60-second Science

The microbes that live in and on our bodies will colonize a human-manned spacecraft to Mars—but will the spacecraft's microbiome be safe? Christopher Intagliata reports.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution.  

The Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves".  

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017 was awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young for discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythms.  

Submerged electric eels lose current to water, so they apparently leap into the air to minimize their contact with water and maximize their shock value.  

A chance observation led researchers to add the Australian Magpie to the short list of birds that dunk their food in water before eating.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2011 east Japan tsunami swept huge amounts of wreckage out to sea—and Japanese species hitchhiked across the Pacific on the debris. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Individuals in packs of African wild dogs appear to sneeze to make their wishes known regarding when to get up and hunt.

The frogs' calls are too high-pitched for the frog to detect, which may be an artifact of evolution. Christopher Intagliata reports.

More reflective telescope mirrors allow astronomers to capture more photons—and do more science. Christopher Intagliata reports.

A new study hints that the most energetic particles ever seen come from far beyond the Milky Way.  

A trove of scientific notes from the early 1900s suggests a warming climate is driving birds to migrate earlier to New York’s Mohonk Preserve. Julia Rosen reports.

As temperatures rise, the tree line moves upslope. But ancient bristlecone pines are losing that upslope race to faster-colonizing neighbors. Christopher Intagliata reports.

As carbon dioxide levels rise, plants are sipping water more efficiently—which could come in handy in a drier future. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Cannibalistic caterpillars prevent disease from decimating their populations by removing infected individuals. Emily Schwing reports.

Internet hosting company DreamHost is battling the U.S. Justice Department over requests for information about people visiting a Web site for organizing protests. Larry Greenemeier reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smooth vertical surfaces like windows reflect sound waves away from bats—meaning bats can't "see" windows and similar obstacles with echolocation. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Using insurance industry models, researchers determined that wetlands prevented some $625 million in damages due to Hurricane Sandy. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pikas, a hampster-size rabbit relative, have disappeared from a 64-square-mile plot in the northern Sierra Nevada—and climate change is a likely culprit. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A star that appeared and then vanished in A.D. 1437 was an explosion in a binary star system—which now reveals clues about the life cycle of certain stars. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices