60-second Science

The six-legged savants appear to use celestial cues and three forms of memory, as they blaze a trail back to the nest. Karen Hopkin reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A study examines the effects of a high-sugar diet on the life spans of fruit flies. Another studies how the flies’ appetite-suppressing pathways may be similar to ours. Karen Hopkin reports. 

A common pesticide additive, known as an "inert" ingredient, could be one of the causes of the die-offs beekeepers have observed in their hives. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Chemists have synthesized the most complex molecular knot ever, using a strand just 192 atoms long. The advance could lead to new tougher materials. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Using algorithms developed for human speech recognition, researchers decoded which bats in an experimental colony were arguing with each other, and what they were arguing about. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Some predators are attracted to the food in bird feeders, and end up targeting nestlings, too. Jason G. Goldman reports. 

Competition between older female orcas and their adult daughters when they can breed simultaneously may cause the matriarch to enter menopause.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers think Mars may have experienced a series of climate cycles, which etched the planet’s surface with river valleys and lake basins. Julia Rosen reports. 

Hair follicles appear to be key in reprogramming other cells in the wound, restoring the original skin architecture, instead of simply scarring. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

By optimizing the imperfections in concrete, manufacturers could make the material tougher and stronger—allowing builders to use less of it. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

Zika virus infection during pregnancy appears to cause a range of birth defects, such as joint, eye and ear abnormalities, in addition to microcephaly. 

What you ate in the past can shape the diversity of your gut flora, and affect how well your gut microbes respond to new foods. Christopher Intagliata reports.

If a weak piglet positions itself next to a strong sibling while feeding, it may get some extra nutrition from inadvertently stimulated mammary glands.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Areas of the country that have experienced record low temperatures since 2005 happen to be home to many global warming deniers. And researchers theorize there may be a connection. Christopher Intagliata reports.

In areas where the white-nose syndrome fungus has been around for awhile, little brown bats seem to have found a way to limit the disease damage.

The microbial ecosystems inhabiting corpses could help forensic scientists determine a person’s time of death, even after almost two months. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Areas of the brain related to social cognition shrink in first-time mothers—a structural change that could boost maternal attachment. Christopher Intagliata reports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an anonymous online survey, about 4 percent of surveyed pilots admitted to having suicidal thoughts within the last few weeks. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Night-flying migratory birds over water turn back to lakeshores at daybreak—meaning crowded shores along the water. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Infants carrying genes that put them at increased risk for asthma had a 27 percent decrease in developing respiratory symptoms while being breast-fed. Erika Beras reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices