Research News

Bali sea salt and a spoonful of Hawaiian red alae salt.

The Paradox And Mystery Of Our Taste For Salt

11:37am December 20, 2012

by Dan Charles

Many health experts say we should eat less salt, but that's not easy. Salt is added to almost everything that we cook or bake. Are we born with a taste for that much salt, or do we just like what we've always eaten? Scientists say it's some of both.

Queue Listen Now

Archaeologists believe that ancient farmers used pots made from these pottery shards to make cheese â a less perishable, low-lactose milk product.

Science

Archaeologists Find Ancient Evidence Of Cheese-Making

12:19pm December 17, 2012

Scientists have detected milk fat on 7,000-year-old pottery vessels from archaeological sites in Northern Europe. They think it's the earliest evidence of cheese-making, and they argue dairy products gave early farmers an evolutionary edge.

Queue Listen Now

Science

Why Tragedies Alter Risk Perception

5:44am December 17, 2012

If Friday's school shooting in Connecticut follows the pattern set by other mass tragedies, huge numbers of Americans are worrying about the safety of their kids at school. How is our perception of risk is shaped by tragedy, and what happens when our perceptions do not line up with the facts?

Queue Listen Now

Science

Ask A Quantum Mechanic

1:03pm December 14, 2012

Did you know plants use quantum mechanics every day? That quantum computers can hack the encryption used in online commerce? Or that a 'quantum internet' could someday teleport your emails? MIT's Seth Lloyd discusses those and other quantum mysteries in this episode of "Ask a quantum mechanic."

Queue Listen Now

The fossil remains of Dickinsonia, an Ediacaran organism that's long been extinct. Scientists have long assumed these early life forms lived in the sea, but a new study argues they emerged on land.

Science

Land Creatures Might Not Have Come From The Sea

6:29pm December 12, 2012

by Richard Harris

Conventional wisdom holds that complex life evolved in the sea, then crawled up onto land. But a provocative new study argues that the procession might be drawn in the wrong direction. The earliest large life forms may have appeared on land long before the oceans filled with creatures.

Queue Listen Now

Why It's Easier To Scam The Elderly

4:23pm December 06, 2012

by Patti Neighmond

New research suggests older adults may have less activity in the area of the brain that processes risk and subtle danger. Another possible reason older adults don't pick up on warning signs is an increasing bias against negativity.

Queue Listen Now