60-second Science

The AI GPT-4 has emergent abilities—but that’s not why it’s scary. 

A careful new study reveals coffee is generally safe for your heart and may boost your daily step count.

These two researchers journey toward the center of Earth—via windows to the crust—to find bacteria that can breathe iron, arsenic and other metals that would kill us pretty quickly.

The real-life fungi that inspired The Last of Us hijack the bodies of ants, wasps, cicadas, and more.

Our first known interstellar visitor is now long gone, but new research has some ideas about why it moved the way it did while it was in our cosmic neighborhood.

Insights from Deaf and autistic communities could finally make office spaces better for everyone. 

Vera Rubin went from a teenager with a cardboard telescope to the “mother of dark matter.” Some of her colleagues and mentees weigh in on her fascinating life and how she was a champion for women in astronomy.

Post-COVID symptoms can linger for months or years, and more and more evidence points to problems with the nervous system.

Music made with artificial intelligence could upend the music industry. Here’s what that might look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google’s new AI model can generate entirely new music from text prompts. Here’s what they sound like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Machine-learning algorithms are getting so good that they can translate Western instruments into Thai ones with ease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the inaugural episode of Cosmos, Quickly, we blast off with Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno of the Space Force, who is charged with protecting our space in space, particularly from Russia and China.

The burgeoning field of “digital bioacoustics” is helping us understand animals like never before.

A vaccine pioneer tells us that shots to protect against RSV—a dangerous virus for babies and older people—are finally nearing approval.

Every year on Pi Day, we have a reason to celebrate one of math’s most famous symbols. But this year we speak to someone who has captured it in song.

We slammed a $330-million spaceship the size of a dairy cow into an asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Here’s what we’re learning about how our first step in planetary defense could save us in the future.

Some animals’ babies physically relax when their parents whisk them away from danger. The same thing works for tiny, wailing humans.

Scientists partnered with tiger sharks to map seagrass—the unsung hero of ocean conservation.

Some caterpillars have evolved with antifreeze in their body cavity, allowing them to become cater-Popsicles to survive cold winters. But climate change could threaten that.

Hosts Josh Fischman and Tanya Lewis explore the pandemic’s mental health toll on teens and young adults. They also delve into the effectiveness of telehealth, which has been booming since the start of the pandemic.