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PODCAST

A Moment of Science

Indiana Public Media

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.

science

All Episodes

02:00

Moth Wingtips Confuse Bat Radar

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/27

Moth Wingtips Confuse Bat Radar

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02:00

Elephants Smelling Far Away Food

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/26

Elephants Smelling Far Away Food

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02:00

Modern Biology in a Monastery Garden

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/25

Modern Biology in a Monastery Garden

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02:00

Why Rivers Don't Flow in Straight Lines

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/24

If a river has a chance, it will meander, winding over the land in a series of loops. Geologists even call these loops "meanders."You can see meanders on a map--along the lower Mississippi, the Alabama River near Selma, The Arkansas near Tulsa, the Ohio near Evansville, and on thousands of smaller streams--wherever there's a steady flow of water over nearly flat land of fine-textured soils.Rivers meander because any small bend in a river tends to grow.Water flowing around a bend in a river

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02:00

How Hummingbirds Use Their Sense of Smell

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/23

Hummingbirds have a voracious appetite for nectar, the sugary fluid secreted by flowers. To survive, they usually drink between five and fourteen times their weight in nectar every day. Finding all that nectar isn’t easy. Some flowers may have already been emptied of nectar by other visitors, or might be occupied by dangerous insects such as ants.Biologists want to understand how hummingbirds use their senses to find the right flowers to feed at. They have long known that these tiny birds

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02:00

Another Good Reason to Go for Thai Food

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/20

Have you ever wondered why some cuisines, like Indian and Thai, are so spicy and others, like English, are so bland?India and Thailand are very hot countries, while England is cold and damp. The answer does have something to do with the climate associated with each cuisine, but maybe not in the way that you'd first think.You might wonder why would you want to eat spicy food when it's hot outside in the first place. Does it cool you off by making you sweat more? While that's an interesting

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02:00

The Leafy Seadragon is a Master of Camouflage

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/19

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

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02:00

The Cloning and Quaking Stand of Aspen

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/18

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

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02:00

Changing Shape to Cope with Climate Change

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/17

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

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02:00

The Simple Science Behind One-Way Glass

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/16

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

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02:00

Having More Friends Means More Offspring for Male Chimps

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/13

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

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02:00

The Twin Within

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/12

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

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02:00

The Ant with Metal in Its Mandibles

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/11

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

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02:00

Curious Babies

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/10

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

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02:00

Why Do Salmon Leap?

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/09

Most of us are probably familiar with the image of salmon jumping upstream or over obstacles in the water. But why is it so common to see them leaping out of still water too?Maybe they're just showing off. Or, they might be trying to shake off sea lice.Scientists noticed that young sockeye salmon jump out of the water and skim its surface with their tails an average of nine times a day, and it’s clear they’re not just leaping over obstacles. Researchers had a hunch the salmon were trying to

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02:00

Moon Tan?

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/06

Could the moon ever cause a person to tan? It's not that strange of a question: after all, moonlight is reflected sunlight. And following that logic-train, if direct sunlight can cause people to tan--and even burn--then why not reflected sunlight?Good NewsThe actual answer is no. People can't get a tan from the moon, no matter how bright. Tanning is a reaction to the sun's ultraviolet light. Skin produces melanin as a result of continued sun exposure. The amount of melanin produced does

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02:00

Fruit Flies are Social Butterflies

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/05

There’s rarely just one fruit fly hovering over the browning bananas in your fruit bowl. That’s because fruit flies are social creatures, spending most of their time together in groups. Scientists have noted that other social animals, including humans, tend to eat more and sleep less when isolated. To help understand these observations, a group of scientists decided to study fruit flies to find out what’s going on in their brains when they’re socially isolated.They found that putting fruit

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02:00

Singing Mice

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/04

Singing Mice

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02:00

The Wonderful Welwitschia

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/03

The Wonderful Welwitschia

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02:00

A Bug's Gotta Have Heart

A Moment of Science ·

2026/02/02

A Bug's Gotta Have Heart

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1,514 results

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