Childhood Illnesses Surge, Magnetic Poles Wandered, and a Colossal Squid Is Found

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.3 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Measles cases are going up—and a federal scientist has warned that case counts have probably been underreported. Another vaccine-preventable illness, whooping cough, sees a troubling increase in cases. Ancient humans found sun-protection solutions when Earth’s magnetic poles wandered. A colossal squid has been captured on video in its natural habitat for the first time. Plus, we discuss evidence that Mars once had a carbon cycle and a planet that is orbiting a pair of brown dwarfs. Recommended reading: This Is the First Colossal Squid Filmed in the Deep Sea—And It’s a Baby! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f8leNRUXdo&t=1s RFK, Jr., Is Wrong about Cause of Rising Autism Rates, Scientists Say https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-real-reason-autism-rates-are-rising/ How to Talk about Vaccines in an Era of Scientific Mistrust https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-vaccine-hesitancy-occur-and-how-can-people-combat-it/ E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Alex Sugiura with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:30.5	Hi, I'm Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics at Scientific American. Like many kids,
0:36.5	I once dreamed of becoming an astronaut. While I never made it to space, my work at Scientific American. Like many kids, I once dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
0:38.6	While I never made it to space, my work at Scientific American has given me the next best thing,
0:43.9	exploring the cosmos through stories and sharing its wonders with science lovers like you.
0:48.9	When I research a story, I immerse myself in the reporting to bring you an exciting and accurate account. Over the years,
0:55.6	I've covered breathtaking rocket launches, visited one of the world's highest altitude telescopes in Chile,
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1:33.6	For Scientific American Science Quickly, I'm Rachel Feldman.
1:37.8	Let's kick off the week with a quick roundup of the latest science news. First, some public health updates.
1:50.0	Measles is continuing to spread in the U.S., with 712 cases confirmed so far in 2025 as of April
1:57.4	11th, according to the CDC.
1:59.9	For reference, there were just 285 confirmed cases in all of 2024.
2:05.3	The CDC has confirmed two deaths from measles this year and is investigating a third.
	...

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