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PODCAST

Short Wave

New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It"s science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong 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

science life sciences

All Episodes

10:29

What Makes South Korea's 'Super Divers' Special?

Short Wave ·

2025/06/20

For generations, the all-female Haenyeo divers have routinely dove into frigid waters off the coast of South Korea, holding their breath for minutes at a time, as they collect seafood to eat and sell. These women start diving as girls and continue well into old age. And recent research suggests that it's not just years of training that makes this feat possible – it's also a set of special genetic adaptations. Science reporter Ari Daniel brings us the story.Read more of Ari's reporting here.Have

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12:27

Why Emotions Run High For Sports Fans

Short Wave ·

2025/06/18

We are in the thick of multiple sports seasons: the NBA finals are happening, and baseball and soccer are in full swing. For devoted fans, emotions can run pretty high during a game. Cognitive anthropologist Dimitris Xygalatas has long been fascinated by that intensity — and how uniform it can be across fans. So, he and fellow researchers at the University of Connecticut decided to look into what exactly makes fans so deeply connected to their team and to fellow supporters. It turns out that

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13:57

Trump Wants A Missile Defense System Like Israel's

Short Wave ·

2025/06/17

Since last week, Israel has been attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, along with many other targets around the country. Iran has fired hundreds of missiles in response. NPR correspondent Geoff Brumfiel has been watching all of this very closely because Israel's missile defenses have been a focus of the Trump White House. This year, President Trump requested funding from Congress for a "Golden Dome for America" — a missile defense system that would protect all of the United States. The idea comes

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10:55

Why Weed's Signature Scent Has Changed Over Time

Short Wave ·

2025/06/16

The skunky smell of cannabis may be going out of style. NPR's science correspondent Pien Huang visited the grow facility for District Cannabis, which sells weed in Washington D.C. and Maryland. On her tour, she learned why cannabis smells the way it does. Plus, how many strains have been bred — to smells like lavender, citrus and even cookies. Read more of science correspondent Pien Huang's reporting on this topic here, or check out the entire special series, "How safe is your weed?" Questions about

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8:49

Your Breathing Pattern Is Like A Fingerprint

Short Wave ·

2025/06/13

Take a big inhale through your nose. Now, exhale. Breathing may seem simple, but it's controlled by a complex brain network. Each inhale gives the human brain information about the external world. And now, a new research paper in the journal Current Biology suggests that humans have unique breathing patterns, almost like nasal "fingerprints." Not only that: These unique breathing patterns seem to say a lot about people's physical and mental health.Questions about the science behind your brain and

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12:09

Wanna Save Money? Climate-Proof Your Home

Short Wave ·

2025/06/11

Homeowners' insurance isn't just getting more expensive ... it's also getting harder to secure in the first place. Across the country, an increase in climate-related disasters like heat waves, wildfires and hurricanes is creating challenges for both insurers and their customers. One successful strategy taking hold in Alabama and other states: Climate-proofing houses — and incentivizing it with insurance discounts.Still, not all states or homeowners face similar risks. And insurers aren't legally

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14:25

Living With OCD

Short Wave ·

2025/06/10

Roughly 163 million people experience obsessive-compulsive disorder and its associated cycles of obsessions and compulsions. They have unwanted intrusive thoughts, images or urges; they also do certain behaviors to decrease the distress caused by these thoughts. In movies and TV, characters with OCD are often depicted washing their hands or obsessing about symmetry. Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez says these are often symptoms of OCD, but they're not the only ways it manifests – and there's still a lot of

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13:45

Helping Dogs and Their Pawrents Live Healthier, Longer

Short Wave ·

2025/06/09

The Dog Aging Project is a long-term nationwide survey on the health and lifestyles of U.S. dogs that launched in 2019. Today, the project has more than 50,000 canines and counting. Today, hear what researchers have learned from one of the largest dog health data sets and what it could tell us both about increasing the lifespan of our furry friends and us.For more information about signing your pup up for the Dog Aging Project, visit their website.Have more questions about animals? Let us know at

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13:48

Unveiling Olo — A Color Out of Oz!

Short Wave ·

2025/06/06

"Olo" does not exist in nature, nor can it be found among paint cans. But for a very select few, olo can be seen — through the intervention of careful computing and lasers. A team led by vision scientist Austin Roorda and computer scientist Ren Ng at UC Berkeley figured out a method for stimulating only one specific subset of cones of the retina. It's the only way to view this spectacular teal. Creating the color is helping push the boundaries of vision science.Follow Short Wave on Spotify, and

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13:07

Anglerfish Ancestors Once Roamed The Seafloor

Short Wave ·

2025/06/04

There are over 200 species of deep-sea anglerfish; some are long and thin, some are squat and round, some have fins that they use to "walk" along the sea floor, and others have huge eyes set far back into their heads. But how did all this morphological diversity first come to be? Thanks to a new anglerfish family tree, now we know. Scientists built this evolutionary tree using genetic information from hundreds of samples and anglerfish specimens across the globe. It indicates that anglerfish

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14:05

Can AI Crack The Biology Code?

