Livestock in Texas, Kansas and Michigan are confirmed to have the virus, and herds in New Mexico and Idaho have also tested positive. Officials confirmed that one person in Texas also had bird flu.
Anthropocene refers to the age of humans — the things we've done to Earth. Geologists just rejected a proposal to declare an official "Anthropocene epoch." But everyone agrees: Damage has been done.
Historic numbers of animals across the globe have become endangered or pushed to extinction. But some of these species sit in limbo — not definitively extinct yet missing from the scientific record. Rediscovering a "lost" species is not easy. It can require trips to remote areas and canvassing a large area in search of only a handful of animals. But new technology and stronger partnerships with local communities have helped these hidden, "uncharismatic" creatures come to light.
Have other scientific gray areas you want us to cover in a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org!
More than half of the Colorado River's water is used to grow crops, primarily livestock feed, a new study finds. The river and its users are facing tough decisions as the climate warms.
The polarized light image gives us a "new view of the monster lurking at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy," according to the European Southern Observatory.
Kemmerer, Wyo., is on the front line of America's energy transition, with its coal plant slated to close and a nuclear plant in the works. But some think the rush to quit fossil fuels is impractical.
Most people with dengue will show no signs of infection or experience only mild symptoms, but in rare cases infections can become severe and potentially fatal.
According to the CDC, about one in four adults has a fear of needles. Many of those people say the phobia started when they were kids. For some people, the fear of needles is strong enough that they avoid getting important treatments, vaccines or tests. That poses a serious problem for public health. Researchers have helped develop a five step plan to help prevent what they call "needless pain" for kids getting injections or their blood drawn. Guest host Tom Dreisbach talks with Dr. Stefan Friedrichsdorf of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, who works with a team to implement the plan at his own hospital. Friedrichsdorf told us some of the most important research on eliminating pain has come from researchers in Canada. Learn more about their work here.
This episode was inspired by the reporting of our colleague April Dembosky, a journalist at member station KQED and KFF Health News. Read her digital story here.
Indianapolis is one of several U.S. cities in the path of totality. For many students there, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness – and be inspired by – a total solar eclipse.
Few humans have had the opportunity to see Earth from space, much less live in space. We got to talk to one of these lucky people — NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara. She will soon conclude her nearly seven month stay on the International Space Station.
Transmitting from space to your ears, Loral talks to host Regina G. Barber about her dreams in microgravity, and her research on the ISS: 3D-printing human heart tissue, how the human brain and body adapt to microgravity, and how space changes the immune systems of plants.
Have questions you want us to send to outers pace? Email us at shortwave@npr.org!
The state was on the cusp of making new rules to protect people who work in places like warehouses from dangerous heat. A last-minute shake-up leaves workers wondering if they'll be safe come summer.
Religions hold a variety of views toward IVF. Catholicism has one of the strongest negative judgments against the practice. Yet many in the church still use the procedure in order to have children.
Across the animal kingdom, menopause is something of an evolutionary blip. We humans are one of the few animals to experience it. But Sam Ellis, a researcher in animal behavior, argues that this isn't so surprising. "The best way to propagate your genes is to get as many offspring as possible into the next generation," says Ellis. "The best way to do that is almost always to reproduce your whole life."
So how did menopause evolve? The answer may lie in whales. Ellis and his team at the University of Exeter recently published a study in the journal Nature that studies the evolution of menopause in the undersea animals most known for it. What they uncovered may even help explain menopause in humans.
Curious about other animal behavior mysteries? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.