Magnetic Gels Fix Muscles
BOB HIRSHON (host): Muscle repairing implants. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Severe muscle injuries are extremely difficult to treat. Lightweight gel structures filled with iron particles...
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Hares & Climate Change
L Scott Mills Research photo BOB HIRSHON (host): A hare-y problem. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Snowshoe hares turn white in winter to hide from predators. But as winters have grown...
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Exercise & Weight Loss
istolethetv CC BY 2.0, via flickr BOB HIRSHON (host): The calorie-burning myth. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. The more you exercise, the more calories you burn, right? Well, apparently...
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Restful Diet
Catriona Savage CC BY 2.0, via flickr BOB HIRSHON (host): A diet for better sleep. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. If you want to improve your sleep, you might try cutting back on sugars...
View ArticleVenus Flytrap Math
BOB HIRSHON (host): Plants that keep score. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Like other carnivorous plants, venus flytraps depend on nutrients from insects they trap inside specially-shaped...
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Babylonian Astronomers
Tablets created by ancient Babylonian mathematician/astronomers. (Mathieu Ossendrijver Science 2016; 351: 482-484) BOB HIRSHON (host): Discovering the lost math of Babylon. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is...
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Performance Anxiety
Olympic figure skaters like Mao Asada face intense scrutiny on the ice, which can affect their performance. (David W. Carmichael, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikipedia) BOB HIRSHON (host): Brain blunders. I’m...
View ArticleSinging Fruit Flies
BOB HIRSHON (host): Sophisticated singing from fruit flies. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. [fruit fly singing] This is the song of an amorous male fruit fly, chasing a very particular...
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Breathing Ponds
(kheinz/Pixabay/public domain) BOB HIRSHON (host): The frog pond effect. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. [sound of pond] Small ponds are important habitats, packed with life. That includes...
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Untying Laces
LongitudeLatitude/CC BY 2.0, via flickr BOB HIRSHON (host): A knotty problem. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Science Update listener Alan Dittrich of Wellesley, Massachusetts called us...
View ArticleSleep Deprivation & False Confessions
BOB HIRSHON (host): Sleep deprived confessions. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Just one night of sleep deprivation more than doubles the rate that people will confess to something they...
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Parasites & Chimp Behavior
A parasite can attract chimpanzees to their main predator. (Gemma Stiles/CC BY 2.0, via flickr) BOB HIRSHON (host): A behavior-changing parasite. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Toxoplasma...
View ArticleRace & Genetics Research
BOB HIRSHON (host): Race and genetics research. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Understanding human genetic diversity is important for developing new medical treatments. But researchers...
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Food Security & Climate Change
The vast majority of the world’s soybeans are produced in just three countries: Brazil, Argentina, and the United States. (United Soybean Board/CC BY 2.0, via flickr) BOB HIRSHON (host): Food security...
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Children & Noise
(US Department of Education/CC BY 2.0, via flickr) BOB HIRSHON (host): Cutting noise to boost learning. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. If you’re listening to this story despite traffic...
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Neandertal Legacy
A map of the likely range of extinct Neandertals across Eurasia. (Ryulong/CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikipedia) BOB HIRSHON (host): Neandertals’ genetic legacy. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update....
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Hands-on Physics
Manipulating bicycle wheels in motion helps students experience the phenomenon of angular momentum for themselves. (Courtesy of the University of Chicago Human Performance Lab) BOB HIRSHON (host):...
View ArticleCybathlon
BOB HIRSHON (host): Bionic athletes. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. For someone paralyzed from the waist down, pedaling a bike is a real thrill, according to biomedical engineer Ronald...
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Robo-Roaches
An uncompressed Robo-Roach. (Courtesy of PolyPEDAL Lab, UC Berkeley) BOB HIRSHON (host): Cockroach-inspired engineering. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Bioengineer Robert Full wants to...
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Children & Noise
(US Department of Education/CC BY 2.0, via flickr) BOB HIRSHON (host): Cutting noise to boost learning. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. If you’re listening to this story despite traffic...
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Gender Bias & Online Sales
(Ray S/CC BY 2.0, via flickr) BOB HIRSHON (host): Is online shopping biased? I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. When bidding in online auctions, the gender of the seller is irrelevant, right?...
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Giant Armadillos
An artists’ rendition of an extinct Glyptodont (Carl Buell) BOB HIRSHON (host): A two-ton armadillo. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Take a Volkswagen Beetle, give it a furry head and a...
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Female Songbirds
One of the female house wrens in the study. (Virginia Heinen) BOB HIRSHON (host): Why female songbirds sing. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Male songbirds sing more than females do, and...
View ArticleDialects & Society
BOB HIRSHON (host): The durability of dialects. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Thanks to our media-saturated society, new words like “twerk” and “vaping” quickly spread from coast to...
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Robot Drum Arm
(Georgia Tech) BOB HIRSHON (host): Look, Ma! THREE hands! I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. [drumming] This drummer has a little something extra – a third arm, playing the ride cymbal. Gil...
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Sizing Up Spiders
How big does this wolf spider look to you? (Eugene E. Nelson, Bugwood.org CC BY 3.0 US 5366596-LGPT) BOB HIRSHON (host): Eight-legged exaggeration. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update....
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Why Are Plants Green?
The northern portion of Utah’s Great Salt Lake has a reddish-purple tinge from tiny salt-loving microbes that live there. (NASA) BOB HIRSHON (host): Why are plants green? I’m Bob Hirshon and this is...
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Insects vs. Birds
Recording the dawn chorus of birds on Barro-Colorado Island in Panama. (Andrew Foss-Grant) BOB HIRSHON (host): Insects vs. birds. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. (Dawn bird chorus) As the...
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Methane Leak Lessons
Aliso Canyon SS 25 wellhead, December 17, 2015. (Earthworks, CC BY 2.0, via Wikipedia) BOB HIRSHON (host): The lessons of Aliso Canyon. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. The massive natural...
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Flu Shots & Pregnancy
BOB HIRSHON (host): (Photo Credit: Jack Fussell/flickr) The flu shot’s double punch. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update. Pregnant women who come down with the flu suffer from complication rates...
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