60-second Science

A brief portion of the December 9 conversation during the climate talks in France between Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Scientific American’s David Biello  

Roaches get the signal to gather together from pheromones produced by their gut microbes and released in the insects’ excrement. Christopher Intagliata reports

Among its goals, the coalition of countries, including the U.S., wants an agreement that the world must aim as soon as possible to hold global warming to 1.5-degree Celsius and work toward a long-term low-carbon future  

An analysis determines that many road-building projects in Africa would bring only modest benefits to people, while devastating the environment. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists can provide the info to make sure that the correct areas are chosen for protection to help ensure the continued robustness of a region's biodiversity  

Closely tracking 800 people's blood glucose levels in response to meals allowed researchers to develop a predictive algorithm for individuals   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Overweight men’s sperm undergo epigenetic changes that may alter a child’s brain development and appetite control. Christopher Intagliata reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flies, beetles, butterflies and moths may account for some 40 percent of the world’s pollination. Christopher Intagliata reports

Gentrifying residents in two Brooklyn neighborhoods view their new surroundings differently, depending on the race of those who traditionally live there. Erika Beras reports

Researchers sampled 10 espresso machines and found that most of them harbored coffee residues rich in bacteria—including some potentially pathogenic strains. Christopher Intagliata reports

A tree survey in the Amazon by more than 150 researchers led to an estimate that up to 57 percent of Amazon trees could qualify for threatened species status by 2050   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A study found that the stronger a subject's memory of a particular food, the more likely they were to choose it again, even over foods they professed to enjoy more  

Volunteers taking an "implicit bias" test who were unlikely to associate images of women with leadership titles like executive or president were far less likely to vote for a woman in a race against a man of equal qualification  

Twenty minutes into a meal, E. coli pump out appetite-suppressing proteins, which could influence our feeling of hunger. Christopher Intagliata reports

Researchers took cells from donated vocal cord tissue and successfully grew them on a three-dimensional scaffold to produce new vocal cords that can produce sound  

Using a satellite-born sensor system that can penetrate through several feet of dry surface sediments, researchers found the dry remains of an ancient river system winding for hundreds of miles below the Saharan sands    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stimulating the "taste cortex" was enough to trick mice into thinking they'd tasted sweet or bitter substances, when in fact their tongues tasted nothing at all. Christopher Intagliata reports

Fruits growing wild in urban areas were found to be healthful and to contain lower levels of lead than what's considered safe in drinking water  

Careful recordings of mouse interactions find that females vocalize, overturning the long-held view that only males sing during courtship  

Slow, steady breathing lofts minute food particles into the nasal cavity, where they contribute to your perception of flavor. Christopher Intagliata reports