Hobbit Disappearance Explained, Second-Hottest Year Looms, New Mpox Variant Found

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Science Quickly, we dive into how the European Union’s latest Copernicus Climate Change Service bulletin shows that 2025 is on track to become the second-hottest year on record, explore what a newly detected mpox strain could mean for global health, examine why more parents are refusing vitamin K injections for newborns—and uncover fresh evidence about why Homo floresiensis, the so-called hobbits of Indonesia, mysteriously disappeared. Recommended Reading: 2025 Likely to Tie for Second-Hottest Year on Record A Vitamin Shot Given at Birth Prevents Lethal Brain Bleeds, but More Parents Are Opting Out E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com 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 our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. 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	Metrose presents.
0:01.5	I really fancy a mince pie.
0:04.0	One man's selfless journey from sofa to kitchen.
0:07.6	I'm going up.
0:08.8	For a number one golden mince pie with juicy golden raisins, cherries and apricots and zesty limoncello.
0:16.1	Winston cream.
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0:30.2	Hi, listeners, this is Kendra Pierre-Louis.
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