Science Quickly

In this episode of Science Quickly, gynecologic oncologist and health equity researcher Kemi Doll explains why the well-known Black maternal mortality crisis is part of a broader “Black womb crisis” in which many Black women experience a lifetime of gynecologic health challenges. Drawing on research and personal stories from her new book A Terrible Strength, Doll explores how Black women face disparities in conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, and endometrial cancer and how gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care contribute to worse outcomes for this population. Recommended Reading: A Terrible Strength. Kemi Doll. Harmony, 2026  Black women have worse IVF outcomes. New science helps explain why E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protein is having a major moment, showing up in everything from snack foods to coffee drinks—but do we actually need more of it? In this episode of Science Quickly, Rachel Feltman speaks with science journalist Bethany Brookshire about what has happened with the rise of the protein craze, how much protein people really need and why most of us are already getting plenty. They explore where the trend came from, what the science says about daily intake and how there are potential downsides to focusing too heavily on protein at the expense of overall diet and sustainability. Recommended Reading: Protein is being added to everything from Starbucks’ cold foam to Pop-Tarts. Here’s how much you actually need The Science That Could Change How You Think about Protein E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this science news roundup, we start with a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship. The outbreak is raising concerns about rare human‑to‑human transmission while experts say the risk of a wider pandemic remains low. We also look at new research showing that airborne microplastics and nanoplastics may be contributing to global warming—an unexpected climate effect of plastic pollution. And in Alaska, a massive retreating-glacier‑driven landslide that triggered a dramatic tsunami offers new clues that could help improve early-warning systems in the future. Recommended Reading: What you need to know about hantavirus, the infection at the center of a deadly cruise ship outbreak A dangerous experiment is playing out on a cruise ship with hantavirus There is no vaccine for deadly hantavirus, but this scientist is working on one Trump administration cut funding to study hantavirus, the virus behind the deadly cruise ship outbreak Airborne microplastics could be making climate change worse A 1,500-foot tsunami took scientists by surprise. Now we know why it happened E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peptides are everywhere right now—from weight-loss drugs to TikTok wellness hacks—but the science hasn’t caught up with the hype. Journalist Victoria Song joins Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman to break down what peptides actually are, why influencers are promoting “research-only” versions you can buy and inject yourself, and what risks are posed by this growing gray-market trend. From misleading marketing to real safety concerns, we unpack the Internet’s latest wellness obsession.  Recommended Reading: “Influencers are pushing suspicious peptides. How much are you willing to risk?” by Victoria Song in the Verge. Published online January 23, 2026 “I don’t think Gwyneth Paltrow knows what a peptide is,” by Victoria Song in the Verge. Published online April 24, 2026 Peptides promise longevity and healing. Does the science back them up? Where do you stand on the use of peptides for health and wellness? E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Science Quickly, journalist Evan Ratliff joins Kendra Pierre-Louis to discuss his audacious experiment: launching a start‑up staffed entirely by autonomous artificial intelligence agents. Ratliff shares what happened when these agents tried to build a product, manage a human intern, pitch investors and even operate on LinkedIn—sometimes with surprising competence and sometimes with outright fabrication. Recommended Reading: Listen to Evan Ratliff’s podcast Shell Game E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Kendra Pierre-Louis and edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Science Quickly news roundup, we look at promising results from a new study about preeclampsia. We also cover the latest news about the Trump administration’s push against clean energy. Plus, we remember pioneering geneticist J. Craig Venter, who died last week, and Scientific American’s chief newsletter editor Andrea Gawrylewski shares an interesting defense technology story from the magazine’s May issue. We then dig into a fascinating new study about scorpion stingers and claws. Finally, we ask a strange question: Where was your backyard 320 million years ago? Recommended Reading: Could blood filtering help treat one of pregnancy’s most deadly conditions? Human genome decoder J. Craig Venter dies at age 79 DARPA’s AI is built to call BS on wild weapons claims See where your backyard was millions of years ago at Paleolaltitude.org E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman and science journalist Jane C. Hu trace the surprising journey of psychedelics in the U.S.—from symbolizing the hippie movement of the 1960s to being seen as a panacea for mental illness. But where does science stand on psychedelic therapy? And what does the renewed political push for psychedelics mean for research? Recommended Reading: The Microdose, a newsletter supported by the University of California, Berkeley, Center for the Science of Psychedelics RFK, Jr., says ibogaine holds unprecedented promise for treating depression. Here’s what the science says RFK, Jr., puts psychedelics on fast track to FDA review and approval E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Physics can feel intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein joins Science Quickly to explore how poetry, pop culture and imagination can help us grapple with some of the universe’s biggest questions. From spacetime and dark matter to Star Trek, Missy Elliott and queer theory, the conversation traces how physics is shaped by history, culture and creativity—and why struggling with complex ideas can be intellectually and even politically meaningful. Recommended Reading: The Edge of Space-Time. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. Pantheon, 2026 E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from around the world, including one from Costa Rica about decoy sea turtle eggs with the potential to catch poachers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from around the world, including one from Panama about the toll lightning takes on tropical trees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from around the world, including one, from the dormant volcano Llullaillaco in Chile, about a mouse that is the highest-dwelling mammal ever documented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from all over, including one from the United Arab Emirates about the the first interplanetary mission by an Arab country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from all over, including one from Antarctica about how there’s something funny about penguin poop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from all over, including one about how a lizard population responded to hurricanes by developing larger and stickier toe pads on average. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about an incredibly well-preserved horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), like the one pictured, that lived 46,000 years ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about what the eruption of Mount Vesuvius might have done to one ill-fated resident of Herculaneum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the world, including one from off the California coast about the first heart rate measurement done on a blue whale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are a few brief reports about international science and technology from around the world, including one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo about a toad that has evolved coloring that makes it look like a deadly snake’s head. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Indonesia to Spain, including one from Brazil about the highest-voltage electric eel ever discovered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Mexico to Tanzania, including one about the need to quarantine bananas in Colombia that are potentially infected by a fungus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Brazil to Hong Kong, including one about male elephants in India exhibiting unusual social behaviors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Hungary to Japan, including one about a wine grape in France that DNA testing shows has been cultivated for almost a millennium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Guatemala to Australia, including one about the first recorded tornado in Nepal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Canada to Kenya, including one about how humans thousands of years ago in what is now Argentina butchered and presumably ate giant ground sloths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Liberia to Hawaii, including one on the discovery in Northern Ireland of soil bacteria that stop the growth of MRSA and other superbugs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few very brief reports about science and technology from around the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices