60-second Science

An animal behaviorist ponders a future where some Spots are robots. Larry Greenemeier reports  

Models show that leaving sea cucumbers unharvested in some underwater zones for two years at a time stabilizes the overall population and actually increases yield for fishers. Cynthia Graber reports  

A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research blames 40 percent of the rise in obesity on the ubiquity of supercenters, warehouse clubs and restaurants. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports   

Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, gave his view of the next couple of decades in the evolution of TV-watching at the re:publica 15 digital culture conference in Berlin on May 5    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Chris Wood explains the May 9 Global Big Day event, in which birders worldwide are invited to spot birds and upload their findings to the eBird database. Steve Mirsky reports   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mice exposed to radiation akin to what astronauts to Mars would receive experienced cognitive impairment. Lee Billings reports

Scientists have introduced genes into the American chestnut from wheat that help disarm the fungus that killed almost all three billion of the trees in the eastern U.S. David Biello reports  

An investigation of more than 17,000 hit tunes suggests popular music undergoes periods of shifting diversity, and that new styles evolve in bursts. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A vast region of space colder than expected is also largely devoid of galaxies, and the two observations are no coincidence. Clara Moskowitz reports  

Engineers devised a latex-laced honeycomb material that could make an airplane cabin sound more like a quiet living room. Christopher Intagliata reports

Device stimulates hand muscles to counteract writing issues experienced by some people with Parkinson’s. Larry Greenemeier reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new survey suggests that most kids by age two are using tablets and smartphones, sometimes while watching TV. Christopher Intagliata reports

Feline audiogenic reflex seizures, or FARS, was discovered after a few cat owners reported the issue to an advocacy group  

Blood tests on 10 professional musicians before and after playing showed that specific genes got turned on by performance, some of which are also active in songbirds. Karen Hopkin reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Analysis of 168 bottles of bubbly that sat at the sea bottom for 170 years shows how the old-timers tweaked their champagne taste. Cynthia Graber reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientific American's David Biello hosts a new episode of the TV series Beyond the Light Switch, focusing on the means to and effects of a more electricity-powered country. Steve Mirsky reports  

Making salamis and cheeses with more pores might make them taste just as salty but with less added sodium finding its way into the body. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The harder a projectile hits a granular substance like sand, the more that material acts like a solid, effectively repelling the intruder. Christopher Intagliata reports

Thanks to their GPS systems, smartphones in an array could pick up movements indicating the onset of an earthquake and provide extra seconds of early warning. Cynthia Graber reports    

Radar measurements and models of Earthly glacial ice flows led researchers to conclude that the glaciers spotted on Mars from orbiters contain nearly 150 billion cubic meters of water. Lee Billings reports    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices