Category: ScienceNews

When a team of exoplanetary treasure hunters joined forces with professional astronomers, they discovered a whole new world. Short Wave host Emily Kwong talks with astronomer Paul Dalba and community scientist Tom Jacobs about how their collaboration led to the recent observation of a new Jupiter-like exoplanet.

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This month, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill to make daylight saving time permanent. Now sleep scientists are weighing in and are suggesting the opposite — that standard time might be a better choice. Correspondent Allison Aubrey talks to host Emily Kwong about the pros and cons of adopting permanent daylight saving time or year-round standard time.

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

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The benefits of indoor air quality in schools are substantial, but American school buildings are old and many face major challenges when it comes to upgrades.

Science and health correspondent Maria Godoy talks to host Aaron Scott about how there are a few hopeful signs that indoor air quality in schools will be improved- including some federal money and a new awareness of air quality because of the pandemic.

Read Maria's story on indoor air quality in schools here: n.pr/3uy3A93

Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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Wherever you are in the world you are probably near an animal that has undertaken a remarkable migratory journey, be that a butterfly, bird or sea turtle. But what CrowdScience listener Moses in Kenya wants to know is why they bother making such long and precarious voyages - and how they're able to reliably navigate over hundreds and sometimes even thousands of miles. In this first of two episodes, presenter Anand Jagatia travels to the Americas to meet the scientists finding and tracking these animals in order to solve the puzzle of where they go and why.

Deep in the lush and noisy Belizean jungle, Anand joins avian biologist Abidas who is collecting data on the beautiful birds that visit tropical forests to escape harsh winters. Here, using misting nets, Abidas and her team carefully catch birds to measure their health and status before tagging and releasing them so they can continue stocking up on jungle food. Anand finds out why having long term data on migrant birds can help in understanding why some birds, like the wood thrush, have been declining in their native homes further north.

Anand then jumps aboard a turtle boat in Florida where scientists from the Sea Turtle Conservancy have been collecting data on these dinosaur-like creatures. But finding them is harder it might seem. They move fast, so Anand accompanies the research team who are experienced in safely catching them, will he be lucky and find one of these magnificent creatures?

Presented by Anand Jagatia and produced by Melanie Brown

Contributors: David Barrie – Navigator & author Tim Guilford – University of Oxford Abidas Ash – University of Belize Kristen Ruegg - Colorado State University David Godfrey – Sea Turtle Conservancy

[Image credit: BBC Staff, Melanie Brown]

In addition to flying, landing, and returning from the moon in 1969 — NASA's Apollo 11 crew helped with a series of scientific experiments. One of them was to leave a special instrument with lots of little reflectors on the surface of the moon. The goal of that experiment was to beam a laser at the moon. Today on the show, Scientist-In-Residence Regina G. Barber talks to host Aaron Scott about the lunar laser ranging experiment — and how shooting that laser helped us better understand one of Einstein's theories.

Follow Aaron on Twitter @AaronScottNPR and Regina @ScienceRegina. Reach the show by beaming an email to ShortWave@NPR.org.

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Unseasonably high temperatures have been recorded in both polar regions. Glaciologist Ruth Mottram discusses why they might be occurring now and the potential impact on her own work measuring climate change in Greenland.

Erica Ollmann Saphire from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology tells us about her work developing new treatments for Ebola, she is looking to develop drugs which work not just on Ebola but also a range of related Viruses.

And Eugene Koonin from the United States National Institutes of Health shows us how his computer modelling of the mutations of Sars Cov -2 suggest some good news - that the virus might not be able to mutate into further dangerous forms – at least not with its current set of genetic tools.

Eugene is originally from Russia and both he and President Obama’s science advisor John Holdren are keen to keep up ties with scientists in Russia despite the international sanctions now being applied over the war in Ukraine. Both point out that many Russian scientists have opposed the war, and that curtailing scientific collaboration could have a detrimental effect not just on science in Russia but elsewhere as well.

Image: Penguins on an ice float, Paradise Harbor, also known as Paradise Bay, behind Lemaire and Bryde Islands in Antarctica. Credit: Leamus via Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex Mansfield

A struggling Wyoming coal town may soon go nuclear with help from an unlikely partner, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. NPR Correspondent Kirk Siegler takes us to Kemmerer, Wyo., where Gates' power company, supported by public funds, plans to open a new type of nuclear energy plant in hopes of replacing a closing coal plant. The model facility would create jobs and provide the flexible baseline energy needed to back up solar, wind and other renewables. But is it a good fit for rural Kemmerer?

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Cute, wrinkly faces aside, bulldogs have myriad health problems. Science points to purebred breeding practices as the reason. NPR Science correspondent Lauren Sommer talks to host Aaron Scott about how a bulldog breeding ban in Norway has fueled an ongoing debate on the practice of breeding dogs with low genetic diversity and, as a result, high instances of health problems.

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The omicron outbreak has slowed dramatically in the U.S. But cases are rising in Britain due to an omicron subvariant. There are signs the U.S. could also see a bump in cases in the coming weeks.

Stay safe out there, fabulous listeners! Feel free to drop us a line at ShortWave@npr.org.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the state's Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate certain gender-affirming care as possible child abuse, leaving parents of transgender youth feeling caught between two choices: support their children or face a possible investigation. Annaliese and Rachel are mothers living in Texas and both have transgender children. They speak to NPR about the emotional and mental toll this order has had on their families. And while the order is currently blocked by a judge, Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the American Civil Liberties Union, explains the status of other anti-LGBTQ bills in other states.

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