The Biden administration is unveiling new, stricter pollution standards for American cities such as Salt Lake City, Utah, which have long struggled with chronically dirty air.
A research paper that raises questions about the safety of abortion has been retracted. The research is cited in a federal judge's ruling about the abortion pill mifepristone.
Busts of psilocybin mushrooms went way up from 2017 to 2022, a new study finds, even as the psychedelic drug's potential benefits have been explored by scientists.
The plant gets its color — and a boost in antioxidants — from genes from an edible flower. It's the first time gardeners have been able to grow a GMO crop at home.
California sea otter populations have rebounded in recent decades. New research finds that by feasting on shore crabs, these otters are helping to protect their coastal marsh habitat against erosion.
Octopuses are seen as smart and solitary. A seafood company plans to farm them commercially. Octopus garden? Sure. Octopus farm? No way, say the animal's advocates.
If you've ever watched part of a professional football game, you've probably seen a tight spiral pass. Those perfect throws where the football leaves the player's hand and neatly spins as it arcs through the air.
But those passes? They seem to defy fundamental physics. And for a long time, scientists couldn't figure out exactly why — until experimental atomic physicist Tim Gay cracked the case just a few years ago. His answer comes after two decades of hobby research and more than a couple late night shouting matches with two other physicists over Zoom.
Today on Short Wave, host Regina G. Barber talks to Tim about this football mystery — and the physics behind the game.
California is in the grips of an atmospheric river that's causing flooding all over the state. Climate change might be intensifying storms like it — but scientists are still working out the details.
Kids who have dogs get significantly more physical activity, compared to kids who don't. Researchers followed 600 children over three years, and found young girls got the biggest exercise boost.
The FDA will soon move to ban formaldehyde in hair-straightening products. It's more than a decade after research raised alarms about health risks and other worrying chemicals remain in the products.
In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, releasing radioactive material into northern Ukraine and Belarus. It was the most serious nuclear accident in history. Over one hundred thousand people were evacuated from the surrounding area. But local gray wolves never left — and their population has grown over the years. It's seven times denser than populations in protected lands elsewhere in Belarus. This fact has led scientists to wonder whether the wolves are genetically either resistant or resilient to cancer — or if the wolves are simply thriving because humans aren't interfering with them.
This episode, researchers Shane Campbell-Staton and Cara Love talk through what might be causing this population boom. Plus, why researchers in the field of human cancer are eager to collaborate with them.
Want to hear about other ways humans are impacting the planet? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
The new documentary Agent of Happiness explores Bhutan's efforts to measure its own "gross national happiness." The film follows one not-especially-happy agent who gathers the data.