Octopuses and their arms are a bit of a mystery. Not because scientists don’t know how they work; they’re boneless hydrostats, made up of groups of muscles working together and capable of bending, twisting, elongating or shortening — like a frog’s tongue, or an elephant’s trunk. But because scientists are still figuring out how most octopuses use those arms in the wild.
Scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and the marine lab at Florida Atlantic University wanted to answer that question. By analyzing videos taken in the wild, they found that octopuses seemed to prefer doing certain tasks with certain arms… and that the majority of the time, they used their front arms to explore and their back arms to get around. Researchers on the project hope that furthering our understanding of octopus behavior and movement will be useful for developing things like soft robotics.
Interested in more science discoveries? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.
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Marketplace All-in-One - Get got by Insta-scammers?
If you have, you're not alone. American consumers lost more than $1 billion to fraud on social media in the first six months of this year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That’s almost ten times what it was five years ago. Today, we'll hear how consumers can protect themselves. But first, we know what the Federal Reserve did with short-term interest rates this week. What's driving long-term interest rates right now?
The Daily Signal - Selective Outrage and Political Spin: The Charlie Kirk Vigil Fallout
There seems to be an ironic discordance among folks that, let’s just say, didn’t share Charlie Kirk’s points of view. They claim that ‘it’s time to move on’ even when faced with a vigil being held by co-workers. Such was the case of the US House of Representatives minority party leader Hakeem Jeffries who, when asked why he didn’t attend a Congressional vigil quipped; “I had a meeting.” Or take combative positions like Virginia Speaker Don Scott who responded to Governor Youngkin who echoed a question we asked on these pages. “Is Abigail Spanberger going to denounce the ‘Nazi’ comment made by one of her supports, Chesterfield School Board Member ‘Dot’ Heffron. Scott’s social media response has since been edited but the original still exists and reads: “Spare us the sanctimonious selective outrage — you should be ashamed of yourself. You said nothing when a sitting GOP member of the Va House of Delegates said ‘Democrats killed [Charlie] Kirk’ — a blatant lie that was never corrected even after learning a Trump supporter actually killed him. Thank God, this Governor and his hateful politics will be gone in 120 days.”
The edited version now reads; “…. a blatant lie that was never corrected even after learning he was shot by a man from a family of Trump supporters.” Certainly much better. The member of the House he was referring to was Delegate Nick Freitas who posted “the other side murdered him” Delegate Freitas joins us to take us much further into this and what needs to happen next.
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Focus on Africa - Guinea: Why the constitutional referendum matters
Guineans will vote in a referendum on a new constitution on Sunday, that would permit junta leader Mamady Doumbouya to run for president, despite his promise not to do so when he seized power four years ago. Political analyst Renna Hawili explains the other major proposals.
Also, will a new World Trade Organisation agreement help protect the livelihoods of fishing communities off the coast of Africa?
And hear why an Ivorian musician's performance at a festival in Paris, was cancelled.
Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Makuochi Okafor, Yvette Twagiramariya, Ayuba Iliya, Madina Maishanu and Stefania Okereke Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp Editors: Alice Muthengi, Samuel Murunga, Maryam Abdalla and Andre Lombard
The Commentary Magazine Podcast - Late Night With Jimmy Who?
The fallout from the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel continues, with the revelation that, basically, no one watches his show—so why should Disney and ABC keep it on the air if he's more trouble than he's worth? That goes to the question of what to do when a heavy-handed government starts interfering in private business and going after someone who was exercising his free speech. The issue is more complicated than both left and right are willing to acknowledge. Give a listen.
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Newshour - Trump says TV networks opposed to him should ‘maybe’ lose licence
The remarks come after pressure from the administration led ABC to suspend late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel. Mr Kimmel made comments about the Charlie Kirk murder suspect, saying Trump supporters had tried to "characterise this kid as anything other than one of them".
Also, we speak to Omar Barghouti who co-founded the worldwide movement to isolate Israel, through boycott, sanctions and divestment; and we head to Moscow to meet some of the musicians competing in Intervision, the Kremlin's counterpoint to Eurovision.
(Photo: President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from a state visit in Britain, 18 September, 2025. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
WSJ Tech News Briefing - TNB Tech Minute: Nvidia in Talks Over $500 Million Investment in Wayve
Plus: Nvidia invests $2.7 billion in U.K. AI startup development. And Amazon’s finance teams are relying more on AI. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts.
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Newshour - Emir of Qatar criticises Israel as ‘cowardly’
The emir of Qatar has called last week's Israeli attack on his country a cowardly act of terrorism intended to derail peace talks. For his part, the Israeli prime minister has refused to rule out more attacks on Hamas leaders. Newshour hears from Qatar and Israel.
Also in the programme: China and the US secure a possible deal on TikTok; and Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov condemns Israel's actions in Gaza.
(Picture: Journalists watch on a screen as Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, speaks during the opening of the emergency Arab-Islamic summit, to discuss the Israeli attack on Hamas on the Gulf country's soil, in Doha, Qatar. Credit :Reuters)
1A - ICYMI: US Destroys Another Boat Coming From Venezuela
Fourteen people are dead after the U.S. military launched strikes on two Venezuelan boats this month in international waters. President Donald Trump says they were heading towards the U.S.
That’s despite reports from several agencies saying the boat attacked two weeks ago was headed away from the U.S. when it was hit. Trump is also accusing the boats of being connected to Venezuelan drug trafficking cartels that he says posed a threat to the U.S.
Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, says the U.S. is trying to start a war.
We discuss the stakes and what we know about the situation.
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That’s despite reports from several agencies saying the boat attacked two weeks ago was headed away from the U.S. when it was hit. Trump is also accusing the boats of being connected to Venezuelan drug trafficking cartels that he says posed a threat to the U.S.
Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, says the U.S. is trying to start a war.
We discuss the stakes and what we know about the situation.
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
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Freakonomics Radio Archives - Freakonomics - China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers.
In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions.
The post China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers. appeared first on Freakonomics.
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