SCIENCE
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H5N9 in Poultry, Tuberculosis Outbreak in Kansas and RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings
[CLIP: “Let There Be Rain,” by Silver Maple] Rachel Feltman: Happy Monday, listeners! For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Hope your February is off to a great start. Let’s kick off the week by catching up on all the science news you might have missed. First, a quick note on some presidential moves that might impact health and…
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The Science of Cynicism and the Transformative Psychological Power of Hope
Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, this is Rachel Feltman. No one wants to be a sucker. But do most of us go too far in our efforts to avoid naivety? In other words, are we all a little overly cynical? My guest today is Jamil Zaki, a professor of psychology at Stanford University. He’s also the author of…
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Expressive Faces Make People More Likable
A skilled card player—eyes hidden by dark shades and features kept as still as possible—looks at their hand. Any small giveaway that they’re bluffing or holding great cards could lose them a painfully large sum of money. Sometimes it helps to have a “poker face.” Yet in day-to-day life—when socializing with family, friends and new acquaintances, for example—you might be…
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Joints Are the Ultimate Flex
Middle age is when you get to know your joints. I have spent the last few years learning that my many youthful party tricks—popping shoulders out of their sockets on a whim, bending elbows backward—had painful long-term consequences. Twenty years of high-impact sports on an imperfect skeleton have also taken their toll. I’m now gritting my teeth through the tiny…
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Why Does Snow Bring Childlike Joy?
January 22, 2025 3 min read Why Does Snow Bring Childlike Joy? Snow’s appeal is more than just a fond nostalgia for childhood days away from school By Meghan Bartels edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Just a few degrees’ difference can turn a dreary rainy day into a nigh on magical scene straight out of a snow globe. “It’s more…
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BMI Sidelined in New Obesity Definition That Favors Health Evaluation
Amid the rising buzz around Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs, a group of 58 researchers is challenging the way obesity is defined and diagnosed, arguing that current methods fail to capture the complexity of the condition. They offer a more nuanced approach. The group’s revised definition, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology on 14 January, focuses on how excess…
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The Supreme Court’s Trans Health Case Shows Why Patients Should Make the Decisions
January 16, 2025 5 min read The Supreme Court’s Case on Trans Health Shows Why Patients Should Make the Decisions Supreme Court arguments over trans health care makes plain how badly we need personalized health care in all of medicine By Meredithe McNamara & Dan Murphy edited by Dan Vergano A transgender rights supporter takes part in a rally outside…
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Climate Opportunities in Greenland May Be Part of Trump’s Interest
January 13, 2025 4 min read Why Does Greenland Interest Trump? Climate Change Is Only Part of the Story Arctic shipping routes and burgeoning mining opportunities may be part of Greenland’s appeal to President-elect Donald Trump, but each comes with challenges as well By Meghan Bartels edited by Jeanna Bryner Container ship navigating among icebergs in the harbor of Narsaq,…
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Bird Flu, Salmonella and Other Health Risks from Raw Eggs, Explained
January 10, 2025 4 min read Can You Get Bird Flu from Eggs? Your Egg Safety Questions Answered Eggs can carry nasty viruses and bacteria. Here’s how to store and eat them safely By Tanya Lewis edited by Jeanna Bryner Véronique Duplain/Alamy Stock Photo Eggs can be eaten in many different forms: scrambled, poached, fried, boiled or in omelets, soufflés,…
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Elon Musk’s DOGE Panel Won’t Fix Bureaucracy
A constitutional winter is upon us, partly enabled by last summer’s spike in the price of eggs. While the Federal Reserve battled egg inflation, angry voters reinstalled Donald Trump in the White House. Among his first acts: appointing two tech billionaires, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, as efficiency czars. What their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—more an advisory group, really—proposes…
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