60-Second Science

Scientific American
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Nov 3, 2014 • 3min

Button Battery Coating Lessens Risk If Swallowed

Thousands of small children swallow tiny batteries each year. A new battery coating could protect kids from internal burns and still allow the batteries to work. Cynthia Graber reports   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 31, 2014 • 3min

Bacteria Lowers Mosquito Transmission of Malaria, Dengue

Mosquitoes that harbor a soil microbe called Chromobacterium Csp_P have a harder time catching dengue virus and the malarial parasite. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 30, 2014 • 3min

Mammals Might Have Slept Through Dino Destroyer

The ability to engage in extended hibernation might be what saved ancestral mammals from extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 28, 2014 • 3min

Online Personalization Means Prices Are Tailored to You, Too

Christo Wilson, a computer scientist at Northeastern University, says prices online are "super subjective" and vary according to your past clicks and purchases or whether you are shopping on a mobile phone. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 22, 2014 • 3min

Fecal Transplanters Fish Out Key Ingredient

The bacterium Clostridium scindens, a member of the gut’s microbiome, appears to ward off the hospital-acquired infection C. difficile. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 21, 2014 • 4min

Coyote Size Forces Smartness

Topping out at about 20 kilograms, a coyote has to be able to hunt both smaller and bigger prey, and avoid being prey itself, a combination that selects for intelligence. Steve Mirsky reports   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 17, 2014 • 3min

Plant Thorns Increase When Defense Needed

In areas with few herbivores acacia plants don't bother to churn out many of the off-putting thorns. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 16, 2014 • 3min

Lemur Latrine Trees Serve as Community Bulletin Boards

Primatologists spent almost 1,100 hours watching lemurs do their business on their designated tree and concluded that urine and glandular secretions serve as posted messages. Steve Mirsky reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 15, 2014 • 3min

Carnivorous Plant Inspires Anticlotting Medical Devices

By copying aspects of the slick surfaces of insect-catching pitcher plants, researchers created tubes that can carry blood without promoting the formation of blood clots or bacterial attachment. Cynthia Graber reports   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Oct 13, 2014 • 3min

Less Well-Off Donate Bigger Income Percentage

Wealthier people on average gave a lower percentage to charity in 2012 than they did in 2006, while the less affluent increased their giving. Cynthia Graber reports   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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