A Moment of Science

Indiana Public Media
  • 4.8 (23)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED DAILY

A Moment of Science is a daily audio podcast, public radio program and video series providing the scientific story behind some of life's most perplexing mysteries.

  1. 11H AGO

    The Leafy Seadragon is a Master of Camouflage

    What legendary creatures of the deep fill you with wonder? The squid-like kraken, able to tear ships pirate apart with its tentacles? Or the megalodon, an enormous shark from millions of years ago? Or sirens, mermaids who lure sailors to their death? These monsters haunt old stories of the ocean. We’re fascinated by their supernatural mystery. And perhaps no epic animal of lore enchants, inspires, and awes like the mighty dragon.   Science hasn’t discovered any giant, flying, fire-breathing lizards quite yet. But if we look very carefully off Australia’s southern coast, we can find a creature straight from a maritime fairy tale: the leafy seadragon. Of course, it might take a good long look to actually find any leafy seadragons. While not mythical like their namesakes, these foot-long fish are masters of camouflage, able to blend in with the kelp and other seaweed of their habitat. Leafies, as they’re affectionately nicknamed, have long, undulating bodies, reminiscent of their relatives the seahorse. If you’re lucky enough to spot one, you’ll notice around twenty delicate, leaf-like appendages extending from their ribs and backbone, gently wafting in the water. As they swim, they create the illusion of floating seaweed. Shallow water leafies are often yellow or olive toned, while deep water leafies tend to be dark brown, or rich burgundy. Their hypnotizing, magical appearance makes leafies a favorite of aquariums worldwide. In the wild, however, leafy seadragons are listed as near threatened, possibly due to over-capture and habitat loss. Will the beautiful leafy seadragon soon be reduced to myth? Conservation efforts bring together science and enchantment to save a real-life dragon. Reviewer: Greg Rouse, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography Read more Camouflage is not infallible The hidden benefits of marine biofluorescence Long-lived sea species Sources Aquarium of the Pacific - Leafy Seadragon National Geographic - Leafy Seadragon Oceana - Leafy Seadragon

    2 min

  2. 1D AGO

    The Cloning and Quaking Stand of Aspen

    If you’ve seen a grove of quaking aspen, you’ll recall trees with smooth, grey-white bark fissured with black streaks and flat leaves of green and yellow that shimmer with the lightest breeze. A forest canopy of quaking aspen is often dense where sunlight is plentiful because they’re intolerant of shade. This growing pattern allows quaking aspen to colonize large swaths of land, with individual trees of fairly uniform arrangement, size, distribution, and health quality. We call this community of trees a “stand.” A stand of quaking aspen may account for an extensive plot or just a minor part of a larger forest, sure to crowd out conifers or shrubs that attempt to invade its space. When one aspen tree falls, often another will quickly take its place and sprout from its roots, rather than a seed.  Aspen grow aggressively and take advantage over shade-loving plants to repopulate their own stands. While relatively few of its seeds will become established, an aspen can regenerate individual trees by shoots along its long, lateral roots. A single root system can reproduce hundreds of individual trees in this way—each one genetically identical to the parent tree.  A group of aspens with a single root system is called a “clone.” Clones can be less than an acre or up to 100 acres in size. These single organisms become immense and live much longer than any one tree could. Individual aspen often don’t live beyond 150 years or so; while a clone can live for generations. The Pando Clone of Utah is one prime example, having outlasted its conifer competitors for the span of many eras. Read more The bizarre life of the pyrosome The sex lives of reindeer lichen Trees know when something's eating them Sources U.S. Forest Service - How aspens grow U.S. Forest Service - Aspen ecology Wikipedia - Populus tremuloides

    2 min

  3. 2D AGO

    Changing Shape to Cope with Climate Change

    Many animal appendages, such as legs, tails, beaks, or ears can be used to dissipate excess body heat. Because of this cooling function, these body parts generally have a larger surface area relative to their volume for mammals and birds that live in warmer climates than for such animals that live in colder climates. This principle of animal form is called ‘Allen’s rule’ after its discoverer; the American zoologist Joel Allen. In 2021 a team of Australian and Canadian researchers published a review summarizing evidence that many mammal and bird species are changing the shapes of their bodies over time, in accordance with Allen’s rule, to cope with the warmer climate resulting from human-caused global climate change. The evidence is particularly pronounced for several species of Australian parrots. The relative sizes of the bills of these birds have increased by four to ten percent between 1871 and the present. This increase occurred in step with increasing summer temperatures. Similar changes were found in numerous other bird species, including the dark-eyed junco, a North American bird. The bills of birds are especially important for removing heat because they are rich in blood vessels and aren’t insulated by feathers. In mammals, legs, tails, ears, and bat wings play a similar role in heat dissipation because they are likewise rich in blood vessels and not insulated by fur. The researchers noted corresponding increases in the relative sizes of these body parts for a variety of mammals including shrews, mice, and bats. In ongoing work, the researchers are extending their analysis to more species and habitats. The research highlights the serious ecological consequences of human-caused global climate change. Reviewer: Ryan Long, the University of Idaho Read more Changing climate: Can a forests make like a tree and leave? Bird migration is changing with the climate: Indiana University is helping track it How climate change impacts coffee pollinators Sources ScienceDaily - The warming climate is causing animals to 'shapeshift' CNet - Scientists concerned climate change is causing animals to 'shape-shift' The Guardian - Animals 'shapeshifting' in response to climate crisis, research finds Smithsonian Magazine - Animals are changing shape to cope with rising temperatures NPR - Climate change is making some species of animals shape-shift Trends in Ecology & Evolution - Shape-shifting: Changing animal morphologies as a response to climatic warming

    2 min

  4. 3D AGO

    The Simple Science Behind One-Way Glass

    Today's moment of science is inspired by the plethora of crime dramas. How do the one-way mirrors we see in these shows so often actually work? The trick is simpler than you might think. Most mirrors are made by applying a thin layer of a reflective material, aluminum in most cases, to the back of a sheet of glass. This is called back silvering, and it makes the glass opaque. When we look in a mirror, our image is reflected by the aluminum, which is made more durable by its glass covering. So, one-way glass isn't fully silvered. The reflective material is applied less densely. This is called half-silvering. The effect is that the glass is not completely opaque like a traditional mirror. About half the light striking the glass passes through it, and the other half is reflected. So far, people on both sides would see the same thing: fractured images of both themselves and the people on the other side. Now for the second trick to one-way glass: the lighting. The room the suspect is in is kept bright, so that the reflective quality of the glass prevails. The room on the other side of the glass is kept dark, so that instead of their reflections, the detectives see what is illuminated on the suspect's side of the glass: the suspect. But, if the light were to be turned up on the detective's side or turned down on the suspect's side, the magic would fizzle, and glass would become a window for both parties. Read more See yourself as others see you How a rear-view mirror works Mirror, mirror on the Moon Sources InfoBloom - How are mirrors made? Wikipedia - Mirror Howstuffworks - How do one-way mirrors work?

    2 min

  5. 6D AGO

    Having More Friends Means More Offspring for Male Chimps

    We don’t usually think of friends in terms of what advantages they give us, although, if asked, most people would probably say that their friends add a lot to their lives. Scientists view friendship among animals in slightly starker terms: if strong social bonds exist between animals, it probably means such ties directly benefit the animals in some way. A team of researchers set out to find out whether the benefit of friendship between male chimpanzees may be to further a goal that many animals share—more offspring.  To do that, they examined genetic and behavioral data of a group of chimpanzees in Tanzania. They found that males who had a larger number of social ties with other males did tend to have more offspring. Males with at least two social ties to other males were over 50% more likely than other males in the dataset to have had any given offspring. Previous research has shown that animals that form more coalitions—two or more individuals join to act aggressively towards a third—rise in rank and have more offspring. The team thinks that males who form more social bonds may be more likely to form coalitions, which could be why they’re also observed to have more reproductive success. The team also looked at what effect social ties to an alpha male had, and found that friendship with an alpha male also increased a male chimp’s chance of having an offspring. What’s interesting is that social bonds with either multiple males or with an alpha male can lead to reproductive success. Male chimps don’t necessarily have to have friends in high places, they just need to have friends. Read more Turkeys actually make great wingmen Bonobos and chimpanzees: Making love, not war For baboons, second best isn't always so bad Source ScienceDaily - Building bonds between males leads to more offspring for chimpanzees

