60-second Science

The new movie Fastball dissects the pitch from the perspective of pitchers, hitters, umpires—and scientists, who talk about everything from the physics governing the trajectory of the ball to the neuroscience of the batter’s perception and reaction—including how the ball can appear to vanish.    

Some white storks have stopped migrating from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa in the winter, because of the availability of food in landfills.  

Researchers say their prototype is cheaper and easier to make than other smart glass, and since it's flexible and foldable, could be used for camouflage. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology researcher Eduardo Inigo-Elias, a veteran of efforts to work with Cuban researchers, talks about what improved relations between the U.S. and Cuba could mean for science and conservation.    

A decade of modest financial investment has revitalized Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, explains biologist Sean B. Carroll in his new book The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discovery How Life Works and Why It Matters.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Musicians are better at separating out one meaningful audio stream from a combination, a skill that could help decipher a single conversation in a crowd. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Creatures that live on the seafloor play vital roles in marine ecosystems, but human-made noise can alter their behaviors.  

Researchers created a model that can accurately predict a cave's bat populations using audio alone. Christopher Intagliata reports.

When the Nyiragongo volcano erupted in January 2002, it set the geologic stage for earthquakes nine months later. Julia Rosen reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pounding and slicing meat and vegetables would have saved our ancestors millions of tough chews a year—potentially explaining the evolution of smaller jaws and teeth. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arachnophobic study subjects estimated the size of spiders as bigger than did people who do not fear the eight-legged beasties. Jason Goldman reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smart Bat sensor captures swing data and reenacts the motion on a smartphone app. Larry Greenemeier reports.

The dragonfly Pantala flavescens can travel 9,000 to 11,000 miles, and may interbreed across the globe. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Wading birds in the Everglades prefer to nest near resident gators for protection. And the arrangement appears to be mutually beneficial. Christopher Intagliata reports.

A pair of astrophysicists advise searchers of intelligent life to look in the narrow band of galactic sky from which any alien observers would see Earth transit the sun—a method we use to detect exoplanets. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A conversation following a play about the famous Milgram experiments about conformity and authority included mention of a just-published new version of the test.  

The immune systems in bats are in a continuous state of activation, which may explain why they can carry viruses like Ebola without harm. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Some 300,000 premature deaths could be avoided by 2030 if the U.S. abides by the ambitious Paris Climate Agreement, according to a new analysis. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Fast radio bursts” detected here on Earth last only a thousandth of a second, but are the result of a faraway source briefly shining a billion or more times brighter than our sun.  

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in California paid $17,000 to regain access to their patient digital information and other data held hostage.