NASA Astronauts Finally Return, Seals Hold Their Breath, and Penguin Poop Stresses Out Krill

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.3 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two NASA astronauts are finally back on Earth after an unexpected nine-month stay in space. What kept them up there so long? Meanwhile scientists have discovered that gray seals have a built-in oxygen gauge that helps them hold their breath for more than an hour. And in the Antarctic, researchers found that penguin poop seriously stresses out krill. Catch up on these stories and more in our Monday news roundup. Recommended reading: After 286 Days in Space, NASA Astronauts Return to Earth with a Splash 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, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Vanta.
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0:24.2	Head to vanta.com slash Spotify to learn more.
0:28.8	Hi, I'm Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics at Scientific American.
0:34.0	Like many kids, I once dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
0:37.0	While I never made it to space,
0:38.7	my work at Scientific American has given me the next best thing, exploring the cosmos through stories
0:44.3	and sharing its wonders with science lovers like you. When I research a story, I immerse myself
0:49.7	in the reporting to bring you an exciting and accurate account. Over the years, I've covered breathtaking
0:55.1	rocket launches, visited one of the world's highest altitude telescopes in Chile, and even trained
1:00.6	for suborbital spaceflight. I love interviewing scientists who are exploring the mysteries
1:05.5	of space. If you'd like to learn about the secrets of dark matter directly from an expert,
1:10.8	join me on April 9th for a live conversation with theoretical physicist Catherine Zurich.
1:16.8	Subscribe to Scientific American today at siam.com slash getsyam
1:21.4	to attend this event and explore our vast, beautiful cosmos.
1:35.0	Thank you. our vast, beautiful cosmos. Happy Monday listeners.
1:36.8	For Scientific American Science quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman.
1:40.1	Let's kick off the week by catching up on some science news you may have missed.
	...

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