Humans have seen a significant increase in life expectancy over the past 200 years — but not in overall lifespan. Nobody on record has lived past 122 years. So, for this early Halloween episode, host Regina G. Barber asks: Why do we age and why do we die? Microbiologist Venki Ramakrishnan explains some of the mechanisms inside of our bodies that contribute to our decay — and tells us if it's possible to intervene in the process. Curious about other biology news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and...
Oct 29, 2024•16 min•Ep 1158•Transcript available on Metacast 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 oth...
Oct 28, 2024•16 min•Ep 1157•Transcript available on Metacast More than a million species are at risk of extinction, many within decades, because of human actions. Among them? The kāhuli, Hawaii's native tree snails that are some of the most endangered animals on the planet. At one point, there used to be about 750 species of snails in Hawaii — almost all of them found nowhere else. Now, they are rapidly disappearing. NPR climate reporters Lauren Sommer and Ryan Kellman join host Emily Kwong to tell the story of the small team caring for the last of some o...
Oct 25, 2024•16 min•Ep 1156•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ori...
Oct 23, 2024•12 min•Ep 1155•Transcript available on Metacast 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 f...
Oct 22, 2024•14 min•Ep 1154•Transcript available on Metacast Calling all foragers! The new board game Undergrove , co-designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and Mark Wootton, is all about the symbiotic relationships between trees and fungi. Players assume the role of mature Douglas fir trees and partner with mushrooms, which represent the mycorrhizal network. P.S. If the name "Elizabeth Hargrave" sounds familiar — she also designed the bird-collecting game Wingspan. Have another science-backed board game you'd like us to play? Email us at shortwave@npr.org ! Lear...
Oct 21, 2024•13 min•Ep 1153•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adcho...
Oct 18, 2024•8 min•Ep 1152•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Oct 16, 2024•14 min•Ep 1151•Transcript available on Metacast In honor of our show turning 5 (!!) today... 5 S hort Wave staffers answer 5(x2) questions from some of our 5-year-old listeners and explain the science ... like they're 5. SPOILER ALERT: The questions are brilliant, delightful and span everything from how colors work to insects, the formation of Earth and space. Want to know more about the science of the world? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we might cover it on a future episode! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adc...
Oct 15, 2024•18 min•Ep 1150•Transcript available on Metacast Host Regina G. Barber talks with Rosalyn LaPier about ethnobotany--what it is and how traditional plant knowledge is frequently misunderstood in the era of COVID and psychedelics. And, how it's relevant and important for reproductive health today. (encore) Have a topic you want us to cover on a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org ! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 14, 2024•15 min•Ep 1149•Transcript available on Metacast Even though there are more than 10,000 rock glaciers in the western United States, most people would look at one without knowing it. Unlike the snowy glaciers we're more familiar with, rock glaciers are under-researched and hiding in plain sight. But inside these glaciers covered with rocks is a little bit of climate hope. Read more of science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce's reporting here . Want to know more about the hidden science of the world? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we might co...
Oct 11, 2024•13 min•Ep 1148•Transcript available on Metacast In human history, fear kept us safe when running from predators and anxiety kept us from going back to that lion-infested area. But what happens when these feelings get out of hand in humans today? And why do some of us crave that feeling from scary movies or haunted houses? For answers, we turn to Arash Javanbakht , a psychiatrist from Wayne State University. He likes studying fear so much, he wrote a whole book called Afraid . This episode, he gets into the difference between fear and anxiety,...
Oct 09, 2024•14 min•Ep 1147•Transcript available on Metacast For over a century, we've been inventing technology to catch liars in the act. To this end, the polygraph was invented and became wildly popular in the mid-20th century. Then, there was an era of "micro-expression training," which claimed person could be caught lying through a skilled analysis of their face. Now, there's talk of using artificial intelligence to analyze the human voice. But do any of these methods even work? And if not ... what are the risks? Emily and Gina investigates how decep...
Oct 08, 2024•15 min•Ep 1146•Transcript available on Metacast 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?...
Oct 07, 2024•12 min•Ep 1145•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Oct 04, 2024•7 min•Ep 1144•Transcript available on Metacast Years ago, astronomy professors started noticing something that troubled them: Many of their students didn't understand climate change and the science supporting it. So a small group of professors decided to do something about it — teach climate change in their introductory astronomy courses. Want to hear more stories about climate change? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 02, 2024•14 min•Ep 1143•Transcript available on Metacast 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. C...
Oct 01, 2024•12 min•Ep 1142•Transcript available on Metacast Most viruses that become epidemics in humans begin in other animals. It's how scientists suspect COVID-19 emerged . And now, less than five years after the start of the pandemic, some scientists are concerned about another disease that could do something similar: bird flu, or H5N1. Over the past year, the virus has spilled into cows and other animals — even infecting some people working closely with the animals. Some scientists hope to build a more resilient public health system by finding ways ...
Sep 30, 2024•11 min•Ep 1141•Transcript available on Metacast Governors across the southeastern United States have declared statewide states of emergency as Hurricane Helene continues its ascent. After forming in the northwestern Caribbean Sea Tuesday, Helene escalated from a tropical storm, then to a cyclone, and finally to a Category 4 hurricane by the time it made landfall late Thursday night. We talk to hurricane climatologist Jill Trepanier about how a storm tropical storm system rapidly intensifies into a major hurricane, the impact of a changing cli...
Sep 27, 2024•12 min•Ep 1140•Transcript available on Metacast Around 2% of the global population struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. That's roughly 163 million people who go through cycles of obsessions – unwanted intrusive thoughts, images or urges – and compulsions, or behaviors to decrease the distress caused by these thoughts. In movies and TV, characters with OCD are often depicted washing their hands or obsessing about symmetry. Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez says these are often symptoms of OCD, but they're not the only ways it manifests – ...
Sep 25, 2024•14 min•Ep 1139•Transcript available on Metacast At the beginning of the universe, annihilation reigned supreme. Equal amounts of matter and antimatter collided. There should have been nothing left. And, yet, here we all are. Matter won out. The question is: why? Scientists are probing the mysteries of a ghostly subatomic particle for answers. To do it, they'll need to shoot a beam of them 800 miles underground. Interested in more mysteries of the universe? Email us at shortwave@npr.org . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoice...
Sep 24, 2024•12 min•Ep 1138•Transcript available on Metacast Electric vehicle batteries will all, eventually, reach the end of their lives. When that happens, they should be recycled. But what breakthroughs could make that happen cleanly, efficiently — and close to home? Today, business correspondent Camila Domonoske takes us on a tour of one company trying to crack the EV battery recycling puzzle — to learn what this case study can tell us about the larger battery picture. Plus, why recycling is kind of like wresting with Lego bricks. Read more of Camila...
Sep 23, 2024•14 min•Ep 1137•Transcript available on Metacast Hey, Short Wavers! Today we're sharing an excerpt of the new NPR podcast How To Do Everything . How To Do Everything is half advice show, half survival guide, and half absurdity-fest — and it's not made by anyone who understands math. In fact, it comes from the same team that brings you NPR's news quiz Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! We think you'll like their vibe, and we especially think you'll like this excerpt from their recent episode. It features astronaut Frank Rubio, who holds the record fo...
Sep 21, 2024•6 min•Ep 1136•Transcript available on Metacast 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! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Sep 20, 2024•9 min•Ep 1135•Transcript available on Metacast Evolution keeps making crabs. In fact, it's happened so often that there's a special scientific term for an organism turning crab-like: carcinization. But how many times has it happened, and why? When did the very first crab originate? What about all the times crabs have been unmade? And does all this mean that we, too, will eventually become crabs? In this episode, host Emily Kwong chats with Javier Luque about crabs, carcinization and change. Want more paleontological science stories? Email us...
Sep 18, 2024•14 min•Ep 1134•Transcript available on Metacast Patrick Anderson is widely recognized as the greatest wheelchair basketball player of all time. He's represented Canada at the Paralympics six times and led his team to win three gold — and one silver — medals. But since he first started playing in the 1990s, the sport has changed dramatically. He says that's due in part to the technological innovations in wheelchair athletics. In this episode, guest host Andrew Mambo chats with Patrick about the reasons for these changes. They also cover the or...
Sep 17, 2024•12 min•Ep 1133•Transcript available on Metacast Hurricane season is heating up: Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana last week and dumped rain across the South, and forecasters expect more stormy activity in the Atlantic in the next few weeks. A big factor in this stormy weather is our extremely warm oceans. Scientists know climate change is the main culprit, but NPR climate correspondent Rebecca Hersher has been following the quest to figure out the other reasons. Hint: They may involve volcanoes and the sun. Read more of Rebecca's reporting on ...
Sep 16, 2024•13 min•Ep 1132•Transcript available on Metacast We close out Climate Solutions Week with a look at the final step in the food system: waste. Roughly 30-40% of all food produced globally gets thrown out — a huge problem when it comes to climate change. Shuggie's Trash Pie and Natural Wine has answers for what to do with all that waste – be it bruised fruit and wilted greens salad or meatballs made out of beef hearts. The San Francisco restaurant describes itself as a "climate-solutions restaurant" — and they're hoping you find these dishes app...
Sep 13, 2024•14 min•Ep 1130•Transcript available on Metacast Climate change is contributing to erratic weather where cocoa beans are grown and threatening the global chocolate supply. Record rainfall last year led to fungal infections among cacao trees and dwindled supply of cocoa beans. Heat is also making it more difficult for cocoa beans to thrive. So, for day three of Climate Solutions Week , we look at one innovation in the food industry: chocolate substitutes. As big chocolate manufacturers rush to stockpile cocoa beans, some companies like Planet A...
Sep 11, 2024•15 min•Ep 1130•Transcript available on Metacast Since the height of the pandemic, there has been a boom in the use of food delivery services. Day 2 of NPR's Climate Solutions Week is all about the environmental impacts of how we shop for our food. So in this episode, NPR correspondent Scott Neuman reports on a question we've all wanted to know the answer to: What is the impact of getting food delivered on our carbon footprint? Interested in hearing more climate solutions? Email us at shortwave@npr.org – we'd love to hear your ideas! Learn mor...
Sep 10, 2024•14 min•Ep 1128•Transcript available on Metacast 
