The Indicator: American Science Brain Drain
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Today, we're airing an episode of NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money. It...
Could AI Go Green?
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Google, Microsoft and Meta have all pledged to reach at least net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Ama...
What's The Environmental Cost Of AI?
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
By 2028, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory forecasts that U.S. data centers could use as much as...
Science Can Make You More Creative!
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Do you consider yourself a creative person? If not, you may be holding yourself back. Psychologist Z...
Did Scientists Find Alien Life Or Just Controversy?
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Recently, a group of scientists claimed they found possible signs of life on a planet called K2-18b....
What Can Minecraft Teach Us About Learning?
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Minecraft is a movie and a very popular video game with iconic block graphics that characters can "m...
Are DOGE Cuts Making America Healthy?
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration — specifically, the Department of Government Effic...
Should Kids Be Taking Melatonin?
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A good night's sleep makes a big difference to our mental and physical health. Without quality sleep...
Harnessing Spineless Sea Creatures' Superpowers
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
From starfish and sea slugs to jellyfish and sponges, the ocean's invertebrates are some of the most...
This Telescope Could Find "Planet 9"
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Some scientists are convinced that beyond Neptune, there's a planet they've yet to see. This so-call...
Why These Salmon Are On Anxiety Meds
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A fish walks into a pharmacy ... well, not exactly. Fish aren't being prescribed anti-anxiety drugs....
Nature Quest: Are Flowers Blooming Early?
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Welcome!! This is the first episode of Nature Quest, a monthly Short Wave segment that answers liste...
Should Humans Live On Mars?
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
As global warming continues and space technology improves, there is more and more talk about the gro...
Good Vibrations: How Fiddler Crabs Mate
18 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The male European fiddler crab attracts his mate by performing a courtship dance. New research publi...
How Nature Makes A Complex Brain
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A recent series of studies suggests that the brains of birds, reptiles and mammals all evolved indep...
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Plants are blooming right now – and so are people's allergies. And if it feels like those pesky sy...
All Hail The Butt Flicker
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Did you know there's an insect that can fling its pee 40 times faster than a cheetah accelerates? We...
How Do Astronomers Find Exoplanets? Wiggles!
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Dune. Star Wars. Alien. Science fiction movies love alien worlds, and so do we. But how do scientist...
Could Psychedelics Become Tripless?
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
This week, we've heard from researchers trying to untangle the effects of the "trip" that often come...
What If You Took The "Trip" Out Of Ketamine?
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What if you could get all the potential benefits of ketamine without the "trip"? For part two of our...
Why The Trip Complicates Psychedelic Research
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Researchers are studying psychedelics as a possible treatment for conditions like depression, PTSD a...
Could Running Change Your Brain?
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Running an entire marathon takes a lot of energy. Neuroscientist Carlos Matute knows this: he's run ...
Tornado Alley: Home Of Extreme Winds
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Each year, the United States has about 1,200 tornadoes. Many of them happen in tornado alley, a very...
The Iguanas That Rafted To Fiji
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Most iguanas are indigenous to the Americas. So how did the Fijian species end up on the island, nea...
Is AI Ready For Robots?
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere in our virtual lives. It's in our search results...
Rare Narwhal Footage Shows New Tusk Activities
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What are the narwhals up to? Generally, we don't really know! They are mysterious creatures. NPR sci...
The Algae That Thrive in Arctic Darkness
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Microalgae are tiny organisms that convert energy from sunlight into fuel. The arctic ecosystem depe...
Climate Change + Baseball = More Home Runs
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Baseball season is nigh! From Yankee stadium in New York to Dodger stadium in Los Angeles, teams aro...
What Scientists Got Wrong About COVID-19
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Early in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the SARS-CoV-2 virus would mut...
What Experts Say About ADHD-Tok
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Ever diagnosed yourself with a mental health disorder based on a TikTok video? If so, you're not alo...
What's In Your Personal Care Products?
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Ever scan the ingredient list of your favorite personal care products like shampoos or lotions and t...
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases known to science – more contagious than ...
Could 'Severance' Become Our Reality?
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What if we had the ultimate work-life balance? This fundamental question underlies the hit Apple TV+...
Love Fruit? Thank (Dinosaur) Mass Extinction
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: din...
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Biological sex is all over the news lately. Whether it's via President Trump's executive order affec...
Is The Trump Administration Breaking Science?
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In its first 50 days, the Trump administration made sweeping changes to scientific arms of the gover...
The Great Antarctic Food Web Puzzle
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Tourists to Antarctica are fueling research on some of the tiniest, most influential organisms on Ea...
Stone Age To Bone Age?
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Archeologists know early humans used stone to make tools long before the time of Homo sapiens. But a...
Will Bark For Science
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
On their second job ever, Collette Yee and her partner were assigned a difficult job: locate transie...
Reviving The Woolly Mammoth ... With Mice
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
You've heard of the woolly mammoth. But have you heard of woolly mice? These critters were genetical...
What It's Like Taking Alzheimer's Drugs
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
There are now two fully approved drugs on the market that can, sometimes, slow down the progression ...
When Batteries Get A Face Lift, So Do Renewables
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Batteries are everywhere. They're in our phones, our remote controls, smart-watches, electric cars a...
This Radio Wave Mystery Changed Astronomy
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In 1967 Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery that revolutionized the field of astronomy. She detect...
Extracting Brains ... For Science
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A year and a half ago, neuroscientist Kamilla Souza got the call she'd been waiting for: A baby hump...
What Happens While You're Under Anesthesia?
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Picture a relaxing scene. Maybe a beach in Tahiti, your toes in the sand, a cold drink in hand. Now ...
This Is Your Brain On Dessert
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Ever eat a full meal ... and find you still have room for dessert? If so, you're not alone. Sugar is...
Party In Peru: New Critters Just Dropped
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What happens when a team of scientists and local Awajún guides go on a 38-day trip into the Alto Ma...
When AI Cannibalizes Its Data
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Asked ChatGPT anything lately? Talked with a customer service chatbot? Read the results of Google's ...
Could This Particle 'Clean Up' A Cosmic Mystery?
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Physics has a bit of a messy problem: There's matter missing in our universe. Something is there tha...
Lessons in Love From Voles
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
For years, scientists have known that oxytocin is important in facilitating the feeling of love in h...
Stopping A Deadly Disease On Apache Lands
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is one of the deadliest tickborne diseases in the United States, often ...
What Happens Inside A Top-Secret U.S. Nuclear Facility?
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The U.S. tested nuclear weapons until the early 1990s. Since then, scientists have been using superc...
The Dangers Of Mirror Cell Research
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. On a molecular level, life takes this to the ext...
How Physics Could Make Big Crowds Safer
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What do large crowds of people and water have in common? They both act like fluids. When crowds chee...
Microbes: It's Complicated
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
For a long time, microbes like the ones in Yellowstone's hot springs were studied in isolation. Mole...
Why Black Holes Are More Than They Seem
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Black holes are notorious for gobbling up, well, everything. They're icons of destruction, ruthless ...
Not All Nature Comebacks Are Equal
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Ecologist Gergana Daskalova moved back to the small Bulgarian town of her childhood. It's a place m...
10 Technologies To Watch
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In a world brimming with innovation and limited time, it can be hard to tell what technology has the...
Farts To The Rescue
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Farts are funny and sometimes smelly. But are they a legitimate topic of research? More than 40% of ...
The Latest On Bird Flu
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading among livestock and other mammals in the United States, r...
Moths, Owls And Fungi With Over 20,000 Sexes...Oh My!
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Put on your headphones. In today's episode, host Emily Kwong leads us on a night hike in Patuxent Ri...
Peeing Is Contagious!
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
At least, it's contagious among a group of captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Sanctuary. How do res...
Where Are We In The Quest To Find Alien Life?
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens ...
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Forests are the lungs of our planet. Not only do they absorb carbon dioxide and create oxygen, they ...
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is banning the dye called Red No. 3, a f...
All Of Life Has A Common Ancestor. What Was LUCA?
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Imagine the tree of life. The tip of every branch represents one species, and if you follow any two ...
Some Dinos Had Feathers. Did They Fly?
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
When you picture a dinosaur, what does it look like? For Jingmai O'Connor, paleobiologist and associ...
Bone Marrow Cells: Key To Vaccine Longevity?
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine generates enough of an antibody response to protect against severe disease...
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Air quality in the Los Angeles region has plummeted due to smoke from the ongoing wildfires. With al...
What Are California's Santa Ana Winds?
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Over 29,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area are on fire right now. The fires emerged after the...
Fluoride: Fact vs. Fiction
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Fluoridating the public water supply has been common practice for nearly 80 years in the U.S. It's a...
How Two Veterans Developed The Same Rare Brain Condition
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Some weapons used by the U.S. military are so powerful they can pose a threat to the people who fire...
The Great Space (Clock) Race
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
There are hundreds of atomic clocks in orbit right now, perched on satellites all over Earth. We dep...
Jimmy Carter's Triumph Over The Guinea Worm
04 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Funeral services begin today for former President Jimmy Carter. He died Sunday, at 100-years-old. ...
The Dubious World's Largest Snowflake Record
03 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
(encore) Snowflakes. These intricate, whimsical crystals are a staple of magical wintry scenes, but ...
The Trouble With Zero
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Happy New Year, Short Wavers! What better time to contemplate the conundrum that is zero than this, ...
The Biggest Health Stories of 2024
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
2024 was full of science news. There was a total solar eclipse, the Paris Olympics, elections in the...
Bird Backpacks Could Help This Parrot Bounce Back
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The thick-billed parrot is the only surviving parrot species native to the United States. These brig...
Why These Squirrels Are Eating Meat
27 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In pop culture, squirrels are often seen as jerky, excited critters on the hunt for nuts to stuff th...
Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In the early 20th century, a blight fungus wiped out most of the 4 billion American chestnut trees o...
Hear Christmas Carols And Talk To Santa On Ham Radio
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
On Christmas Eve, scientists at field stations across Antarctica sing carols to one another...via sh...
How Does An Airplane Stay In The Air?
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
There are many statistics out there that prove that flying on a commercial airplane is safe, that pl...
The First Woman To Get A New Kind Of Kidney Transplant
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Towana Looney became the first living person in the world to get a kidney from a new kind of genetic...
This Huge Mining Pit Is About To Be A Lake
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Old mines leave behind a a pressing problem: Huge holes that make the landscape look like a chunk of...
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
AI uses a lot of power. Some of the next generation data centers may use as much power as one millio...
How Racism – And Silence – Could Hurt Your Health
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Racism is often covered as a political, cultural, or news story. But how is it affecting people's he...
What's A Weather Forecast Worth?
14 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The federal government has been tracking the weather for more than 150 years. Yet over the last few ...
Conan The Bacterium's Superpower: Resisting Radiation
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In the 1950s, scientists exposed a tin of meat to a dose of radiation that they expected would kill ...
In The Club, We All ... Archaea?
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Thor. Loki. Heimdall. They're not just Norse gods or Marvel characters. They're also the names of va...
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
If you crossed WALL-E with a floor lamp, it might look a little like the PhytoPatholoBot. These robo...
Who Does Science? Under Trump, That Could Change
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The next four years may be challenging for foreign-born scientists who want to work in the United St...
The Comeback Of The Southwest Peach
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Centuries ago, Southwest tribal nations tended vast orchards of peach trees. But in 1863, thousands ...
The Ambitious Quest To Genetically Map All Known Vertebrates
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Vertebrate Genomes Project: It's an ambitious effort by an international group of scientists to ...
These Rats Can Drive. What's Happening In Their Brains?
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In neuroscientist Kelly Lambert's lab at the University of Richmond, rats hop into cars, rev their e...
Why Your Brain Loves Sales
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
This Cyber Monday, a meditation on holiday sales. A quick trip to pick up presents can turn into an ...
This Hazelnut May Help The Land Back Movement In Canada
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Beaked hazelnuts are a wild food native to North America. Indigenous peoples in British Columbia ha...
This COP29, It's All About The Numbers
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
This year's United Nations climate talks, COP29, wrapped Saturday. Throughout the talks, it was all ...
How Do You Preserve An Endangered Language?
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
By the end of the century, more than 40% of the world's estimated 7,000 languages are in danger of d...
The Battle To Save Monarch Butterflies
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Monarch butterfly populations have plummeted due to habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. ...
Are Starship Launches Trashing Texas?
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
SpaceX's Starship rocket took off again Tuesday for its sixth test flight. Crowds, including Preside...