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
1425 episodes transcribedPicture a relaxing scene. Maybe a beach in Tahiti, your toes in the sand, a cold drink in hand. Now imagine your favorite music playing in the backgro...
Ever eat a full meal ... and find you still have room for dessert? If so, you're not alone. Sugar is a quick form of energy that many people crave — e...
What happens when a team of scientists and local Awajún guides go on a 38-day trip into the Alto Mayo region of Peru? Over 2000 species are identified...
Asked ChatGPT anything lately? Talked with a customer service chatbot? Read the results of Google's "AI Overviews" summary feature? If you've used the...
Physics has a bit of a messy problem: There's matter missing in our universe. Something is there that we can't see but can detect! What could this mys...
For years, scientists have known that oxytocin is important in facilitating the feeling of love in humans. How do they know? Prairie voles. For years,...
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is one of the deadliest tickborne diseases in the United States, often killing people within about a week if left untreat...
The U.S. tested nuclear weapons until the early 1990s. Since then, scientists have been using supercomputers and experiments to simulate nuclear test...
For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. On a molecular level, life takes this to the extreme. All of the DNA in earthly living things twis...
What do large crowds of people and water have in common? They both act like fluids. When crowds cheer, sway and clump together, the movements look lik...
For a long time, microbes like the ones in Yellowstone's hot springs were studied in isolation. Molecular ecologist Devaki Bhaya says we should be stu...
Black holes are notorious for gobbling up, well, everything. They're icons of destruction, ruthless voids, ambivalent abysses from which nothing can r...
Ecologist Gergana Daskalova moved back to the small Bulgarian town of her childhood. It's a place many people have abandoned — and that's the very re...
In a world brimming with innovation and limited time, it can be hard to tell what technology has the potential to really shift life. Yet, every year,...
Farts are funny and sometimes smelly. But are they a legitimate topic of research? More than 40% of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from some...
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading among livestock and other mammals in the United States, raising concerns that another pandemic may be loomi...
Put on your headphones. In today's episode, host Emily Kwong leads us on a night hike in Patuxent River State Park in Maryland. Alongside a group of n...
At least, it's contagious among a group of captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Sanctuary. How do researchers know? A very dedicated grad student at Ky...
Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. It was a big moment in a cent...
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is banning the dye called Red No. 3, a food dye additive in many processed foods, like sod...
