Category: ScienceNews

How far back in evolutionary history does kissing go? Through phylogenetic analysis, an international team of scientists found that kissing was likely present in the ancestor of all apes – which lived 21 million years ago. Not only that: They were definitely kissing Neanderthals. The study was published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. In this news roundup, we also talk about new clues about the collision that created our moon and a moss surviving the hardships of space.

Interested in stories about human evolution? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Many people are gearing up for holiday conversation with loved ones who may disagree with them -- on everything from politics to religion and lifestyle choices. These conversations can get personal and come to a halt quickly. But today on the show, we get into neuroscience and psychological research showing that as much as we disagree, there are ways to bridge these divides -- and people who are actively using these strategies well in their daily lives. (encore)

Want to hear more neuroscience and psychology? Email us your ideas to shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Their whole life, producer Hannah Chinn has known about the Big One: a massive earthquake forecasted to hit the West Coast. Scientists say it’ll destroy buildings, collapse bridges, flood coastal towns and permanently shift the landscape. But how exactly do scientists know this much about the scope of earthquakes if they can’t even predict when those earthquakes are going to happen? Together with host Emily Kwong, Hannah goes on a quest for answers. Plus, they get into what a Cascadia earthquake has in common with a Thanksgiving turkey.

This story is part of Nature Quest, our monthly segment that brings you a question from a Short Waver who is noticing a change in the world around them. Have an environment-based question you want us to investigate on the next Nature Quest? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

Check out our previous episode on earthquake prediction.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Kwesi Lee. Special thanks to scientists Paul Lundgren and Suzanne Carbotte.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

One in every eight households in the U.S. isn’t always sure where the next meal will come from. Limited food access can spell hunger – and that can affect the body and mind. So can cheaper, less nutritious foods. Hunger has a huge impact on individuals – and whole societies. It can mean shorter term issues like trouble focusing, as well as longer term mental health and physical struggles like chronic disease and social isolation. Host Regina G Barber speaks with experts looking at the impacts of food insecurity – from the known tolls and misconceptions to ways to bridge the gap.

If you liked this show, check out our episode on loneliness and the brain. To learn about ways you can find free or low-cost food, check out NPR’s Life Kit episode on the topic.

Interested in more public health or human biology stories? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Hundreds of miles from the U.N. conference on climate change that wrapped this weekend in Belém, Brazil, scientists are conducting a first-of-its-kind experiment that could help future policymakers address the issue. John Yang reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

As health insurers increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to process claims, denials have been on the rise. In 2023, about 73 million Americans on Affordable Care Act plans had their claims for in-network services denied, and less than 1% of them tried to appeal. Now, AI is being used to help patients fight back. Ali Rogin speaks with Indiana University law professor Jennifer Oliva for more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of frustration or tears of pain - humans are thought to be the only animals that cry tears of emotion. CrowdScience listener Lizzy wants to know: why do we cry for emotional reasons? What is its evolutionary benefit? And why do some people cry more than others?

It turns out that humans cry three types of tear: basal, reflex and emotional. The first kind keeps our eyes nice and lubricated and the second flushes out irritants such as fumes from the pesky onion, but the reasons for emotional tears are a bit harder to pin down.

Using a specially designed tear collection kit, presenter Caroline Steel collects all three kinds of tears. With them safely stashed in tiny vials, she heads to the Netherlands, to Maurice Mikkers’ Imaginarium of Tears. Looking at her crystallised tears under a microscope will hopefully unveil a mystery or two.

Marie Bannier-Hélaouët, who grew tear glands for her PhD, explains how the nervous system processes our emotions into tears. But why should we cry for both happiness and sadness, and for so many other emotions in between? Ad Vingerhoets, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Tilburg University, suggests we cry for helplessness - our bodies do not know how to process such intensity of feeling.

But do these tears bring relief? Lauren Bylsma, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, has been studying heart rates during crying episodes to find out. With her help, we also explore if women do in fact cry more than men, and why that might be.

Presenter: Caroline Steel

Producer: Eloise Stevens

Editor: Ben Motley

Photo: Fisheye woman having a cry - stock photo Credit: sdominick via Getty Images)

The Miss Universe pageant final has us considering the science of beauty. How much of our perception of beauty is genetic, and how much is down to personal experiences? We also look at the science behind competitions and the audience effect. Why do we sometimes perform better when we’re watched?

Also on the show, Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy explains why maths can be beautiful, and former Miss Universe Ireland and NASA datanaut Fig O’Reilly talks about balancing pageants and a career in science outreach.

Plus, the science behind death metal singing, why civet coffee tastes so good, and how ugly plants inflame allergies, on this week’s Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Katie Silver and Sandy Ong Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Lucy Davies, Robbie Wojciechowski and Alice McKee

Dreams of flying? Nightmares of teeth falling out? Falling off a cliff? As a sleep scientist at the University of Montreal, Michelle Carr has pretty much heard it all. In Michelle’s new book Nightmare Obscura, she explores the science of dreams, nightmares – and even something called dream engineering, where people influence their own dreams while they sleep. Today on Short Wave, co-host Regina G. Barber dives into the science of our sleeping life with Michelle Carr.


Interested in any upcoming science books? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.


Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Emily Kwong is pretty sure she lacks an inner monologue, while the inner monologue of producer Rachel Carlson won’t stop chatting. But how well can a person know their inner self? And what does science have to say about it?


To learn more about Charles Fernyhough’s research on voice hearing, visit the project website. 


Interested in more science inside your brain? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.


Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy