Category: ScienceNews

After the end of a near 17-year legal battle between popstar Katy Perry and fashion designer Katie Perry, the Unexpected Elements team has been inspired to explore the question at the heart of the case – what's in a name?

First, we hear how marmosets use their calls as a way of naming which friend they’re talking to. Then, we discover why a phenomenon known as auditory pareidolia means you can’t necessarily believe your ears.

We're then joined by David Kaiser, professor of physics and history of science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who explains just how hard it is to put physics into words.

Also, the disappearance of indigenous languages, the law for naming laws, and where did all our hair go?

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton with Andrada Fiscutean and Michael Kaloki Producers: Imy Harper, with Lucy Davies and Sophie Ormiston

A multi-year megadrought in the Western U.S. has claimed untold populations of wild plants. Amid the conditions, some have survived. Scientists have produced a stunningly complete picture about how populations of one particular flower – the scarlet monkeyflower – made it through. 

In a new study published in the journal Science, a team of scientists spent decades studying and sampling select populations of scarlet monkeyflowers in California and Oregon. Through genetic sequencing, the team discovered that the populations that did best went through genetic changes in a short time period. This is known as rapid evolution. 

The team found that three of the populations that recovered the BEST adapted their stomata to open less, so they could conserve more water. Stomata act like a plant’s pores, managing gas exchange and water loss. This allowed the scarlet monkeyflowers to hunker down in the drought and survive. 

Interested in more stories about rapid evolution? Email us your question 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.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre, Rachel Carlson and Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Rebecca Ramirez. Aru Nair checked the facts. The audio engineers were Becky Brown and Robert Rodriguez.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

The new food pyramid was released earlier this year. It emphasizes protein, full-fat dairy and what Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calls “healthy fats.” These guidelines influence the standards for  school lunches, food labeling and programs like SNAP. Today on the show, Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong chats with registered dietitian nutritionist Shana Spence, and Dr. Sarah Kim, a diabetes specialist, about the new guidelines. Plus, NPR’s Reflect America fellow Kadin Mills unpacks how the new food pyramid could change school lunch trays. 

Check out more of Kadin’s coverage about the changes in dietary guidelines.

Interested in more health science? Email us your question 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.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

US-Israeli airstrikes on oil depots culminated in ‘black rain’ in Iran early last week – a phenomenon usually caused by large amounts of soot, carbon and other pollutants in the air. Usually, rain leaves the atmosphere cleaner than it was before. But in this case, the rain left Tehran’s residents with sore throats and burning eyes. Oily, sooty residue was all over the city. So, we talked to an environmental pollution expert to find out: What’s in this ‘black rain’, what are its potential short- and long-term environmental and health effects, and what could recovery look like?

Interested in more science behind current events? Email us your question 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.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

It’s likely you have at least one “guilty pleasure.” Maybe it’s romance novels. Or reality TV… Playing video games… or getting swept into obscure corners of TikTok. Neuroscientists say the pleasure response helps us survive as a species. So why do we feel embarrassed by some of the things we love the most? Even if you don't have these negative emotions, experiencing – and studying – pleasure is not as straightforward as it might seem. For a long time, neuroscientists thought the concept of "pleasure" referred to a singular system in the brain. But as research into the subject grew, scientists realized that pleasure is really a cycle of "wanting" and "liking" – each with separate neural mechanisms. Today on the show, producer Rachel Carlson explores this cycle with researchers, who weigh in on the science of pleasure. Even the kind that makes us feel guilty. 

Read more of Rachel’s story on guilty pleasures. 

Interested in more brain science? Email us your question 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.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Once a relatively obscure class of drugs used for people with diabetes, GLP-1s have now shown an impressive ability to treat obesity, which affects over 100 million Americans. Horizons moderator William Brangham explores the great promise of the drugs and the potential concerns surrounding them with Dr. Jody Dushay, Dr. Rekha B. Kumar, Dr. Anna Lembke and Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

CrowdScience listener Kassy in India wants to know if there’s any science to support the practice of ‘manifesting’ – the idea that you can make your wishes come true just by writing down your goals and sending your dreams out to the universe. Is it just a wacky belief or can it be backed up by research?

Caroline Steel looks at the evidence to see if manifesting works. She talks to researcher Lucas Dixon in Australia, who has found that people who believe in manifesting are more likely to take risky financial decisions or end up bankrupt.

She meets neuroscientist Sabina Brennan in Ireland who argues that psychology has already proven that our thoughts and beliefs shape our reality, through cognitive behavioural therapy for example. So there is evidence to show that some of the techniques in manifesting can work.

Caroline also talks to psychologist Gabriele Oettingen in the US, whose research has demonstrated that just thinking about our wishes actually decreases our energy and makes it less likely that we’ll achieve our goals. She’s come up with her own method for increasing the likelihood of success.

And Caroline tries out a manifesting technique for herself. Can it help her realise her dreams?

Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Jo Glanville

Editor: Ben Motley

(Photo: Enthusiastic brunette girl celebrating- stock photo Credit: Mix and Match Studio / 500px via Getty Images)

With this year’s Oscars on the horizon, and vampire film Sinners nominated for a record-breaking 16 awards, the Unexpected Elements team sinks their teeth into some blood-sucking science.

First, we discover that Vlad the Impaler, the Romanian prince who inspired Dracula, may have not only had blood on his hands, but also in his tears. We also hear about a woman in Guadeloupe with the world’s newest and rarest blood type.

We’re then joined by Dr Naomi Ewald from the UK’s Freshwater Habitats Trust who tells us all about nature’s little bloodsuckers – leeches – and why their use in medicine is not just a practice consigned to the history books.

Also, the gravity-defying gecko of the Gambia, how close are we to producing artificial blood, and the Patagonian dinosaur that looks like a judgemental chicken.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber, with Sophie Ormiston, Lucy Davies and Imy Harper

When producer Berly McCoy was out on her local frozen lake, she saw something she'd never seen before. There were dark spidery, star-shaped patterns in the ice and they freaked her out. So, we called an expert to find out more about them. In today’s episode, geophysicist Victor Tsai tells us about lake stars and how he became the first person to scientifically prove how they form. Plus, he explains how knowing more about lake stars can potentially give us clues about the presence of water on Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons.

Read Victor Tsai’s full paper on lake stars here.

Have a question about something in the environment? 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.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

In 1999 hundreds of gray whales washed up along the west coast of North America. More in 2000. They lost an estimated 25% of their population. But then the whale population recovered and people moved on. Until it happened again in 2019. And 2020, and 2021. It’s still happening today. Host Regina G. Barber dives into this mystery with marine ecologist Joshua Stewart, who explains how scientists like himself solved it – and the tough questions that came up along the way. 

Check out our Sea Camp series and our limited run Sea Camp newsletter, featuring deep dives into research, cute critters and games!

Interested in more ocean mysteries? Email us your question 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.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy