ScienceBard Media

Susanne Clara Bard creates multimedia content for science organizations, non-profits, museums, and c

12/17/2020

A new study sheds light on why it's so hard to learn to speak a new language, but reading and listening comprehension come more easily. My latest for Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/brain-sides-both-busy-in-new-language-learning/ -body

A study of adults learning a new language found that speaking primarily activated regions in the left side of the brain but reading and listening comprehension were much more variable.

11/24/2020

At the tail end of the age of the dinosaurs, a pony-sized duckbill dinosaur called Ajnabia roamed North Africa. But to get there, duckbill dinosaurs had to cross oceans. https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/duckbill-dino-odyssey-ended-in-africa/ -body

A duckbill dinosaur jawbone found in Morocco means that dinosaurs crossed a large body of water to reach Africa.

10/14/2020

When blue whales sing their deep and resonant songs may indicate when they are about to migrate.

Blue whales off California’s coast sing at night—until it’s time to start migrating, and they switch to daytime song.

10/14/2020

Dogs are amazingly diverse. Selective breeding for a variety of traits created the breeds we have today. Play between humans and dogs was a key part of this process. My latest for Scientific American:

The ancestors of today’s dogs already exhibited some playfulness, which became a key trait during domestication.

08/03/2020

Police lineups are prone to error because our visual memories are flawed. But at the same time, we tend to believe what we "see" and extend that trust to other people, including eyewitnesses at crime scenes. Neuroscientists test a technique that could reduce misidentification of suspects and keep more innocent people out of prison. My latest podcast for Scientific American.

Compared with traditional lineup techniques, a series of two-faces-at-a-time choices led to more accurate identification by study witnesses.

07/24/2020

In case you were wondering, before the 16th century, carrots were purple, white, and pale yellow thanks to pigments favored through selective breeding, the ancient Egyptians cultivated sweet watermelons with red flesh (wild watermelons are white inside), as well as wheat that is much taller than today's industrialized crops. What can art tell us about the history of agriculture? You can contribute to an online research database by submitting photos of crop foods in art at . Here is my latest podcast:

Art museums are filled with centuries-old paintings with details of plants that today give us clues about evolution and breeding practices.

07/20/2020

During the Civil War, soldiers were vaccinated against smallpox. Here is my latest podcast about the cool way scientists uncovered the virus doctors based the vaccine on. One thing I learned while researching this is that black soldiers in the Union army were 6 times more likely to get smallpox, and those who did were more likely to die from it. My guess is that poorer health care, living conditions, and racism were involved. Another thing I learned is that desperate soldiers tried to vaccinate themselves. Remember, hypodermic needles hadn't been invented, and viruses hadn't yet been discovered because they're tiny. This "spurious vaccination" often resulted in soldiers giving themselves syphilis and other diseases! ALSO, there's some evidence that people had gotten complacent about smallpox during the 19th century after the development of the vaccine, and that may have led to vaccine refusal! Just like today. Smallpox inoculation goes back a long time, but vaccination using viruses that are less deadly is a much more recent practice.

Vaccination used against smallpox during the Civil War reveals the identity of the distantly related virus used to keep troops disease free.

05/13/2020

Some bloody good news for once. Don't let the title fool you, tardigrades and sea-monkeys also figure prominently in this story. My latest for Scientific American.

Dehydrated blood that could keep at room temperature for years may be possible thanks to a sugar used to preserve donuts, and by tardigrades and brine shrimp to dry out and spring back with water.

04/03/2020

E-readers are cool. But what if you're an e-squid? Between their glowing bioluminescence and the rapidly changing patterns on their skin, these denizens of the deep may be passing important messages back and forth to each other. You know, the kind of communication that prevents high-speed collisions...and cannibalism. I interviewed Stanford biologist Ben Burford to find out how these creatures get their point across while still leaving everyone in the dark.

Humboldt squid can rapidly change the pigmentation and luminescence patterns on their skin by contracting and relaxing their muscles, possibly to communicate.

04/01/2020

Swamp wallabies are pregnant ALL the time. I spoke to reproductive and behavioral biologist Marilyn Renfree from the University of Melbourne to find out more.

They're not born pregnant like tribbles, but swamp wallabies routinely get pregnant while pregnant.

04/01/2020

This ancient animal may be your oldest relative. My latest podcast for Scientific American.

The bilateral organism crawled on the seafloor, taking in organic matter at one end and dumping the remains out the other some 555 million years ago.

04/01/2020

What predicts which bird species will make it in urban environments? I spoke with biologist Ferran Sayol to find out in this Scientific American podcast.

To make it in urban areas, birds tend to be either large-brained and able to produce few offspring or small-brained and extremely fertile. In natural habitats, most birds brains are of average size.

03/19/2020

While you're at home, you can contribute to scientific research through online citizen science projects. Zooniverse has many ready-made projects that need volunteers. Many are in the arts and history as well.

The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research.

03/12/2020

University of Exeter sensory ecologist Emily Carter discusses how loud noise from oil tankers, cargo ships, and cruise ships thwarts juvenile shore crab camouflage and makes them more vulnerable to predators in my latest Scientific American podcast.

In an example of how sea noise can harm species, exposed shore crabs changed camouflaging color sluggishly and were slower to flee from simulated predators.

03/05/2020

Tropical forests keep a record of the history and culture surrounding them. My latest podcast for Scientific American.

Studies on very old vegetation in the Amazon basin show active management hundreds of years ago on species such as Brazil nut and cocoa trees.

02/26/2020

By radiocarbon dating the remains of mud wasp nests on ancient Aboriginal paintings in rock shelters in Western Australia, scientists were able to pinpoint when the art was created. My podcast for Scientific American.

Art created by Australian Aboriginal people used organic carbon-free pigments, but wasp nests above or below the art can be used for radiocarbon dating that supplies boundaries for the age of artworks.

02/26/2020

The Industrial Revolution didn't just pollute the cities where coal-powered mechanization took off a little over 200 years ago. It also left its mark on the Himalayas. History meets science in my Scientific American podcast.

Ice cores from a Tibetan glacier reveal the first deposits of industrial revolution pollution, starting in layers dated to about 1780.

02/26/2020

Contrails from air traffic can have a significant impact on the climate. But they could be prevented through a coordinated effort between the aviation industry and air traffic control. My latest 60-Second Science podcast for Scientific American.

Increasing or decreasing the altitude of aircraft by a few thousand feet to avoid thin layers of humidity could make a major reduction to contrails’ contribution to climate change.

Address

Washington D.C., DC

Telephone

+12024418976

Website

https://sciencebard.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when ScienceBard Media posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.