Category: ScienceNews

While vaccines against Covid -19 are being developed at unprecedented speed, none of them have been tested to see if they can actually stop transmission of the virus. They are designed to stop those who are vaccinated from developing Covid -19 disease, but not becoming infected.

This says Virologist Malik Peiris from Hong Kong University means while vaccinated people themselves may be protected they might also spread the virus.

Cells produced in the bone marrow may be responsible for an extreme immune response to Covid 19 in some people. Immunologist Lizzie Mann from Manchester University says this finding may help predict who will develop serious disease symptoms, and also provide a target for future treatments.

Extreme ice melt in the Arctic this summer may have a long term impact on the region says glaciologist Julienne Stroeve. She spent the winter in the Arctic and tells us about the environment she encountered.

And climate change is also impacting the tropics, research in Gabon from Ecologists Emma Bush and Robin Whytock shows a reduction of the amount of fruit available which is now impacting the health of forest elephants.

(Image Credit: Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

With election season underway, we present a Short Wave guide (with some help from our friends at NPR Politics) to Joe Biden's plan to combat the coronavirus. Political correspondent and NPR Politics Podcast co-host Scott Detrow breaks it down for us.

Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia and Scott Detrow @scottdetrow. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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In case you missed our announcement last week, Short Wave is temporarily shifting production schedules. We're publishing episodes in your feed four times each week instead of five. That means we'll be taking a break every Wednesday for a bit.

But, don't worry! We've got a giant back catalog for you to browse in the meantime. Like this episode full of listener questions all about the flu. And, if you're needing a break from the news, check out our very first 'Animal Slander' episode to find out whether or not goldfish actually have a bad memory.

We'll see you tomorrow with a new episode!

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Perimenopause, the period of transition to menopause, is still a largely misunderstood chapter of reproductive life. It brings about both physical and mental health changes that doctors rarely educate their patients about. We're joined by health correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee to talk about perimenopause, and how to advocate for yourself as you're going through it.

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Artificial intelligence might not be as smart as we think. University and military researchers are studying how attackers could hack into AI systems by exploiting how these systems learn. It's known as "adversarial AI." In this encore episode, Dina Temple-Raston tells us that some of these experiments use seemingly simple techniques.

For more, check out Dina's special series, I'll Be Seeing You.

Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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Some East Africans have a genetic mutation which gives them resistance to Malaria. Investigations into how it works have produced a surprising finding. As researcher Silvia Kariuki explains it’s all to do with the surface tension of the red blood cells.

SARS-CoV- 2 can pass from people in the very early stages of Covid -19, before they show symptoms. New research shows identifying cases at this early stage is crucial to controlling the pandemic. And yet most testing regimes require symptoms to show before testing. Luca Ferretti did this latest analysis.

And how about getting up close with virus? That’s what Camille Ehre has done, using an electron microscope to produce remarkable pictures of the virus as it attacks lung tissue.

Carl Wunsch tells us of a technique he developed in the 1970s to measure changes in global ocean temperatures using sound waves. Revisiting this method may give us insight into the impact of climate change on the deep ocean.

And Many of us willingly subject ourselves to pain and irritation by eating chilli. CrowdScience listener Tina wonders what’s driving this apparent masochism: why does ‘feeling the burn’ make so many of us feel so good?

It’s just one of several tasty questions we tuck into in this episode. Also on the menu is stew: why does it taste better the next day? Listener Helen’s local delicacy is Welsh cawl, a meat and vegetable concoction. Tradition dictates it should be eaten the day after it’s made, but is there any science behind this?

And we finish the meal with cheese. Listener Leander asks what makes some cheeses blue, some hard and crumbly, and some run all over your fridge. How is milk transformed into such radically different end products?

(Image: Getty Images)

Many of us willingly subject ourselves to pain and irritation by eating chilli. CrowdScience listener Tina wonders what’s driving this apparent masochism: why does ‘feeling the burn’ make so many of us feel so good?

It’s just one of several tasty questions we tuck into in this episode. Also on the menu is stew: why does it taste better the next day? Listener Helen’s local delicacy is Welsh cawl, a meat and vegetable concoction. Tradition dictates it should be eaten the day after it’s made, but is there any science behind this?

And we finish the meal with cheese. Listener Leander asks what makes some cheeses blue, some hard and crumbly, and some run all over your fridge. How is milk transformed into such radically different end products?

Presented by Marnie Chesterton and Alex Lathbridge Produced by Cathy Edwards, Marnie Chesterton and Alex Lathbridge for the BBC World Service.

[Photo:Woman eating red Chilli Pepper. Credit: Getty Images]

In the United States, Black infants die at over twice the rate of White infants. New research explores one key factor that may contribute to the disproportionately high rates of death among Black newborns: the race of their doctor. Reproductive health equity researcher Rachel Hardeman explains the findings.

Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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Some East Africans have a genetic mutation which gives them resistance to Malaria. Investigations into how it works have produced a surprising finding. As researcher Silvia Kariuki explains it’s all to do with the surface tension of the red blood cells.

SARS-CoV- 2 can pass from people in the very early stages of Covid -19, before they show symptoms. New research shows identifying cases at this early stage is crucial to controlling the pandemic. And yet most testing regimes require symptoms to show before testing. Luca Ferretti did this latest analysis.

And how about getting up close with virus? That’s what Camille Ehre has done, using an electron microscope to produce remarkable pictures of the virus as it attacks lung tissue.

Carl Wunsch tells us of a technique he developed in the 1970s to measure changes in global ocean temperatures using sound waves. Revisiting this method may give us insight into the impact of climate change on the deep ocean.

(Image: Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic, writes that the U.S. is caught in a "pandemic spiral." He argues some of our intuitions have been misleading our response, rather than guiding us out of disaster. For instance, flitting from from one prominent solution to another, without fully implementing any of them. To counter these unhelpful instincts, he offers some solutions.

Read Ed's piece: "America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral".

As always, you can reach the show by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

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