Hannah Chinn
Appearances
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
I think I remember, like, clownfish can change sexes over their lifetime.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
And there's also animals like the New Mexico whiptail lizard. Like we've covered that on Shortwave. And that's a species that has like no males and the females just like lay eggs. They're like viable and they don't need fertilization at all.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
So today on the show, the science of biological sex in humans.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
OK, Han, so we were just talking about biological sex and how there's like a lot of variation in other animals. But what about humans? Like what's the determining factor for like sex in us?
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
Hey, short wavers. Regina Barber here with producer Hannah Chin. Hey, Hannah. Hey, Gina. So today you're bringing us a story about sex.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
I think we need to slow down and like break down each of them. Right. Like so the first one you said is chromosomal. Right. And I remember learning about this in like high school bio. All the genetic information in our bodies are packaged in 46 chromosomes and they're coupled up to make 23 pairs. The first 22 pairs tend to look similar, like, in all humans.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
But the last one is usually either an XX or an XY pair. And XX is usually assigned to female. XY is assigned to male. Right.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
Right. And you mentioned a second metric being chemical, right? Like, what do chemicals tell us about sex?
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
Wow. Yep. Yep. So when does this, like, first chemical change actually happen? Puberty?
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
Wow. I did not know any of this. It's like baby puberty. Okay.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
And this brings us to the last criteria, physical. Okay. And I'm guessing that's like genitals.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
Okay. So physical traits, hormones, chromosomes, we have all these different ways to determine sex. And I'm guessing like that most of the time they align, but not all the time.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
So chances are, if you're listening to this episode and you're not intersex, you've probably at least encountered someone who is.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
Right. Because like height is one of those physical characteristics you mentioned earlier.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
Thank you, Han, for bringing us this story. Anytime, Gina. If you liked this episode, make sure you never miss a new one by following us on whatever podcasting platform you're listening from. And if you have a science question you'd like us to investigate, send us an email at shortwave at npr.org.
Short Wave
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
This episode was produced by Burleigh McCoy and edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kweisi Lee was the audio engineer.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
Hey, Emily. And today we're going to talk about what some people consider the third rail of climate change, the kids question. True. True. True. True. True. I mean, the majority of Gen Zers report that they're worried or anxious about climate change, period.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
And more broadly, a Pew Research survey last year found that of folks under 50 who don't plan to have kids, more than a quarter of them say concerns about the environment and climate change are a major factor in that. And I really wanted to figure out where is this concern coming from? Like, who or what told us that having kids was a major contributor to climate change?
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
So I started reporting on this back when I was working on the Gimlet podcast, How to Save a Planet. And I found a bunch of recent articles, like in the past five or so years, that all cited the exact same paper. It was published in 2017 in the academic journal Environmental Research Letters. It's called The Climate Mitigation Gap.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
She was a co-author of this paper. She's a professor of sustainability science at Lund University in Sweden. And she told me that when she and her colleagues published this paper... The press coverage really focused on the fourth individual action. Have one less child.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
Specifically, an average of 58.6 metric tons of CO2 a year if you're in an industrialized country. That's an equivalent of 7.9 homes energy use for one year. And this kicked up a lot of debate because people already have very strong feelings about children and reproductive choice.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
Right. What is driving global climate change is fossil fuel use. Human development overall is definitely part of that, but it has more to do with energy companies and governments and how we set up our infrastructure.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
Yeah. As someone who does want to co-parent a kid someday, that's the journey I'm interested in. Like, I think reproductive autonomy is really important. And I'm still worried about the climate impacts of my individual actions, including things like flying and driving and maybe having a kid.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
I think it helps to hear that because I don't even know what my future is going to look like. Right. So how could I bring another new human being into that?
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
We do know that birth rates in the U.S. are down, but it kind of seems like that's due to a variety of factors, right? The cost of living crisis, job and housing insecurity, a lack of social safety nets, etc., etc., etc. So we can't attribute it solely to climate change. Maybe we'll know in 10 years once more Gen Z and young millennials have kids or don't have kids.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
In fact, Kimberly says the people best positioned to do those high-impact climate actions aren't just politicians and energy CEOs. They're also anyone who makes a little over $42,000 a year. Those people are part of the top 10% richest people on Earth.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
Yeah. We'll link to this guide in the episode notes. And when I was working through this guide, I was struck by how many of these actions were things that we do collectively, like encouraging your loved ones to take their money out of banks that use fossil fuels or working with your union to change industry standards. Here's Jade again.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
So researchers say, if you're hearing all this and you're upset, join the fight.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
Elizabeth Bechard got involved back in 2018. That was the year Hurricane Florence devastated coastal North Carolina, where she grew up. And the IPCC came out with a report saying, we have 12 years left to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius and limit
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
And Emily, that's the last thing that really stuck with me, that caring for a child can also be a hopeful thing to do. It can connect us to each other. It can help us act because the future isn't set in stone. And that's true whether we have kids in our lives or not.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
We've linked all the resources we mentioned in our episode notes, along with books written by our guests for whatever role kids and climate might play in your life.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
This episode was produced by Hannah Chin and Rachel Carlson. It was edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez, and fact-checked by Tyler Jones. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer.
Short Wave
Nature Quest: Are Flowers Blooming Early?
Great conversation makes for a great party. But how do you ask the questions that really make the room come alive? Well, here at Life Kit, we've got you. What is a path you almost took but didn't? On our latest episode, how to ask the magical questions that'll make your party sparkle. Listen to the Life Kit podcast from NPR.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
But yeah, basically. What are these seedling popsicles for? Okay, so you already know that forests are really important for the ecosystem, right?
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Yeah, right. But they're in danger due to things like over-harvesting and increasing wildfires. So that's why we need reforestation. replanting new forests to replace the old ones. So Emily, these seedling popsicles are part of a reforestation master plan that the Forest Service is carrying out across the West Coast.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
It's a plan that looks into the future to help our forests survive increased heat, changing weather patterns, and other potential threats that they might face.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Yeah, I guess compared to China, it is relatively new. But if you do the math, we've been replanting trees for easily more than a century.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a simple process.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
I am not in a forest, but I did report this story from somewhere that is wet, which is my home state of Oregon.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
This is Rob Slaysack. He's a researcher with the U.S. Forest Service. And he says because growing tree seedlings is so complicated, foresters try to really maximize the seedlings' chance of survival.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
That involves things like nurturing the seedlings for longer before planting them, or planting the trees more spaced out so that they don't compete for resources, and maybe most importantly, planting local.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
She's the manager of the Durina Genetic Resource Center now. But before that, she was working with the Forest Service as a silviculturist, which just means she does tree and forest management.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
We drove out on a rainy day to the U.S. Forest Service's Dorena Genetic Resource Center. It's located in Cottage Grove, which is this small town that's a couple hours' drive from Portland. And the day I visited, the crew was pretty busy...
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Yeah, exactly. But Lisa's been working in forest management and conservation for a long time. And in that time, the speed of climate change has really shifted. And foresters are trying to figure out whether this local approach to planting trees needs to shift too.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
So in the time that it takes for a seed to be harvested and then planted and then start growing, foresters are realizing the growing conditions in its home might have changed.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Seedlings might face drier or more humid conditions. They might need to weather unprecedented heat waves. There's just a bunch of potentially changing conditions that endanger these trees. And that's a real problem for forest management. They're going through the same things we are, these poor trees. Yeah, exactly. But foresters have come up with a way of tackling it.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
And this is a project that Rob's leading, the same project that you heard Michelle and her crew packing up those baby tree popsicles for. It's called the Experimental Network for Assisted Migration and Establishment Silviculture, or E-Names for short. I love an acronym.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Okay, Emily, would you believe me if I told you that they were looking into the future?
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Okay, fair. I will let the experts explain. Here's Lisa.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
This tool is online and it provides multiple different climate models. Each focuses on slightly different things so that silviculturists can make the most informed decision for their specific forest.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
That's what the e-names project is doing. It's experimenting with these seed selections, projecting different scenarios for what the climate will look like in the future, and then planting trees accordingly. So you heard them packing up Doug firs in the beginning of this episode, but they've also planted other species, right?
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
They've got instant cedar, Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, western larch, ton of different trees in places all over Oregon and Washington.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
In reality, Rob says it's pretty straightforward.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Packing up hundreds of baby Douglas fir trees into plastic bags and then big cardboard boxes.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
It's not a perfect system. Rob says there's uncertainty in the climate model projections and uncertainty in the climate variables they're using to match space and uncertainty in how far they transfer the seeds. I mean, this hasn't really been done before, so it's not like they have a ton of things to compare it to.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
But the idea is that if you live in a place that has Douglas firs and gets really cold winters now but is projected to get milder winters in the future…
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
and then I live in a place that also has Douglas firs, but already gets milder winters right now, then hypothetically, I could send you some of the seeds from Douglas fir trees where I live, the ones that already adapted to milder winters, so you could plant them. Does that make sense? Totally.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Right. Except if you were robbed, then you'd actually send the seeds to Dorena Genetic Resource Center and then they would sprout the seeds and plant them and grow the baby seedlings first.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
So they're moving the population around, but still staying within the overall species range. That way, they're hoping to avoid the risk of introducing new, potentially invasive species, while still benefiting from the natural, individual adaptations that trees already have.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
sense of how it's all going? They only started planting sites last year, but right now the plan is to do a first-year measurement after each site is planted and then to check in on each site every five years.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Rob says he's committed to leading it for at least the next 20 years, and he's hopeful it could continue for even longer because the Forest Service has a history of really committing to long-term growth experiments. like the Doug for Heredity study that launched back in 1912.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
So this is Michelle Osgood. She's the assistant horticulturist here at Dorena Genetic Resource Center. And she and her crew are taking all of these seedlings out of the greenhouse.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
I mean, Emily, some of the trees that were planted as part of the Doug for Heredity study are still around, right? It's been over a century. And there's still stuff that we're learning from these same trees.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
No, totally. And if these trees make it, they'll need to survive all of these different climate scenarios all along the way. Which, again, kind of scary, kind of impressive, kind of optimistic.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Beth Donovan is our senior director, and Colin Campbell is our senior vice president of podcasting strategy. I'm Hannah Chin.
Short Wave
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
They're going to freeze these little baby trees? Yeah, it's so that they can keep the trees in storage until the ground is like ready to plant.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
But what are they doing? Why are they roving these rows with cameras of all things? Are we just setting ourselves up to be replaced by robo-farmers?
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Are you one of the half of Americans who say money management is part of their self-care routine? Or one of the 41% of young adults who think financial well-being means having multiple streams of income? On It's Been a Minute, I'm investigating how young people are turning to OnlyFans, sports betting, and Klarna to stretch every last dollar.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
That's all month long on the It's Been a Minute podcast from NPR. You're listening to the NPR Network. Live from NPR News, I'm Laxmi Singh.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Han, I am obsessed with robots. I actually dressed up as Eve for Halloween with my partner Duncan as Wally. That's so cute. And I really want to know all about Wally's cousins. This robot is so cute. Let's first talk about the problem the robot is solving for.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey, shortwavers. Emily Kwong here with shortwave producer Hannah Chin.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Okay, what is causing this mildew? Isn't mildew usually related to dampness?
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Oh, like these infections are not related to each other.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
That's a sad state for these poor plants. Okay.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
So it's like when humans take antibiotics, the pathogens in our body can become more resistant in response to antibiotics. And then we have to take stronger ones more often and it can become this vicious cycle.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Okay, so is this the job for these uniquely equipped grape robots?
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Oh, they're using AI. Okay. So this is like a data problem. Like the training data used for these robots says like disease looks one way, but out in the world, you're faced with all the variables of lighting of any photographer where it might not look the same.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
This is very cool. Combine so much new technology from robotics to AI. How accurate, though, is this method?
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Okay, 90% accuracy. That's pretty good. And what happens when...
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Yeah, I'd be concerned if I saw a nine-foot-tall robot shining a UV light in the field next to me at midnight. I would think I was getting abducted.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
So he's saying these robots, if they were like to scale in grape farms in places that need them, they would have the potential to like help the farmers with their work.
Short Wave
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
Hannah Chin, thank you for telling us all about these amazing robots. Yeah, thanks for having me. This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson, and it was edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez.