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Mar 31, 2025
It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere in our virtual lives. It's in our search results and our phones. But what happens when AI moves out of the chat and into the real world? NPR science editor and correspondent Geoff Brumfiel took a trip to the Intelligence through Robotic Interaction at Scale Lab at Stanford University to see how scientists are using AI to power robots and the large hurdles that exist for them to perform even simple tasks.
Read Geoff's full story.
Interested in more AI stories? Email us your ideas at shortwave@npr.org.
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Mar 28, 2025
What are the narwhals up to? Generally, we don't really know! They are mysterious creatures. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce talks about new, rare drone footage scientists captured of arctic narwhals. The video sparked new ideas for how they use their tusks.
Read Nell's full piece.
Love mysterious critters and want to hear more? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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Mar 26, 2025
New research suggests seals sense internal oxygen levels to know when to come up for air. Digital version of story that already aired. Skedded for pub Weds. 3/26 at 6 a.m. Reporter: Lambert. Editor: Khan.
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Mar 24, 2025
A new study shows that the quality of a person's microphone in a video meeting affects how the speaker is perceived by others.
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Mar 24, 2025
Early in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the SARS-CoV-2 virus would mutate slowly. They were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of viral mutations and multiple seasonal waves later, we now know why. The answer changes researchers' understanding of viral evolution — and it could help predict the evolution of other viruses in the future. Emily talks about it all with Sarah Zhang, a health writer for The Atlantic.
Want to hear more virology or human biology stories? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org.
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Mar 22, 2025
Over 800 marine species have recently been discovered including a guitar-shaped shark off the coast of Mozambique. NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks to marine biologist, Lucy Woodall.
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Mar 21, 2025
Ever diagnosed yourself with a mental health disorder based on a TikTok video? If so, you're not alone. "I personally don't think that there's anything more human than wanting to understand yourself and wanting to understand your own experiences," says Vasileia Karasavva. Vasileia is the lead author of a paper published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One that gets into why this kind of self-diagnosis can be such a double-edged sword.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Mar 20, 2025
Why can't we remember when we were babies? Scientists who scanned infants' brains found that they do make memories. The findings suggest these memories may still exist, but are inaccessible to us.
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Mar 15, 2025
New research shows that ingesting plastic can cause organ dysfunction and other health problems in birds.
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Mar 15, 2025
New research shows that ingesting plastic can cause organ dysfunction and other health problems in birds.
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Mar 14, 2025
Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: dinosaurs. When these ecosystem engineers were in their heyday, forest canopies were open and seeds were small. But around the time most dinosaurs were wiped out, paleontologists noticed an interesting shift in the fossil record: Seeds got bigger — much bigger. There was a fruit boom. Did the death of these dinosaurs have something to do with it? And who are the modern day equivalent of dinosaur influencers? To find out, host Emily Kwong talks to Chris Doughty, an ecologist at Northern Arizona University.
Tell us what other tales of dino past you want us to regale you with by emailing us at shortwave@npr.org!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Mar 11, 2025
In its first 50 days, the Trump administration made sweeping changes to scientific arms of the government like the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. The president issued executive orders to terminate all work that was related to DEI, environmental justice and gender inclusivity. In response, research was halted and thousands of people were fired — some of which was reversed. It's a lot to keep track of, so we called in reinforcements. Here to recount it all and analyze what these ongoing changes mean for the future of scientific research in the United States are NPR science correspondents Rob Stein, Pien Huang and Jonathan Lambert.
Want to hear more about policy changes affecting science? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! We're also always open to other story ideas you have.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Mar 10, 2025
According to the survey, 57% of drinkers believe their alcohol consumption does not increase their personal risk of serious health problems.
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Mar 10, 2025
Tourists to Antarctica are fueling research on some of the tiniest, most influential organisms on Earth: phytoplankton. These itty bitty critters make their own food and are the base of the food web in most of the ocean, but tracking how well they're doing is historically tricky. So, researchers with the program FjordPhyto are using samples collected by these tourists to understand how the balance of power in the Antarctic food web could be shifting — could ripple across the food web of the entire ocean.
Want to hear more community science at work or about polar ecosystems? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! We're also always open to other story ideas you have.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Mar 04, 2025
You've heard of the woolly mammoth. But have you heard of woolly mice? These critters were genetically modified by the Dallas-based biotech company Colossal Biosciences to have the same "woolly" and fat appearance as the ancient mammoths. The mice are a key step in the longer journey to de-extinct the woolly mammoth. NPR's Rob Stein takes us to the lab where it all happened.
Interested in more biotech stories? Let us know by dropping a line to shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Mar 02, 2025
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks Li Zhang, professor of physiology and neuroscience at USC's Keck School of Medicine, how mice perform first aid on each other.
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Feb 24, 2025
A year and a half ago, neuroscientist Kamilla Souza got the call she'd been waiting for: A baby humpback whale had died just offshore. She wanted its brain. That's because scientists know little about the brains of whales and dolphins off the Central and South American coasts. Studying them, like Kamilla is doing, can teach scientists about the inner workings of these animals — about their behavior and how they're adapted to living underwater. So, she has to race against time to save the brains. The heat in this area of Brazil accelerates decomposition. Minutes matter.
This episode was reported by Ari Daniel. Read more of Ari's reporting.
Curious about other biology research happening around the world? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
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Feb 21, 2025
Ever eat a full meal ... and find you still have room for dessert? If so, you're not alone. Sugar is a quick form of energy that many people crave — even when they're full. Today, hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber dive into a new study on the neural origins of the "dessert brain."
Want us to cover more neuroscience on the show? Let your voice be counted by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Feb 20, 2025
A new study finds that lab mice perform a suite of likely innate behaviors towards unconscious mice that help them revive faster.
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Feb 19, 2025
What happens when a team of scientists and local Awajún guides go on a 38-day trip into the Alto Mayo region of Peru? Over 2000 species are identified, of course! Tucked in this lush landscape where the Amazon basin meets the Andes mountains, were 27 species of animals previously unknown to science. It makes us wonder, what else is out there that the scientific community hasn't seen? And who already knows about it?
Check out photos of all the critters we mentioned — and more!
Other ecosystems or critters you think would make a good episode? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Feb 14, 2025
For years, scientists have known that oxytocin is important in facilitating the feeling of love in humans. How do they know? Prairie voles. For years, scientists have relied on the cuddly rodents to help us humans understand how this protein works in our brains. But within the past few years, research has complicated that understanding, prompting the question: Can love prevail without the "love" hormone? (encore)
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Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Feb 10, 2025
For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. On a molecular level, life takes this to the extreme. All of the DNA in earthly living things twists to the right, whereas the protein building blocks favor a kind of left-handed chemistry. But in recent years, scientists have worked toward a kind of mirror version of life. The technology to make mirror life likely won't exist for at least a decade. Still, a group of concerned scientists published a 299-page technical report calling for a stop to the science. New York Times science columnist Carl Zimmer explains how a mirror microbe could wreak havoc on life on Earth in the future.
Check out the full technical report and Carl's full article.
Curious about other controversial research? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Feb 08, 2025
Maggots love to feed on decaying fruit. New research explains how they found this out and the implications for having texture be such a big deal.
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Feb 08, 2025
An Italian study published this week has found the way to cook a perfect egg — you'll just need to spend 32 minutes to make it happen.
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Feb 07, 2025
What do large crowds of people and water have in common? They both act like fluids. When crowds cheer, sway and clump together, the movements look like ripples of water. Researchers hope insights from physics like this one could help officials and engineers create safer crowds at festivals.
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Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Feb 03, 2025
Ecologist Gergana Daskalova moved back to the small Bulgarian town of her childhood. It's a place many people have abandoned — and that's the very reason she returned. At the same time as land is being cleared around the world to make room for agriculture, elsewhere farmland is being abandoned for nature to reclaim. But what happens when people let the land return to nature? This episode, science reporter Dan Charles explains why abandoned land has conservationists and researchers asking: If we love nature, do we tend it or set it free?
Read more of Dan's reporting for Science Magazine and NPR.
Want us to cover other about ecology, biodiversity or land science stories? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Feb 02, 2025
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Professor Nicole Tang about sleep quality and why it's difficult to define and measure.
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Jan 31, 2025
In a world brimming with innovation and limited time, it can be hard to tell what technology has the potential to really shift life. Yet, every year, MIT Technology Review undertakes this very task and puts out an annual list to magazine readers of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. Today, host Regina G. Barber hops through highlights from the list with Amy Nordrum, an executive editor at the publication.
Check out the full list here.
Another tech topic on your mind that you want us to discuss on an upcoming episode? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Jan 29, 2025
Farts are funny and sometimes smelly. But are they a legitimate topic of research?
More than 40% of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from some kind of functional gut disorder — from acid reflux, heartburn, indigestion, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome to inflammatory bowel disease. So, yes, freelance science writer Claire Ainsworth thinks so. Claire speaks with Emily about two teams of scientists studying intestinal gases, who she profiled in a recent New Scientist article — and why understanding people's gut microbiome through a fart-shaped window may help treat these conditions at the source.
Read more of Claire's reporting for New Scientist.
Have another bodily function you want us to explore or just want to report to us about a funny time you passed gas? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Jan 24, 2025
At least, it's contagious among a group of captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Sanctuary. How do researchers know? A very dedicated grad student at Kyoto University. In the quest for scientific knowledge, Ena Onishi logged over 600 hours in the field! This episode, host Regina G. Barber and special guests Jonathan Lambert and Ari Shapiro get into the nitty gritty of the research and their hypotheses for why this is happening in this episode.
Read Jonathan's full reporting about contagious peeing in chimps.
Delighted by other scientific discoveries you think we should share with the whole class (the rest of our audience)? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Jan 17, 2025
Imagine the tree of life. The tip of every branch represents one species, and if you follow any two branches back through time, you'll hit an intersection. If you keep going back in time, you'll eventually find the common ancestor for all of life. That ancestor is called LUCA, the last universal common ancestor, and there is no fossil record to tell us what it looked like.
Luckily, we have Jonathan Lambert. He's a science correspondent for NPR and today he's talking all things LUCA: What we think this single-celled organism may have looked like, when it lived and why a recent study suggests it could be older and more complex than scientists thought.
Have other questions about ancient biology? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Jan 13, 2025
Air quality in the Los Angeles region has plummeted due to smoke from the ongoing wildfires. With all that smoke comes possible risks to human health. So what actually is smoke and why is it so harmful? Jessica Gilman, an atmospheric chemist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, explains what smoke is made of, how it behaves in the atmosphere and smoke's role in climate change. Plus, tips for how to lessen your exposure.
Check out the CDC's recommendations for avoiding smoke inhalation here. Read more of NPR's coverage of the fires.
Questions, story ideas or want us to dig more into the science underpinning natural disasters? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Jan 12, 2025
Scientists in Antarctica have dug out ice that can be from as far back as 1.2 million years. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to researcher Carlo Barbante, about what he hopes to learn from the ice.
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Jan 08, 2025
Fluoridating the public water supply has been common practice for nearly 80 years in the U.S. It's an acclaimed public health intervention that helps prevent cavities. For just as long, some have raised concerns about the practice that can veer from evidence-based to unsubstantiated conspiracy. An analysis by government researchers, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, is adding to the debate. The research found that exposing babies and kids to high levels of fluoride might be associated with neurodevelopmental harm. Frankly, it's a lot to digest — so we invited health correspondent Pien Huang onto the show to wade through the debate.
Questions, story ideas or want us to dig into another public health debate? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Jan 05, 2025
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Jason Pootoolal, president of Save the Giraffes, about using in vitro fertilization for wild giraffes to save the species from extinction.
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Jan 04, 2025
New research shows that the anesthetic ketamine keeps fish from giving up — and the way it works may help figure out how it works in humans and lead to better medications for depression.
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Dec 30, 2024
The thick-billed parrot is the only surviving parrot species native to the United States. These brightly colored birds once roamed across the American Southwest and as far south as Venezuela — but today, the only wild population remaining lives high in the forests of Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains.
For years, conservation organizations like OVIS (Organización Vida Silvestre) and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance have been working on a multi-faceted conservation project to save these birds. Host Regina G. Barber and producer Rachel Carlson dive into the details of that project — and how tiny "bird backpacks" are helping to make it all happen.
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Dec 27, 2024
In pop culture, squirrels are often seen as jerky, excited critters on the hunt for nuts to stuff themselves with and tuck away for later. But squirrels are on the hunt for something a bit meatier in the California Bay Area. Their target: local voles. The entire process — from hunt to kill — was captured on video.
Want to hear more biology stories? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Dec 13, 2024
In the 1950s, scientists exposed a tin of meat to a dose of radiation that they expected would kill all forms of life. But one organism defied the odds and lived: Conan The Bacterium. Turns out this microorganism, known to science as Deinococcus radiodurans, is capable of surviving extreme levels of radiation — thousands of times the amount that would kill a human. So what's Conan's secret?
