Category: ScienceNews

A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, made a shocking announcement to the world in 2018: He had secretly engineered the birth of the first gene-edited babies. The birth of the twins was seen as reckless and unethical by the scientific community. That’s because, among other things, the CRISPR gene-editing technique Jiankui used was so new. NPR science correspondent Rob Stein has been following the controversial world of gene-editing and human reproduction, including some companies’ recent quests to push gene-editing technology forward.

Read more of Rob Stein’s reporting on the topic here.

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How did life start on Earth? The answer is a big scientific mystery scientists are actively investigating. After talking with many scientists, host Regina G. Barber found that an abundance of water on Earth is most likely key, in some way, to the origin of life — specifically, in either deep sea hydrothermal vents or in tide pools. It's for this reason some scientists are also exploring the potential for life in so-called "water worlds" elsewhere in the solar system, like some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. This episode, Regina digs into two water-related hypotheses for the origin on life on Earth — and what that might mean for possible alien life.

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In Geneva, negotiators from 175 nations are trying to hammer out the first-ever legally binding treaty on plastic pollution. The urgency of the talks was underscored this week by a new study published in The Lancet. It calls plastics a “grave, growing and under-recognized danger to human and planetary health.” John Yang speaks with Tracey Woodruff, one of the study’s authors, to learn more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The black market trade in rhino horns is driving the species to near extinction. Now, scientists at a rhino orphanage in the Bushveld of South Africa are trying to protect them from poaching in a rather surprising way. John Yang reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The iconic Mississippi River Delta is of enormous importance to the country, especially near the Gulf Coast. It's an economic engine and a key wildlife habitat. But it's shrinking considerably due to a variety of factors, including engineering done decades ago. Science Correspondent Miles O'Brien looks at those problems and efforts to prevent further loss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

CrowdScience listener Rit, from Pune in India, is staring out of his window at the falling rain. It’s been pouring for four days now, and shows no sign of stopping. The laundry is piling up, all his shoes are wet, and he’s worried about the effect it’s having on the environment, and on agriculture. When it rains like this, the animals suffer, and the crops are destroyed.

Cloud seeding and Weather Engineering are hot topics right now, and can bring the rain to places that need it. But Rit wants to know whether we can artificially stop the pouring rain, especially in an emergency. Following the devastating floods in Texas, it’s clearly not just a problem for countries with a monsoon season.

Presenter Chhavi Sachdev is also sitting in a downpour at home in Mumbai. She dons her rain jacket and rubber boots to try and find out whether science can help Rit with his question. From controlling the clouds in India, to bringing rain to the deserts of the UAE, to firing high-powered lasers into the skies above Geneva, we find out what weather engineering is really capable of.

With thanks to:

Dr Thara Prabhakaran, from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology

Alya Al Mazroui, Director of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science

Jean-Pierre Wolf, Applied Physics Department of the University of Geneva

Presenter: Chhavi Sachdev Producer: Emily Knight Series Producer: Ben Motley

(Image: Girl carrying umbrella while standing on road against trees during rainfall. Credit: Cavan Images via Getty Images)

This week, floods have hit the global headlines. First up, we delve into the various reasons why floods form.

After learning about the causes of floods, we discover a nature-based solution in the form of mangrove forests. Laura Michie from the Mangrove Action Project tells us why these ecosystems are important, and how they can protect coastal zones.

We also find out that humans have moved so much water around the planet that we’ve shifted the location of the geographic North Pole.

Plus, a rare flooding event is currently taking place in the Australian Outback, awakening an ecosystem after years of dormancy.

And what could happen when hackers take control of tractors?

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Andrada Fiscutean and Sandy Ong Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Lucy Davies, Debbie Kilbride and Margaret Sessa Hawkins

The human brain tends to slow down as we age — even healthy brains shrink. That can make learning and memory harder as people age. But some people’s brains shrink more slowly than their peers. This lucky group is called “SuperAgers.” They’re people aged 80 or older. But they have the memory abilities of someone 50-to-60 years old. This week in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, researchers from Northwestern University’s SuperAging Program summarized some of the secrets they’ve learned in the last 2.5 decades. 

Want to hear about more stories about human health and aging? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org.

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As the United States secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr., announces a $500 million cut to mRNA vaccine research in the United States, we hear a statement from the Nobel Prize winning biologist who made mRNA vaccines possible.

A team of scientists from Northwestern University have uncovered the pathway believed to protect some people from allergic reactions (even when they are sensitive to an allergen) and have tested a drug which could protect the most severely allergic. Also this week, satellite data shows that large parts of the Earth are running dangerously low on ground water.

And although people often believe scientific fraud is committed by a few bad actors, a new paper uncovers networks of journals, editors, and authors who are allegedly cooperating to publish fraudulent papers.

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber and Alex Mansfield Assistant Producer: Minnie Harrop Production Coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth (Image: Allergy testing. Credit: Peter Dazeley via Getty Images)

Many public health experts and scientists say they are stunned by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s decision to cancel nearly half a billion dollars in federal funding for future vaccine development. MRNA technology was central in the battle against COVID and can be developed more quickly than traditional vaccines. Geoff Bennett discussed the implications with Dr. Michael Osterholm. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders