Category: ScienceNews

The U.S. is approaching 800,000 COVID-19 deaths as the Omicron variant spreads and the Delta variant continues to circulate. Hospital admissions are up more than 20 percent over the last two weeks. But — as NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey tells Emily — there's new survey data pointing to relaxed attitudes across the country, even amid the surges. Allison explains what all of this means for the coming weeks — especially with flu season getting started.

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Headaches, nausea, dizziness, and confusion are among the most common symptoms of a concussion. But researchers say a blow to the head can also make it hard to understand speech in a noisy room. Emily Kwong chats with science correspondent Jon Hamilton about concussions and how understanding its effects on our perception of sound might help improve treatment.

For more of Jon's reporting, check out "After a concussion, the brain may no longer make sense of sounds."

You can follow Emilly on Twitter @EmilyKwong1234 and Jon @NPRJonHamilton. Email Short Wave at ShortWave@NPR.org.

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Which came first the volcano or the rain? Volcanic eruptions are known to influence global climate systems, even leading to the cooling of the planet. However local weather conditions can also influence the timing and ferocity of volcanic eruptions. As volcanologist Jenni Barclay explains rainwater can contribute to volcanic instability and even increase the explosiveness of eruptions.

Syria has been experiencing civil war for more than 10 years. Many people have left including many of the country's scientists. We speak with 3 exiled Syrian scientists Shaher Abdullateef, Abdulkader Rashwani, and Abdul Hafez about their current work, which involves working with other academics and students in Syria sometimes remotely and sometimes directly.

New findings from Chile reveal an unknown Tsunami emanating from an earthquake there in the 1700s. Historical records mention other ones, but not this one. Geoscientist Emma Hocking found the evidence in layers of sand.

And we discuss the development of tiny robot-like structures made from frog cells, they can move and build other copies of themselves. Sam Kreigman and Michael Levin explain how.

And, Life is full of choices, from the mundane (like what to wear today) to the critical (how should we deal with the pandemic?). So how can we make the best decisions? That’s what listener David wants to know.

To investigate, Caroline Steel learns how being smarter doesn’t necessarily make you a good decision maker. She speaks to researchers about the importance of ‘gut feelings’ – and how certain people with no intuition whatsoever can struggle to make choices. She also learns why it’s easier to give advice to other people than to follow it yourself, and how we can work together to make the best decisions in a group.

(Image: Eruption of Semeru. Credit: Getty Images)

Life is full of choices, from the mundane (like what to wear today) to the critical (how should we deal with the pandemic?). So how can we make the best decisions? That’s what listener David wants to know.

To investigate, Caroline Steel learns how being smarter doesn’t necessarily make you a good decision maker. She speaks to researchers about the importance of ‘gut feelings’ – and how certain people with no intuition whatsoever can struggle to make choices. She also learns why it’s easier to give advice to other people than to follow it yourself, and how we can work together to make the best decisions in a group.

Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Anand Jagatia

Contributors: Wändy Bruin de Bruin - Professor of Public Policy, Psychology and Behavioural Science, University of Southern California, USA David Robson, science journalist and author Valerie van Mulukom, Assistant Professor, Coventry University, UK Liz Steel Igor Grossmann, Associate Professor of psychology, University of Waterloo, Canada Anita Williams Woolley associate professor of organisational behaviour and theory, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

On a rapidly changing planet, there are many ways to measure the health of an ecosystem. Can sound be one of them?

Researcher Sarab Sethi explains how machine learning and soundscape recordings could be used to predict ecosystem health around the world.

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Which came first the volcano or the rain? Volcanic eruptions are known to influence global climate systems, even leading to the cooling of the planet. However local weather conditions can also influence the timing and ferocity of volcanic eruptions. As volcanologist Jenni Barclay explains rainwater can contribute to volcanic instability and even increase the explosiveness of eruptions.

Syria has been experiencing civil war for more than 10 years. Many people have left including many of the country's scientists. We speak with 3 exiled Syrian scientists Shaher Abdullateef, Abdulkader Rashwani, and Abdul Hafez about their current work, which involves working with other academics and students in Syria sometimes remotely and sometimes directly.

New findings from Chile reveal an unknown Tsunami emanating from an earthquake there in the 1700s. Historical records mention other ones, but not this one. Geoscientist Emma Hocking found the evidence in layers of sand.

And we discuss the development of tiny robot-like structures made from frog cells, they can move and build other copies of themselves. Sam Kreigman and Michael Levin explain how.

(Image: Eruption of Semeru. Credit: Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

An NPR analysis shows that since the vaccine rollout, counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump have had nearly three times the COVID mortality rates of those that voted for Joe Biden. That difference appears to be driven by a partisan divide in vaccination rates. As NPR correspondent Geoff Brumfield reports, political polarization and misinformation are driving a significant share of the deaths in the pandemic.

Read more of Geoff's reporting on vaccine misinformation:
- Inside the growing alliance between anti-vaccine activists and pro-Trump Republicans: https://n.pr/31ylGNK
- Pro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death rates. Misinformation is to blame: https://n.pr/3dzPzzy

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An underground lab is opening early next year in Australia. Its quest: to help detect dark matter and thereby also help answer some of physics' biggest questions about this mysterious force. It is the only detector of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Swinburne University astronomer Alan Duffy takes us on a journey to the bottom of this active gold mine, where researchers will try to detect a ghost-like particle.

E-mail us with your deep questions at ShortWave@npr.org.

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An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has voted to recommend that the FDA approve a new antiviral drug to treat COVID-19. The FDA decision is expected soon. Host Emily Kwong chats with health reporter Pien Huang on the state of treatments and how this drug and other treatment options may change the pandemic.

For more of Pien's reporting, check out "New antiviral drugs are coming for COVID. Here's what you need to know." <>

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

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The end of the 2021 hurricane season was officially November 30. This year, there was a lot of hurricane activity. Today on the show, producer Thomas Lu talks to meteorologist Matthew Cappucci about this year's hurricane season — the ups, the lulls, and the surprising end. Plus — how climate change might be affecting these storms.

You can follow Thomas on Twitter @ThomasUyLu and Matthew @MatthewCappucci. Email Short Wave at ShortWave@NPR.org.

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