

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences used genomic analysis of modern humans to reveal that the population of our ancestors a million years back was below 20,000. Karen Hopkin reports

French Fries on the Corny Side

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:38:08 -0500

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that French fries from national chain restaurants tend to be fried in corn oil, which is a less healthful alternative than other vegetable oils. Karen Hopkin reports

Artificial Muscle Brings Back Blink

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:08:08 -0500

A study in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery reports the development of an artificial muscle system that could restore the ability to blink to stroke and injury patients. Cynthia Graber reports

Running Shoes Jog Joints

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:32:08 -0500

In a study in the Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation, researchers found that running shoes protected the feet, but at the expense of hips, knees and ankles. Molly Webster reports

Why Dwarf Galaxies Lack Star Power

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:07:08 -0500

In a study in the journal Nature, researchers show that the relative lack of star density in dwarf galaxies need not conflict with standard cosmological models if you include the blast effects of supernovae. Karen Hopkin reports

Do All Animals Sound the Same?

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:45:08 -0500

In a study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, researchers adjusted animals' sounds for body size and metabolic rate, and found a surprising similarity of normalized calls throughout the animal kingdom. Karen Hopkin reports

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Dead

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:38:08 -0500

A study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation finds that cardiovascular disease rates rise with average daily TV viewing times--even if you're physically fit. Adam Hinterthuer reports

Wet Plants Feel the Burn

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 06:43:08 -0500

A study in the journal New Phytologist confirms the gardener's belief that droplets of water resting on some types of leaves can focus sunlight until the plant's surface actually burns. Karen Hopkin reports

Shedding Light on Migraine

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:02:08 -0500

Even some blind people are sensitive to light when enduring a migraine. In a study in the journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers studied blind people, and found a group of neurons that gets activated during a migraine, which could lead to treatments. Cynthia Graber reports

Monkeys Are Canaries in Lead Mine

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 09:05:08 -0500

In a study in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, researchers showed that macaques that live side by side with humans in Nepal show elevated lead levels in their bodies. The human population is thus probably also being exposed to unsafe lead. Cynthia Graber reports

Astronomy's Serendipitious Side

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 08:23:08 -0500

In an article in the journal Science, Tufts University astronomer Kenneth Lang catalogues the discoveries about our universe that were made by happy accident. Karen Hopkin reports

Alan Alda Looks for "The Human Spark"

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 00:05:08 -0500

The Human Spark, a three-part PBS series hosted by Alan Alda and debuting January 6th, looks at what makes humans the exceptionally unusual animals we are. Steve Mirsky reports

Animal Mimics: More Than Just Camouflage

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 07:32:08 -0500

A study in the journal Science finds that animals that use mimicry--for example, an insect closely resembling a twig--are indeed seen and ignored by predators, not merely missed by them as a camouflaged insect would be. Karen Hopkin reports

Computers Can't Show You the Monet

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 10:46:08 -0500

A study in the journal Computers & Graphics finds that computer programs for identifying works of art fall far short of even nonexpert human judges, because of our ability to psychologically evaluate scenes. Molly Webster reports

Do Cardiovascular Implants Get Enough Testing?

Fri, 1 Jan 2010 12:09:08 -0500

A paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association points out that many implantable cardiovascular devices appear to get FDA premarket approval without what the authors consider to be sufficient published test results. Cynthia Graber reports

Restoring Cells' Potential is Method of the Year

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:32:08 -0500

The journal Nature Methods is calling its "Method of the Year" the technique that now allows researchers to take an adult cell and make it behave as a pluripotent stem cell, which can become any kind of differentiated body cell. Cynthia Graber reports

NYC High Schoolers Find Fake Food Labeling with DNA

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:27:08 -0500

Working with professional gene sequencers, high school students Brenda Tan and Matt Cost identified food frauds and unusual animal species in the city. The research will appear in the journal BioScience. Adam Hinterthuer reports

Natural Pot-Like Compound Could Fight Obesity

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:19:08 -0500

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that endocannabinoids, compounds naturally found in the body related to pot's active ingredient, could inform the effort to control appetite. Cynthia Graber reports

Find X and Say Your Work

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:32:08 -0500

A study in the Electronic Journal of Research In Educational Psychology found that students who worked out math problems out loud got more accurate results, and faster. Karen Hopkin reports

Fog Found on Saturn's Moon Titan

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:40:08 -0500

A study in Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals that Titan may be home to the familiar atmospheric condition known as fog--but made out of methane. Karen Hopkin reports

Gal Gamers Geekier Than Guys

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:05:08 -0500

A study in the Journal of Communication found that women who engage in a role-playing game online actually spend more time in the alternate reality than the guy players do. Karen Hopkin reports

Water Blankets Forming Planets

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:05:08 -0500

A study in the journal Science finds much more molecular water in regions where planets are forming around young stars. The mechanism to keep the water from being destroyed by UV radiation appears to involve some of the water molecules shielding the rest. Cynthia Graber reports

Lighter Drinks Avoid Heavy Head

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:35:08 -0500

A study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research finds that lighter colored spirits, such as vodka, may cause lesser hangovers than darker drinks, such as bourbon. Cynthia Graber reports

Accord of Sorts in Copenhagen

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:18:08 -0500

Working late into the night, negotiators from the world's nations agreed in principle to attempt to limit the global postindustrial temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. Steve Mirsky reports, with Christina Reed in Copenhagen