Category: ScienceNews

Electric cars can help reduce greenhouse gases and companies are taking note — racing to become the next Tesla. Today on the show, guest host Dan Charles talks with business reporter Camila Domonoske about how serious the country is about this big switch from gas to electric cars. Plus, what could get drivers to ditch the gas guzzlers?

For more of Camila's reporting on electric cars, check out "The age of gas cars could be ending" and "2 little-known automotive startups are leading the race to become the next Tesla"

You can email the show at ShortWave@NPR.org.

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Now being produced in India CORBEVAX is grown in yeast in a similar way to several other widely available vaccines. The technology used to make it is far simpler and much more readily available than that used to produce mRNA vaccines. In theory, CORBEVAX could be produced cheaply in large quantities and go a long way to addressing the problems of Covid19 vaccine availability globally. It was developed by a team from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas including Maria Elena Bottazzi.

Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are thought to have emerged in repose to the use of antibiotics, however, the discovery of a superbug living on the skin of hedgehogs has challenged this view. The superbug is thought to have been living with hedgehogs long before antibiotics were discovered. Jesper and Anders Larsen at the Danish State Serum Institute in Copenhagen explain.

Modifying viruses, using them to infect or kill pest organisms is an attractive proposition. However, there are concerns over what might happen when they are released, particularly over their ability to mutate and evolve says Filippa Lentzos from Kings College Department of Global Health and Social Medicine in London.

And The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew have released the names of over 200 new species of plants and fungi discovered last year. Mycologist Tuula Niskanen and botanist Martin Cheek tell us more.

Also... “I’m bored!” We can all relate to the uncomfortable - and at times unbearable - feeling of boredom. But what is it? Why does it happen? And could this frustrating, thumb-twiddling experience actually serve some evolutionary purpose? CrowdScience listener Brian started wondering this over a particularly uninspiring bowl of washing up, and it’s ended with Marnie Chesterton going on a blessedly un-boring tour through the science and psychology of tedium. She finds out why some people are more affected than others, why boredom is the key to discovery and innovation, and how we can all start improving our lives by embracing those mind-numbing moments.

(Image: Getty Images)

“I’m bored!” We can all relate to the uncomfortable - and at times unbearable - feeling of boredom. But what is it? Why does it happen? And could this frustrating, thumb-twiddling experience actually serve some evolutionary purpose? CrowdScience listener Brian started wondering this over a particularly uninspiring bowl of washing up, and it’s ended with Marnie Chesterton going on a blessedly un-boring tour through the science and psychology of tedium. She finds out why some people are more affected than others, why boredom is the key to discovery and innovation, and how we can all start improving our lives by embracing those mind-numbing moments.

Featuring: Prof James Danckert (University of Waterloo, Canada), Dr Elizabeth Weybright (Washington State University), Dr Christian Chan (Hong Kong University) and Annie Runkel (University of Dundee).

Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Samara Linton

Image: Young Asian girl feeling lonely and bored at home. Screen addiction withdrawal symptoms (Credit: Oscar Wong, Getty Images)

Service dogs have long helped veterans with physical disabilities. While there have been stories about veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder being transformed by service animals, the peer-reviewed science wasn't there to back up the claims. Health reporter Stephanie O'Neill reports that's changed in recent years. Studies suggest service dogs can be effective at easing PTSD symptoms and used alongside other treatments. Now, the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act will help connect specially trained dogs to some veterans with symptoms of traumatic stress.

Read more of Stephanie's reporting: https://n.pr/32bXn8E

This reporting was done in partnership with Kaiser Health News.

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Corbevax, which is being produced in India, is grown in yeast in a similar way to several other widely available vaccines. The technology used to make it is far simpler and much more readily available than that used to produce mRNA vaccines. In theory, Corbevax could be produced cheaply in large quantities to improve Covid-19 vaccine availability around the world. It was developed by a team from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, including Maria Elena Bottazzi.

Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are thought to have emerged in response to the use of antibiotics. The discovery of a superbug living on the skin of hedgehogs has challenged this view. The superbug is thought to have been living with hedgehogs long before antibiotics were discovered. Jesper and Anders Larsen at the Danish State Serum Institute in Copenhagen explain.

Modifying viruses, using them to infect or kill pest organisms is an attractive proposition. However, there are concerns about what might happen when they are released, particularly over their ability to mutate and evolve, says Filippa Lentzos from Kings College Department of Global Health and Social Medicine in London.

And The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew have released the names of over 200 new species of plants and fungi discovered last year. Mycologist Tuula Niskanen and botanist Martin Cheek tell us more.

(Image: Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Jasmine Marcelin has spent the last year talking to a lot of people about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Today on the show, in part two of a two part series, Dr. Marcelin shares with Emily Kwong what she's learned and how to talk about the vaccine with people who have doubts about getting vaccinated.

You can follow Emily on Twitter @EmilyKwong1234. Email Short Wave at ShortWave@NPR.org.

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On today's show, Emily Kwong checks in with infectious disease physician Dr. Jasmine Marcelin at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Jasmine spoke to Short Wave last year about how COVID-19 affected her as a doctor. In part one of a two part episode, Emily talks with her about how she's feeling a year in and how getting involved in community vaccination clinics has made a difference in her life.

You can follow Emily on Twitter @EmilyKwong1234. E-mail Short Wave at ShortWave@NPR.org.

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A few months ago, on a trip to Hawaii, Short Wave host Emily Kwong encountered manta rays for the first time. The experience was eerie and enchanting. And it left Emily wondering — what more is there to these intelligent, entrancing fish?

Today, Emily poses all her questions to Rachel Graham, the founder and executive director of MarAlliance, a marine conservation organization working in tropical seas.

Have you been completely captivated by an animal too? Share your story with us at shortwave@npr.org.

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The cannabis industry is where the chemistry lab meets agriculture. Delta-8-THC is chemically derived and the hemp industry's fastest growing product. It has been popping up in smoke shops, CBD shops and even gas stations.

Dr. Katelyn Kesheimer, a researcher at Auburn University and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, joins the show to demystify Delta-8. We'll learn what it's made of, where it comes from, why it's so popular, and why science and the federal government are falling so far behind the cannabis industry.

Email the show at ShortWave@NPR.org.

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Should you wash your eggs? Well believe it or not, there is quite an international debate about this question from CrowdScience listener Susan. In Canada, where Susan grew up, commercially sold eggs are washed before they reach stores, whereas in the UK where she is now living they are not. So what is best to avoid contamination?

It’s one of a number of egg-themed questions that CrowdScience tries to crack in this episode. One of our presenters, Marnie Chesterton, heads over to Susan’s home in London to cook some eggs and explore other egg cooking questions from our listeners, such as what is the science behind frying an egg without it sticking to the pan and why are some boiled eggs harder to shell than others?

Meanwhile this episode’s other presenter, Anand Jagatia, explores questions about eggs after they have hatched. He investigates a case of curious chicken behaviour sent in by listener Laurie, as well as working out how a cuckoo knows it’s a cuckoo when it’s been raised in another bird’s nest.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton and Anand Jagatia Produced by Jonathan Blackwell for BBC World Service

Featuring: Dr. Vincent Guyonnet, Dr. Valérie Lechevalier, Dr. Siobhan Abeyesinghe and Dr. Ros Gloag

(Photo credit: Getty Images)