Science Quickly

By: Scientific American
  • Summary

  • Host Rachel Feltman, alongside leading science and tech journalists, dives into the rich world of scientific discovery in this bite-size science variety show.
    Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.
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Episodes
  • What RFK, Jr., Could Mean for Public Health, and How Tobacco Use Has Dropped Unevenly
    Nov 25 2024
    Donald Trump has nominated RFK, Jr., to run the Department of Health and Human Services, a position that includes oversight of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. Senior health and medicine editor Tanya Lewis explains what that would mean for antivaccine policies, food safety and unproven therapies that Kennedy backs. Tobacco use is down across the U.S., but the drop has been uneven across groups. Astronomers have released the first-ever close up image of a star—and scientists are excited over an unexpected ring. Plus, studies of chimpanzees explore the role of social contagion on their behaviors and point to play in adult chimps. Recommended reading: RFK, Jr., Is a Bad Prescription for U.S. Public Health | Opinion Chimps Share Knowledge like Humans Do, Spurring Innovation E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest senior health and medicine editor Tanya Lewis. Our show is edited by Anaissa Ruiz Tejada with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    11 mins
  • Using AI to Understand the Thoughts of the Dead
    Nov 22 2024
    Writings and records are how we understand long-gone civilizations without being able to interact with ancient peoples. A recent opinion paper suggested we could feed chatbots writings from the past to simulate ancient participants for social psychology studies. Similar survey experiments with modern participant data closely matched the outcomes of the real people they were based on. We speak with the opinion paper’s co-author Michael Varnum, an associate professor at Arizona State University, about what the limits of this spooky proposal are and what the ghosts of cultures past could teach us today. Recommended reading: “Large Language Models Based on Historical Text Could Offer Informative Tools for Behavioral Science,” by Michael E. W. Varnum et al., in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Vol. 121, No. 42, Article No. e2407639121; October 9, 2024 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2407639121 Inside the AI Competition That Decoded an Ancient Herculaneum Scroll https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/inside-the-ai-competition-that-decoded-an-ancient-scroll-and-changed/ E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Jeff DelViscio with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • Unscheduled C-Sections May Depend on the Color of Your Skin
    Nov 20 2024
    Disparities in health are not indicated by adverse outcomes alone. Adriana Corredor-Waldron, an assistant professor of economics at NC State University, sought to understand why Black infants are more likely to be delivered by C-section than white infants. A working paper she co-authored found that the elevated number of low-risk Black pregnant people who were given C-section surgeries in New Jersey from 2008 to 2017 was likely caused by physician discretion. Corredor-Waldron explains why unnecessary C-sections can be risky and what medical education and financial incentives could do to close the gap. Recommended viewing: What Is Implicit Bias, and How Might It Affect Your Next Medical Visit? https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/what-is-implicit-bias-and-how-might-it-affect-your-next-medical-visit/ E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Adriana Corredor-Waldron Our show is edited by Jeff DelViscio with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    12 mins

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