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 transcribedGenerally, we at Short Wave are open-minded to the creepies and the crawlies, but even we must admit that leeches are already the stuff of nightmares....
Chimpanzees are humans' closest living relatives. But does much of their communication resembles ours? According to a new study published earlier this...
As a kid, Sabrina Imbler loved the ocean. They'd swim and snorkel, following around parrotfish in the water. Later, they tried to learn everything the...
Lower gravity. Higher radiation. No ER access. These are just a few of the challenges that humans face in outer space. Emily and Regina talk to a NASA...
Scientists have long studied the relationship between sleep and the brain, and why poor sleep is linked to neurological diseases like Alzheimer's. NPR...
More than a hundred years ago, a British engineer proposed linking two rivers in India to better irrigate the area and cheaply move goods. The link ne...
Every year for two weeks between mid-May and mid-June, Congaree National Park in South Carolina is home to a fairy-tale-like display of flashing light...
The universe — everything in existence — is expanding every second! It's only been about a hundred years that humanity has known this, too — that most...
The Human Genome Project was a massive undertaking that took more than a decade and billions of dollars to complete. For it, scientists collected DNA...
TikTok is fuel for many trends, including a skin care craze among teens, pre-teens — okay, and us. The "glass skin" trend calls for a multi-step routi...
Some ants herd aphids. Some farm fungi. And now, scientists have realized that when an ant injures its leg, it sometimes will turn to a buddy to perfo...
The universe is so much bigger than what people can see. Visible matter — the ground, the Sun, the screen you're reading this on — makes up only about...
It's that time of the year again: Shark Week. The TV program is so long-running that if you're under 37, you've never known a life without it. In hono...
When's the last time you were in a place that was quiet — really quiet? No roadway noise, construction work or even the hum of a refrigerator. Our wor...
Black Americans have been underrepresented in most genomic studies of neurological disorders. As a result, scientists don't know much about whether Af...
Before the '3 Body Problem' became a bestselling book and a smash TV show ... it was a physics concept, with big implications for how we understand pl...
Perfecting your grilling technique ahead of the Fourth of July? Chefs will tell you that cooking is not just an art — it's a science. And the spirit o...
A brand new species of ceratops, or horned dinosaur, was recently discovered in northern Montana. The dinosaur is called Lokiceratops rangiformis, aft...
Humans are hardwired to see faces — even in inanimate objects. We have a lima bean-shaped part of our brains dedicated to facial recognition. But this...
This summer, scientists have their eyes and telescopes trained on the small constellation system T Coronae Borealis. They think it will explode as par...