Short Wave ·

2025/06/03

As artificial intelligence seeps into some realms of society, it rushes into others. One area it's making a big difference is protein science — as in the "building blocks of life," proteins! Producer Berly McCoy talks to host Emily Kwong about the newest advance in protein science: AlphaFold3, an AI program from Google DeepMind. Plus, they talk about the wider field of AI protein science and why researchers hope it will solve a range of problems, from disease to the climate.Have other aspects of AI

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13:17

Solving A Centuries Old Maritime Mystery

Short Wave ·

2025/06/02

For hundreds of years sailors have told stories about miles of glowing ocean during moonless nights. This phenomenon is known as "milky seas," but the only scientific sample was collected in 1985. So atmospheric scientist Justin Hudson, a PhD candidate at Colorado State University, used accounts spanning 400 years to create a database of milky seas. By also using satellite images to visually confirm the tales, Justin hopes his research brings us one step closer to unraveling this maritime mystery

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8:40

Why Daylight Boosts Immunity

Short Wave ·

2025/05/30

Depending on what time it is, your body responds differently to an injury or infection. During the day, you're likely to heal faster and fight infection better than at night. And historically, scientists weren't entirely sure why. That picture is starting to clear up thanks to a new study published last week in the journal Science Immunology. The research finds a missing piece of the puzzle in neutrophils, powerful immune cells that — despite living less than 24 hours — know the difference between

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13:32

Unpacking Bipolar Disorder

Short Wave ·

2025/05/28

Around 40 million people around the world have bipolar disorder, which involves cyclical swings between moods: from depression to mania. Kay Redfield Jamison is one of those people. She's also a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and has written extensively about the topic, from medical textbooks to personal memoirs. Today on Short Wave, she joins us to talk about the diagnosis process, treating and managing bipolar disorder. Listen to every episode of Short Wave

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13:55

Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question

Short Wave ·

2025/05/27

Gen Z and younger millennials are the most climate literate generations the world has ever seen. They learned about climate change in school; now, it's part of how they plan for the future, including for jobs, housing ... and kids.So, what do experts say about how to navigate the kid question? In this installment of Nature Quest, Short Wave speaks to climate journalist Alessandra Ram about the future she sees for her newborn daughter. Plus, how do we raise the next generation in a way that's good

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14:31

The Great Space Race ... With Clocks

Short Wave ·

2025/05/26

It's Memorial Day, Short Wavers. This holiday, we bring you a meditation on time ... and clocks. There are hundreds of atomic clocks in orbit right now, perched on satellites all over Earth. We depend on them for GPS location, Internet timing, stock trading and even space navigation. In today's encore episode, hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber learn how to build a better clock. In order to do that, they ask: How do atomic clocks really work, anyway? What makes a clock precise? And how could

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12:23

Flamingos: The Water-Bending Physics Masters

Short Wave ·

2025/05/23

Riddle us this: Which animal is pink, curved beaked and a master of the physics required to create water tornadoes? If you guessed flamingos, you're right. New research out this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that across a range of harsh environments, flamingos have become masters — of physics, fluid dynamics and so much more — all in pursuit of their filter-fed prey. Short Wave host Regina G. Barber sits down with biomechanics researcher Victor Ortega

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11:01

New Antivenom, Thanks To 200 Intentional Snake Bites

Short Wave ·

2025/05/21

What's it like to get bit by a venomous snake? "It's like a bee sting times a thousand," Tim Friede says. Tim would know. Over the past few decades, he's let himself be bitten over 200 times by all kinds of venomous snakes — black mambas, taipans, cobras, kraits and more. With time, he's gradually built immunity to multiple types of venom. Could scientists help him share that immunity with others? Science reporter Ari Daniel joins Short Wave to explain how antivenom works, what scientists discovered

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13:53

Will Trump Unleash Energy Dominance Or Damage?

Short Wave ·

2025/05/20

The Trump administration is rewriting policies and reducing funding for multiple agencies that handle climate change, including NOAA, EPA and FEMA. We asked NPR reporters Lauren Sommer and Alejandra Borunda what that the implications of that are — and who the changes will affect.Want to hear more ways research is being impacted by the new administration? Email us at shortwave@nprg.org to let us know — and we may cover your idea in a future episode!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free

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14:18

Could Wormholes Exist?

Short Wave ·

2025/05/19

In science fiction, wormholes are hyperspace subway tubes linking one part of a galaxy directly to another, distant point. But could they actually exist? To find out, we talk to theoretical physicist Ron Gamble, who says wormholes aren't just a matter of science fiction — and they have big implications about the shape of space itself.Want to hear about more hypotheticals physicists have to confront in their work? Email us at shortwave@nprg.org — we might turn your idea into a whole episode!Listen to

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