Want more stories about the microbial world? Let us know by emailing us at shortwave@npr.org!
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Dec 12, 2024
Tens of thousands of years ago, modern humans mated with Neanderthals. But exactly how and when that happened -- and who those groups of humans were -- is less known.
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Dec 09, 2024
Microplastics have turned up in all corners of our anatomy. So much remains unknown about how these particles work their way through our bodies, and what that means for our health.
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Dec 04, 2024
A new Boston University study of 77 deceased male ice hockey players found that their chances of developing the degenerative brain disease known as CTE increased with each year they played the sport.
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Dec 04, 2024
New advances in science, medicine, health, and technology.Stem cell research, drug research, and new treatments for disease.
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Dec 04, 2024
The Vertebrate Genomes Project: It's an ambitious effort by an international group of scientists to create a "Genome Ark" by sequencing the genomes of about 70,000 animal species. The hope is that through all of this gene sequencing, scientists will be able to answer some basic but important questions like: What makes a bird, well, a bird? What makes a mammal a mammal? Plus, with so many species on the verge of extinction, can scientists record their genetic information before they go extinct - or better yet, maybe help save the population from going extinct? Guest host Jon Hamilton, one of our favorite science correspondents, talks to Erich Jarvis, the chair of this project, to learn what this ark of animal genomes could mean for our future - and why a platypus qualified for early boarding.
Want to hear more animal stories? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org — we read every email.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Dec 03, 2024
In neuroscientist Kelly Lambert's lab at the University of Richmond, rats hop into cars, rev their engines and skid across the floor of an arena. Researchers taught these tiny rodents to drive — and turns out, they really like it. But why?
Host Regina G. Barber talks with Kelly about her driving rats, and what they tell us about anticipation, neuroplasticity, and decision making. Plus, why optimism might be good for rats, and for humans too.
Want to hear more fun animal stories? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org — we read every email.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Nov 29, 2024
Archaeologists working in Kenya found the footprints of two distinct human ancestors preserved in the fossilized mud of an ancient lake — walking side by side.
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Nov 27, 2024
A study from the American Psychology Association emphasizes that parents have to be aware of all the videos their kids are watching. Fifteen percent of kids have been exposed to porn by age 10.
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Nov 24, 2024
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Sebastian Korb, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex, about a new study showing that even forcing a smile can improve a person's mood.
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Nov 16, 2024
Scientists are reconsidering old information about Uranus. NPR's Scott Simon explains the problem with photos taken of the planet 38 years ago.
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Nov 15, 2024
Scientists say the pocket gophers were cranky about being moved into a devastated landscape for a day in 1980. But decades later, their short visit still has visible, and vibrant, effects.
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Nov 15, 2024
This critter lurks in the ocean's midnight zone, has a voluminous hood, is completely see through and is bioluminescent. It's unlike any nudibranchs deep sea experts have ever seen before — and now, the researchers who spent twenty years studying them have finally published their findings.
Have another scientific discovery you want us to cover on a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we might feature your idea on a future episode!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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Nov 13, 2024
Birds descended from the dinosaurs, but researchers have known relatively little about how the bird's brain took shape. An 80 million-year-old bird fossil that sheds light on that mystery.
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Nov 12, 2024
One in four U.S. households experiences a power outage each year. Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are working on technology they hope will help fix electric grids: drones. They're betting that 2-ft. large drones connected to "smart" electric grids are a cost-effective step to a more electrified future.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Have an idea for a future episode? We'd love to know — email us at shortwave@npr.org!
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Nov 09, 2024
The findings, which used DNA from the plaster casts of people who died in the Mt. Vesuvius eruption two millennia ago, challenge the traditional gender and familial assumptions about the Pompeiians.
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Nov 04, 2024
How did life start on Earth? The answer is a big scientific mystery scientists are actively investigating. After talking with many scientists, host Regina G. Barber found that an abundance of water on Earth is most likely key, in some way, to the origin of life — specifically, in either deep sea hydrothermal vents or in tide pools. It's for this reason some scientists are also exploring the potential for life in so-called "water worlds" elsewhere in the solar system, like some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. This episode, Regina digs into two water-related hypotheses for the origin on life on Earth — and what that might mean for possible alien life.
Have another scientific mystery you want us to cover on a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we might feature your idea on a future episode!
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Nov 01, 2024
For years, we've been asking, "Which came first: the chicken or the egg?" Maybe what we should have been asking is, "Which came first: the frog or the tadpole?" A new paper in the journal Nature details the oldest known tadpole fossil. Ringing in 20 million years earlier than scientists previously had evidence of, this fossil might get us closer to an answer.
Have another scientific discovery you want us to cover on a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we might feature your idea on a future episode!
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Oct 30, 2024
NOTE: This episode contains multiple high-pitched noises (human and other animals) that some listeners might find startling or distressing.
In this episode, host Regina G. Barber and NPR correspondent Nate Rott dive into the science behind the sound of fear. Along the way, they find out what marmot shrieks, baby cries and horror movie soundtracks have in common — and what all of this tells us about ourselves.
If you like this episode, check out our episode on fear and horror movies.
Curious about other science powering the human experience? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and we might cover your topic on a future episode!
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Oct 28, 2024
What's your favorite apple? Maybe it's the crowd-pleasing Honeycrisp, the tart Granny Smith or the infamous Red Delicious. Either way, before that apple made it to your local grocery store or orchard it had to be invented — by a scientist. So today, we're going straight to the source: Talking to an apple breeder. Producer Hannah Chinn reports how apples are selected, bred, grown ... and the discoveries that could change that process. Plus, what's a "spitter"?
Want to know how science impacts other food you eat? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and we might cover your food of choice on a future episode!
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Oct 27, 2024
A company says it is pulling together DNA to try to re-create the Tasmanian tiger, which went extinct. But some people question whether it makes sense to restore creatures to a different world.
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Oct 23, 2024
For the past 70 years, schizophrenia treatments all targeted the same chemical: dopamine. While that works for some, it causes brutal side effects for others. An antipsychotic drug approved last month by the FDA changes that. It triggers muscarinic receptors instead of dopamine receptors. The drug is the result of a chance scientific finding ... from a study that wasn't even focused on schizophrenia. Host Emily Kwong and NPR pharmaceutical correspondent Sydney Lupkin dive into where the drug originated, how it works and what it might shift for people with schizophrenia.
Read more of Sydney's reporting.
Curious about other drug treatments in the news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and we might cover your topic on a future episode!
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Oct 22, 2024
Every American red wolf alive right now is descended from only 14 canids. In the 1970s, humans drove the red wolf to the brink of extinction. Because of that, red wolves today have low genetic diversity. But what if we could recover that diversity ... using "ghost genes"?
That's right, today's episode is a ghost story. Along the way, we get into gene dictionaries, the possibilities of poo and how a photo of a common Texas coyote started it all.
Have another animal you want us to dig into for a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org!
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Oct 20, 2024
New research from Oregon State University paints a portrait of the elusive spotted skunk living in the Pacific Northwest.
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Oct 20, 2024
NPR's Eric Westervelt talks to Dr Richard Bates, a geophysicist, about the discovery of a hidden tomb in Jordan's ancient city of Petra.
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Oct 18, 2024
In the humid rainforests of northern and eastern Madagascar reside seven newly described frog species. They often hang out near fast, flowing rivers. These treefrogs' high-pitched, "futuristic" sounds may help male frogs attract females over the sound of nearby rushing water. They also are what inspired their Star Trek-themed names.
Have another animal you want us to dig into for a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org!
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Oct 16, 2024
The Treasury in Petra, Jordan, is a famous tourist site and features in an Indiana Jones movie. Now archaeologists say they've found a remarkable 12 complete skeletons in a hidden tomb beneath it.
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Oct 16, 2024
NASA's Europa Clipper mission launched Monday, beginning its years-long journey to the distant icy moon it's named after. This mission is designed to tell scientists more about the structure, the interior and the habitability of Europa, one of the four large moons of Jupiter. Host Regina G. Barber talks with astrobiologist and friend of the show Mike Wong about why their mutual love for this fascinating moon and what it means for the search for life outside of Earth. Plus, they talk about other icy moons that may also have the trifecta of ingredients needed to sustain life: liquid water, specific elements and an energy source.
Want to hear more space science? Let your voice be heard by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
Also, if you liked this episode, check out our episodes on NASA's future missions to Uranus and our episode on whether Dune could really exist!
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Oct 08, 2024
Ants have farmed fungi for 66 million years, according to new work in the journal Science. It's a relationship that flourished after the demise of the dinosaurs, says Ted Schultz of the Smithsonian.
