A Moment of Science

A proboscis monkey sitting in a tree, its mouth partly open as it eats and looks off to the side

Cud-chewing monkeys

Proboscis monkeys from Borneo and cows do have something in common: they both chew their cuds. Read More »

Recent Audio Podcasts

Rain in this desert is deadly

The highway road through the Atacama desert, heading off towards tall hills

The Atacama Desert in Northern Chile is the driest desert on Earth. The only life there is microbial, and researchers study it to get an idea of what we might find on Mars.

A patas monkey sitting in a tree with pointy green leaves

One study proposes that this “sort of a man” described as “shortish, and oldish, and brownish and mossy” could have been inspired by the patas monkey.

A closeup of a trilobite fossil on a white table

Paleontologists constantly search for new species of fossilized creatures from the distant past to expand our understanding of the history of life on Earth.

Mosquitoes always seem to find us, no matter how hard we try to get away. How do they do it?

A black and white closeup of raindrops on a car's window

The next time you're driving during a rain shower, glance back at the rear window. You'll notice that while raindrops batter the front windshield, they seem to avoid the back window as long as the car is moving. How is that possible?

Older stories »

A Moment of Science Blog

Surprising Science: How Fungi Can Help Conquer The Final Frontier

The fibers of mycelium in mushrooms cover a large area

Today's Surprising Science looks at the emerging field of astromycology and how fungi might just hold the key to our space exploration efforts.

Carlo Bononi’s Incoronazione della Virgine

Our last Surprising Science took us out of this world to learn more about how scientists determine potentially habitable planets. Today, we’re back on Earth to look at how some of our smallest life forms are impacting the art world.

How does introducing a new species impact an environment? The unique case of the Lazarus lizard shows there's more than one possible outcome.

Scientific breakthroughs can come from some surprising sources. Today's episode of Surprising Science looks at how different branches can create breakthroughs in other fields.