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Short Wave New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong, Aaron Scott and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.

If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave
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New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong, Aaron Scott and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.

If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave

Most Recent Episodes

How one scientist is demystifying the rise of the dinosaurs

A late Triassic-era rausuchian, one of the rival reptile lineages who lost out to the dinosaurs. Dmitry Bogdonav/Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Dmitry Bogdonav/Wikimedia Commons

How one scientist is demystifying the rise of the dinosaurs

Dinosaurs ruled the earth for many millions of years, but only after a mass extinction took out most of their rivals. Just how that happened remains a mystery — sounds like a case for paleoclimatologist Celina Suarez! This encore episode, Suarez walks us through her scientific detective work, with a little help from her trusty sidekick, Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber.

How one scientist is demystifying the rise of the dinosaurs

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Helping a man walk again with implants connecting his brain and spinal cord

Head of the Brain-Computer Interface Programm at the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA), Guillaume Charvet from France, shows implants that allows a paralyzed man to walk naturally, during a press conference in Lausanne on May 23, 2023. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Helping a man walk again with implants connecting his brain and spinal cord

This week's science news roundup reunites All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang with Short Wave hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber to dig into the latest headlines in biomedical research, also known as cool things for the human body. We talk new RSV vaccines, vaccination by sticker and a new device helping a man with paralysis walk again.

Helping a man walk again with implants connecting his brain and spinal cord

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Why melting ice in Antarctica is making hurricanes worse in Texas

Some of the fastest sea level rise in the world is happening in Galveston, Texas. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Kellman/NPR

Why melting ice in Antarctica is making hurricanes worse in Texas

Ice in Antarctica is melting really quickly because of climate change. That's driving sea level rise around the world, and the water is rising especially fast in the seaside city of Galveston, Texas — thousands of miles from Antarctica. Why do Antarctica and Texas have this counterintuitive relationship? And what does it mean for a $34 billion effort to protect the city from hurricanes?

Why melting ice in Antarctica is making hurricanes worse in Texas

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Meet the teen changing how neuroscientists think about brain plasticity

Mora Leeb places some pieces into a puzzle during a local puzzle tournament. The 15-year-old has grown up without the left side of her brain after it was removed when she was an infant. Seth Leeb/Seth Leeb hide caption

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Seth Leeb/Seth Leeb

Meet the teen changing how neuroscientists think about brain plasticity

Mora Leeb was 9 months old when surgeons removed half her brain. Now 15, she plays soccer and tells jokes. Scientists say Mora is an extreme example of a process known as brain plasticity, which allows a brain to modify its connections to adapt to new circumstances.

Meet the teen changing how neuroscientists think about brain plasticity

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What galaxies forming earlier than scientists thought possible means for physics

The seven galaxies noted in this James Webb Space Telescope image are at a distance that astronomers refer to as redshift 7.9, which correlates to 650 million years after the big bang. NASA, ESA, CSA, T. Morishita (IPAC). Image processing: A. Pagan (STScI) hide caption

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NASA, ESA, CSA, T. Morishita (IPAC). Image processing: A. Pagan (STScI)

What galaxies forming earlier than scientists thought possible means for physics

If you ask a physicist or cosmologist about the beginnings of the universe, they'll probably point you to some math and tell you about the Big Bang theory. It's a scientific theory about how the entire universe began, and it's been honed over the decades. But recent images from the James Webb Space Telescope have called the precise timeline of the theory a little bit into question. That's because these images reveal galaxies forming way earlier than was previously understood to be possible. To understand whether it's physics itself or just our imaginations that need help, we called up theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein.

What galaxies forming earlier than scientists thought possible means for physics

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Farewell, my kidney: Why the body may reject a lifesaving organ

Leila Mirhaydari, shown shortly after her kidney transplant surgery in 2014. Eight years later, Leila learned her body was rejecting the donated organ. Courtesy of Leila Mirhaydari hide caption

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Courtesy of Leila Mirhaydari

Farewell, my kidney: Why the body may reject a lifesaving organ

In February 2021, pandemic restrictions were just starting to ease in Hawaii, and Leila Mirhaydari was finally able to see her kidney doctor. Transplanted organs need diligent care, and Leila had been looking after her donated kidney all on her own for a year. So a lot was riding on that first batch of lab results.

Farewell, my kidney: Why the body may reject a lifesaving organ

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Climate change stresses out these chipmunks. Why are their cousins so chill?

A lodgepole chipmunk (Tamias speciosus) on a rock. Ketki Samel hide caption

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Ketki Samel

Climate change stresses out these chipmunks. Why are their cousins so chill?

Kwasi Wrensford studies two related species: the Alpine chipmunk and the Lodgepole chipmunk. The two have very different ways of coping with climate change. In this episode, Kwasi explains to host Emily Kwong how these squirrelly critters typify two important evolutionary strategies, and why they could shed light on what's in store for other creatures all over the globe.

Climate change stresses out these chipmunks. Why are their cousins so chill?

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Scientists finally know the secret to creating — and storing — perfectly gummy candy

Tuesday, researchers at Ozyegin University and Middle East Technical University published a paper in the journal Physics of Fluids that investigates various formulations and storage settings for gummy candy. Cosmin Buse / 500px/Getty Images/500px hide caption

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Cosmin Buse / 500px/Getty Images/500px

Scientists finally know the secret to creating — and storing — perfectly gummy candy

This week for our science news roundup, superstar host of All Things Considered Ari Shapiro joins Short Wave hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber to discuss the joy and wonder found in all types of structures. The big. The small. The delicious. We ask if diapers can be repurposed to construct buildings, how single-celled organisms turned into multi-cellular ones and how to make the best gummy candy?

Scientists finally know the secret to creating — and storing — perfectly gummy candy

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At-home DNA test kits can tell you many things. Race shouldn't be one of them

This illustration picture shows a saliva collection kit for DNA testing. Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

At-home DNA test kits can tell you many things. Race shouldn't be one of them

Race is a social construct — so why are DNA test kits like the ones from 23andMe coded like they reveal biological fact about the user's racial makeup? This episode, Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber talks to anthropologist Agustín Fuentes about the limits of at-home genetic tests and how misinformation about race and biology can come into play.

At-home DNA test kits can tell you many things. Race shouldn't be one of them

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Long COVID scientists try to unravel blood clot mystery

As part of studying Long COVID, graduate researcher Bradley Wade Hamilton separates out microclots from blood platelets in a solution. Anil Oza/NPR hide caption

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Anil Oza/NPR

Long COVID scientists try to unravel blood clot mystery

The COVID-19 public health emergency has ended, but millions across the globe continue to deal with Long COVID. Researchers are still pursuing basic questions about Long COVID — its causes, how to test for it and how it progresses. Today, we look at a group of researchers studying the blood of some Long COVID patients in the hopes of finding a biomarker that could let physicians test for the disease.

Long COVID scientists try to unravel blood clot mystery

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