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Oct 07, 2024
Fruit fly brains are smaller than a poppy seed, but that doesn't mean they aren't complex. For the first time, researchers have published a complete diagram of 50 million connections in an adult fruit flies brain. The journal Nature simultaneously published nine papers related to this new brain map. Until now, only a roundworm and a fruit fly larva had been mapped in this way.
Read more of science correspondent Jon Hamilton's reporting here.
Want to know more about the future of brain science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we might cover it on a future episode!
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Oct 04, 2024
Lightning: It happens all the time, and yet the exact details of how it's made has long eluded scientists. That is, until now. New research out this week in the journal Nature holds new insights into the precursor to lightning. To figure it out, researchers flew a NASA ER-2 - essentially the research version of a spy plane - over several tropical thunderstorms. What they found: The same high energy radiation is found in places like neutron stars and around black holes.
Want to hear more stories about the science behind natural phenomena? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!
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Oct 01, 2024
Over six million fungal species are believed to inhabit planet Earth. Outsmarting them is the work of Arturo Casadevall's lifetime. What If Fungi Win? is the question at the heart of Arturo's new book, co-authored with journalist Stephanie Desmon. In this episode, Emily and Regina take a trip to Arturo's lab at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and meet a group of scientists thinking about the fungal consequences of climate change, urban heat islands, and scooping up microbes with candy.
Curious about fungi? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!
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Sep 20, 2024
What's scaly, striped and breathes underwater like a scuba diver? Water anoles! These lizards can form a bubble over their head to support breathing underwater. They're found in the tropical forests of southern Costa Rica.
Want more critter stories? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Sep 15, 2024
Much of the food supply in the U.S. goes uneaten, which contributes to climate change. Some states have tried to cut food waste in landfills, but their efforts have fallen short, researchers found.
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Sep 13, 2024
The scale of the geological event is like something from prehistoric times, with a tsunami 200 meters--656 feet--in height. But it happened last year. Researchers warn that similar events may reoccur.
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Sep 13, 2024
Awards were handed out Thursday night for scientific research that might be a bit off the beaten track. The goal is to make people laugh -- and think.
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Sep 06, 2024
Last year, a dog named Bunny went viral on TikTok for pressing buttons with words on them to "communicate" with her owner. But can dogs even understand those words on a soundboard in the first place? A new study in the journal PLOS One seeks answers. Host Regina G. Barber and producer Rachel Carlson break down that story and more of the week's news with the help of All Things Considered's Ari Shapiro.
Have other viral headlines that you want us to put to the test for its scientific truth? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we might cover it on a future episode!
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Sep 02, 2024
An experimental cancer drug that helps the brain turn glucose into energy was able to reverse memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
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Sep 01, 2024
Scrolling videos when you're bored begets more boredom. That's what a study from the University of Toronto found. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe explains.
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Aug 31, 2024
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with microbiologist Manuel Porcar about his new research on radiation-resistant microbes that could live in your microwave.
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Aug 30, 2024
Researchers who led the 28-day expedition along the nearly 2-mile tall seamount hope the discoveries made will inform future policies safeguarding the understudied, high-seas region.
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Aug 30, 2024
From Indonesia to Wisconsin, farmers all over the world struggle with a huge problem: pests. On top of that, it's tough for farmers to identify where exactly they have the pests and when. Reporter Lina Tran from NPR member station WUWM in Milwaukee joins host Emily Kwong to tell the story of how researchers in the Midwest are inventing new forms of pest detection that involve eavesdropping on the world of insects. Plus, hear what aphid slurping sounds like.
If you liked this episode, check out behind-the-scenes photos of Insect Eavesdropper experiments in Lina's digital story!
Interested in hearing more insect news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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Aug 29, 2024
Nest-building isn't just instinct. Birds can learn from others, letting groups within one species develop their own distinctive nest-building traditions.
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Aug 28, 2024
Scientists have figured out what type of paper is the most prone to cut skin. Kaare Jensen, associate professor of physics at the Technical University of Denmark, explains.
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Aug 28, 2024
Scientists have figured out why paper cuts hurt so much. Kaare Jensen, associate professor of physics at the Technical University of Denmark, explains.
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Aug 28, 2024
At first glance, the whole narrative of aquatic invasive species may seem straightforward: A bad non-native species comes into a new ecosystem and overruns good native species. But the truth? It's a little more complicated. To tear down everything we thought we knew about invasive species and construct a more nuanced picture, host Emily Kwong talks to experts Ian Pfingsten, who works on the United States Geological Survey's Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, and Nicholas Reo, a Canada Excellence Research Chair in Coastal Relationalities and Regeneration.
Check out episode where we get into the annual python challenge we referenced in this episode.
Have a favorite invasive species or one you really can't stand? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear your take!
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Aug 23, 2024
Have you ever scrolled through a TikTok without finishing it? Switched between YouTube videos halfway through one or the other? Pressed "fast forward" on a Netflix episode that just wasn't holding your interest? That habit is called "digital switching" — and it might be causing the exact thing you're trying to avoid: boredom. Emily and Regina break that and more of the week's news down with the help of All Things Considered's Ailsa Chang.
Read this study on digital switching and boredom in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Interested in hearing more psychology news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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Aug 16, 2024
Freshwater crocodiles die every year in Australia from eating poisonous cane toads that humans introduced to the continent. Now scientists have found a way to teach the crocs to avoid the toxic toads.
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Aug 15, 2024
With Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz criticized for exaggerating his military service, NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to psychologist Holly Cole about why humans tend to embellish stories.
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Aug 14, 2024
A new study theorizes that ancient Egyptians constructed the world's first pyramid using much more advanced technology than some Egyptologists believe.
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Aug 13, 2024
A researcher at the University of British Columbia has been looking into whether moral values can change with the seasons. Ian Hohm and his team examined five moral values including fairness and care.
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Aug 12, 2024
Gliselle Marin is the only bat scientist from Belize to be part of the country's yearly "Bat-a-thon," a confab of researchers who study the winged mammals. Analyzing bat poop is one of her priorities.
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Aug 09, 2024
How do you study unmapped areas of the ocean and identify critical habitat for an endangered species? You include the study animal in the scientific process! Researchers from the University of Adelaide fitted endangered Australian sea lions with cameras and tracking devices to better understand where they spent their time. The information could help scientists protect critical sea lion habitat and could give researchers a new tool for mapping the ocean.
Interested in more underwater science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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Aug 05, 2024
Dr. Theodore Schwartz has been treating neurological illnesses for nearly 30 years. He says being a brain surgeon requires steady hands — and a strong bladder. His new book is Gray Matters.
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Aug 01, 2024
A new generation of blood tests can help diagnose Alzheimer's disease. But many doctors don't yet know how to use them.
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Jul 31, 2024
An international group of researchers has voted to modify the scientific names of more than 200 plant species whose names carry a derogatory word.
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Jul 29, 2024
Early in life, the protein Reelin helps assemble the brain. Later on, it appears to protect the organ from Alzheimer's and other threats to memory and thinking.
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Jul 29, 2024
Generally, we at Short Wave are open-minded to the creepies and the crawlies, but even we must admit that leeches are already the stuff of nightmares. They lurk in water. They drink blood. There are over 800 different species of them. And now, as scientists have confirmed ... at least some of them can jump!
Interested in more critter science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to consider your animal of choice for a future episode!
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Jul 26, 2024
Chimpanzees are humans' closest living relatives. But does much of their communication resembles ours? According to a new study published earlier this week in the journal Current Biology, chimpanzees gesture back-and-forth in a similar way to how humans take turns speaking. The research presents an intriguing possibility that this style of communication may have evolved before humans split off from great apes, and tells researchers more about how turn-taking evolved.
Interested in more science news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Jul 24, 2024
On a rocky hillside in Colorado is a "mega den" of hundreds of rattlesnakes — along with cameras livestreaming the whole thing.
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Jul 23, 2024
A fossil of an armadillo-like mammal appears to bear cut marks from butchering by humans, suggesting people were living in South America at least 20,000 years ago, even earlier than once thought.
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Jul 19, 2024
More than a hundred years ago, a British engineer proposed linking two rivers in India to better irrigate the area and cheaply move goods. The link never happened, but the idea survived. Today, due to extreme flooding in some parts of the country mirrored by debilitating drought in others, India's National Water Development Agency plans to dig thirty links between rivers across the country. It's the largest project of its kind and will take decades to complete. But scientists are worried what moving that much water could do to the land, the people — and even the weather. Host Emily Kwong talks to journalist Sushmita Pathak about her recent story on the project.
Read Sushmita's full story here.
Interested in more science stories like this? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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