Category: ScienceNews

It’s the month of Ramadan, when Muslims across the world fast between dawn and sunset in the belief that it will bring them closer to Allah. And this has inspired the Unexpected Elements team to turn their attention to all things fast.

First, we explore the latest research around intermittent fasting.

Next, we contemplate a new way to relax by harnessing the time-distorting power of black holes.

We then find out why deserts in South Africa are spreading at an alarming rate.

Plus, we’re joined by Dr Claire Lee, a particle physicist who works with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. She explains how she and her colleagues accelerate particles to phenomenal speeds, how they detect these particles when they collide, and what this can tell us about the origins of the universe.

That, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenters: Marnie Chesterton, with Tristan Ahtone and Leonie Joubert. Producers: William Hornbrook, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Harrison Lewis, Debbie Kilbride and Noa Dowling.

Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: dinosaurs. When these ecosystem engineers were in their heyday, forest canopies were open and seeds were small. But around the time most dinosaurs were wiped out, paleontologists noticed an interesting shift in the fossil record: Seeds got bigger — much bigger. There was a fruit boom. Did the death of these dinosaurs have something to do with it? And who are the modern day equivalent of dinosaur influencers? To find out, host Emily Kwong talks to Chris Doughty, an ecologist at Northern Arizona University.

Tell us what other tales of dino past you want us to regale you with by emailing us at shortwave@npr.org!

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Five years after the WHO pandemic announcement, an H5N1 call to arms from global health leaders. Also, the oldest western European face is found, the oldest impact crater possibly identified, and strange radio signals from space maybe explained.

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex Mansfield Production Coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

(Image: US To Boost Egg Imports As Prices Soar On Bird Flu. Credit: Bloomberg via Getty).

Biological sex is all over the news lately. Whether it's via President Trump's executive order affecting passport policy, moving trans inmates between prisons or shifting the requirements for women in sports — appeals to "the biological reality of sex" are constant. In truth, biological sex, like a lot of scientific categories, is nuanced. It's defined by multiple criteria – including chromosomal, chemical and physical factors – that can, and do, change over a person's lifetime. And it's a reality that's definitely not limited to male and female.

Want the episode to cover more nuances of human biology? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! We're also always open to other story ideas you have.

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In its first 50 days, the Trump administration made sweeping changes to scientific arms of the government like the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. The president issued executive orders to terminate all work that was related to DEI, environmental justice and gender inclusivity. In response, research was halted and thousands of people were fired — some of which was reversed. It's a lot to keep track of, so we called in reinforcements. Here to recount it all and analyze what these ongoing changes mean for the future of scientific research in the United States are NPR science correspondents Rob Stein, Pien Huang and Jonathan Lambert.

Want to hear more about policy changes affecting science? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! We're also always open to other story ideas you have.

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Tourists to Antarctica are fueling research on some of the tiniest, most influential organisms on Earth: phytoplankton. These itty bitty critters make their own food and are the base of the food web in most of the ocean, but tracking how well they're doing is historically tricky. So, researchers with the program FjordPhyto are using samples collected by these tourists to understand how the balance of power in the Antarctic food web could be shifting — could ripple across the food web of the entire ocean.

Want to hear more community science at work or about polar ecosystems? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! We're also always open to other story ideas you have. <3

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This past week, beavers were legally released into the English countryside for the first time since they were hunted into extinction there in the 17th century. Conservationists hailed it as a watershed moment for this keystone species, which helps combat flooding and drought by engineering the landscape with dams and channels. Alex Thomson of Independent Television News reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Sea turtles are considered one of the oldest living species on Earth, but it’s been a mystery where their babies go after heading out to sea. Known as their “lost years,” the lack of information makes it hard for conservationists to protect these turtles. Now, a team of marine scientists is working to change that. John Yang reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The wetness of water seems blindingly obvious - but dive into the science and things aren’t so clear.

CrowdScience listeners Rachel and Callum were washing their hands one day and it got them thinking about wetness. Why does water feel the way it does? And what makes a liquid wet?

To find out, presenter Anand Jagatia takes a closer look at the behaviour of liquids with materials scientist Mark Miodownik, and finds out why they might not be as wet as we think.

We learn what’s really behind the sensation of feeling something wet on your skin, with the help of physiologist Davide Filingeri and PhD student Jade Ward.

And we turn to a philosopher, Vanessa Seifert, and a chemist, Tim Neudecker, to puzzle out exactly how many water molecules you need before the property of wetness emerges.

Presenter: Anand Jagatia Producer: Anand Jagatia Editor: Cathy Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano Studio Manager: Bob Nettles and Andrew Garratt

(Image: A photo of a droplet falling into a body of water Credit: Flaviu Cernea / 500pxvia Getty Images)

Sparked by a silent album released by 1,000 musicians in protest of the UK government’s planned changes to copyright law, Unexpected Elements hits the pause button... Is there any science to silence?

Fear not, this week’s show is packed full of chatter! You might think there’s only one type of silence, but supposedly exists in political science too. In fact, there are seven distinct types.

If you're a techy you probably have a pair of noise cancelling headphones. But have you ever wondered how they work? We’ll take them apart to figure out how they work. Plus, dive into the fascinating world of gene silencing, definitely one of the coolest areas of genetics. Learn how this cutting-edge technology could help protect our crops from pests in the future.

Later, Caroline is joined by her two wonderful panellists to contemplate and reflect on silence, when might it be harmful? And does true silence even exist?

All that and many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenters: Caroline Steel, Candice Bailey and Kai Kupferschmidt

Producers: Harrison Lewis, with William Hornbrook, Debbie Kilbride and Noa Dowling