    2 min

  6. FEB 12

    The Twin Within

    Are you a twin? No, well are you sure? You could be a twin, but the twin is within, or a chimera. The Lion-Goat-Dragon YouA chimera is a mythological beast with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon. However, in biology a chimera is an organism made up of two distinct genetic lines. It's what happens when twin embryos fuse in the womb. The fusion results in what looks like a single embryo, but the genetic material from each twin remains separate. What does that mean? Does a chimera have one arm from one twin and the other arm from the other twin? A Liver From A Different LifeWell, it's something like that. It's not like the arms would look different, exactly, or that the body's organs wouldn't be compatible or not work properly. However, they do contain different and distinct sets of chromosomes. If you're a chimera, your liver could be composed of cells with one set of chromosomes while your heart, say, consists of cells with an entirely different set. Read More:" Chimera (Genetics)." Wikipedia. Re-accessed for re-run on July 30, 2018.

    2 min

  7. FEB 11

    The Ant with Metal in Its Mandibles

    Animals are made mostly out of water, and of complex molecules centered around carbon atoms. But they also contain a surprising range of other substances, which give their parts useful special properties. The mandibles of ants are incredibly sharp and durable cutting tools. Leaf-cutting ants live in the tropics and cut the leaves of plants into tiny pieces with their razor-sharp mandibles. They take the pieces back to their anthill to cultivate a nutritious fungus. When the ants are threatened, those same tiny but powerful mandibles can easily slice and puncture human skin. Ant mandibles and the cutting and piercing body parts of other insects, spiders, and scorpions are made of proteins and carbohydrate polymers. They are also distinctively rich in metals such as zinc and manganese. The metals appear to be the source of their special properties. In 2021 a team of American researchers published new findings that tell us how metals give these animal ‘tools’ their cutting and piercing power. The researchers studied the cutting edge of an ant mandible with a technique called atomic probe tomography. This allowed them to map the mandible all the way down to the positions of its individual atoms. They were surprised to find the zinc atoms weren’t grouped into tiny lumps, but were instead spread uniformly through the atomic structure of the mandible. They think this organization is the source of its precision, sharpness, and durability. The material allows the ant to puncture and cut using only sixty percent as much force as it would need if it used bulkier materials like those in human teeth. The researchers’ hope their studies will help engineers make new materials for human use. Reviewer: Paolo S. Segre, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University Read more This snail is made of iron The explosive methods of an ant's self-defense The science of cricket fights Sources ScienceNews - How metal-infused jaws give some ants an exceptionally sharp bite The Conversation - Zinc-infused proteins are the secret that allows scorpions, spiders and ants to puncture tough skin Popular Science - Surprise: Ants have teeth. Here's how they keep them sharp. New Atlas - Zinc-atom coating turns ant teeth into tough, sharp tools Tech Explorist - What makes ant's teeth so sharp? Nature - The homogenous alternative to biomineralization: Zn- and Mn-rich materials enable sharp organismal "tools" that reduce force requirements

    2 min

  8. FEB 10

    Curious Babies

    Curiosity killed the cat, but there’s no indication that it has the same effect on humans.  Curiosity in babies helps them learn about the world and might even predict future cognitive abilities. That’s why scientists wanted to know whether moments of curiosity that babies exhibit are random variations, or whether they indicate a characteristic of the particular baby that carries into their later years. A common method for studying infant cognition is showing a baby a normal object that acts in an unexpected, or “magical,” way, such as a ball hovering in midair or passing through a wall. A team of researchers noted that some babies stare at the magical objects a long time, while others just glance at them and look away. Researchers weren’t sure whether the variability was due to babies getting distracted or hungry, or whether it indicated particular babies reacting to the world with differing levels of curiosity.  They decided to track the reactions of 65 babies to magical objects over time. They found that the babies who looked at the magical objects a long time at 11 months of age were the same babies who stared at them a long time at 17 months, while the same babies who were uninterested at 11 months largely remained uninterested at 17 months. At age three, the babies who had reacted with the most curiosity were the ones most likely to be rated by their parents as information-seeking and problem-solving. Scientists still want to find out how long this pattern continues, and what outcomes early curiosity has on the children’s futures. The kids are probably curious as well.

    2 min
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About

A Moment of Science is a daily audio podcast, public radio program and video series providing the scientific story behind some of life's most perplexing mysteries.

Information

  • Creator
    Indiana Public Media
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.6K
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Trustees of Indiana University
  • Show Website
    A Moment of Science

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