60-second Science

Researchers slowed the approach of greedy gulls by an average of 21 seconds by staring at the birds versus looking elsewhere. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Honest, involuntary laughter cued people to laugh more at some really bad jokes than they did when hearing forced laughter.

By killing off many of New Zealand’s endemic birds, humans destroyed 50 million years’ worth of evolutionary history. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly half of bacteria gathered in public settings around the city were resistant to two or more commonly used antibiotics, such as penicillin and erythromycin. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Mating is risky business for black widow males—so they hitchhike on the silk threads left by competitors to more quickly find a mate. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Babies as young as a year and a half want leaders to fix situations in which they see someone else being treated unfairly.

Released or escaped parrots are now living in most states and are breeding in at least 21. For some, it’s a second chance at survival.

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Guatemala to Australia, including one about the first recorded tornado in Nepal.

Photographs snapped by safari tourists are a surprisingly accurate way to assess populations of African carnivores. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

Computer modeling revealed that insects with a celestial compass can likely determine direction down to just a couple degrees of error. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

Engineer John Houbolt pushed for a smaller ship to land on the lunar surface while the command module stayed in orbit around the moon.

Just before Neil Armstrong climbed back into the lunar module, he scooped up a few last-minute soil samples--which upturned our understanding of planetary formation. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Researchers dissected the jaws of ants infected with the Ophiocordyceps fungus to determine how the fungus hijacks the ants' behavior. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Youths rated as attractive were less likely to have negative encounters with the criminal justice system—but only if they were women. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

A proof-of-concept study got transgenic tobacco plants to make a useful enzyme in their chloroplasts, not nuclei, minimizing chances for transfer to other organisms.

Starting in 2017, an artificial intelligence monitoring system at the Welgevonden Game Reserve in South Africa has been helping to protect rhinos and their caretakers.  

The pack produces a steady trickle of electricity from the swinging motion of your stuff. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An analysis of the 2019 edition of the Major League baseball points to reasons why it's leaving ballparks at a record rate.

A lab analysis found that even an all-beef frankfurter had very little skeletal muscle, or "meat." So what’s in there? Christopher Intagliata reports. 

People who spent at least two hours outside—either all at once or totaled over several shorter visits—were more likely to report good health and psychological well-being. Jason G. Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices