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Joe Palca Joe Palca is a science correspondent for NPR.
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Joe Palca

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Saturday

Science

Saying goodbye to NPR's longtime science correspondent Joe Palca

Correspondent Joe Palca is retiring after 30 years covering science for NPR. We have an homage to his work - sometimes silly, sometimes serious, always scientific.

Saying goodbye to NPR's longtime science correspondent Joe Palca

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Tuesday

Space

25 years later, looking back on the accomplishments of the Mars Pathfinder

More than two decades ago a small probe carrying an even smaller rover landed on Mars. Pathfinder and the Sojourner rover paved the way for sophisticated robotic explorers that have landed since 1997.

25 years later, looking back on the accomplishments of the Mars Pathfinder

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Friday

Space

The world's biggest digital camera is almost ready to be installed on its telescope

Technicians are putting the final touches on the world's largest digital camera at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The camera will be sent to Chile and installed on a telescope in the Andes.

The world's biggest digital camera is almost ready to be installed on its telescope

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Tuesday

Space

NASA's InSight Mars lander may shut down soon. Here's what it's achieved so far

NASA's InSight probe landed on Mars in 2018 to help scientists study the planet's interior. But Martian dust has been building up on InSIght's solar arrays, which could end its mission.

NASA's InSight Mars lander may shut down soon. Here's what it's achieved so far

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Thursday

Sexual harassment and assault plague U.S. research bases in Antarctica, report says

The aurora australis over Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in 2009. A new report from the National Science Foundation finds sexual harassment and assault are a major problem at remote facilities. Patrick Cullis/U.S. Antarctic Program photo Library hide caption

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Patrick Cullis/U.S. Antarctic Program photo Library

Science

Sexual harassment and assault plague U.S. research bases in Antarctica, report says

A new report commissioned by the National Science Foundation finds a culture of silence and fear among employees at U.S.-run facilities in Antarctica.

Sexual harassment and assault plague U.S. research bases in Antarctica, report says

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Wednesday

Whatever happened to the new no-patent COVID vaccine touted as a global game changer?

The Corbevax vaccine was invented at the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital and intended for countries that couldn't get access to more expensive COVID vaccines. India has inoculated millions of teens with Corbevax (above, a vaccination drive for children ages 12-14 at a school in Bangalore) and on August 10 authorized the vaccine as a booster for adults. Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Whatever happened to the new no-patent COVID vaccine touted as a global game changer?

The inventors of Corbevax said it was cheap, easy to make, effective and safe. They hoped it could bring vaccine equity to countries that can't access costlier shots. Has it lived up to its promise?

Whatever happened to the new no-patent COVID vaccine touted as a global game changer?

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Friday

Wednesday

Science

It's summer and people are hot. We answer some questions about sweat

As part of our summer series on sweat, we get answers to the questions: Do we need to sweat during sleep? And, why does a warm bath help you sleep, even if it makes you sweat?

It's summer and people are hot. We answer some questions about sweat

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Monday

Science

The importance of sweat: We need it to keep cool

NPR begins a celebration of sweat — what it's made of, where it comes from and what it smells like. Spoiler alert: most of the time it doesn't have any smell at all.

The importance of sweat: We need it to keep cool

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Wednesday

Space

Russia says it will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024

The head of the Russian space agency has said his country will end its participation in the International Space Station in 2024. What does this mean for the future of its partnership with NASA?

Russia says it will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024

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Friday

The Universe's Baby Pictures (Squee!) From The James Webb Space Telescope

What looks much like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals previously obscured areas of star birth. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI hide caption

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NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Short Wave

The Universe's Baby Pictures (Squee!) From The James Webb Space Telescope

Earlier this week we got a look at one of the highest-profile scientific photo dumps of all time. The James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful telescope ever sent into space, and it is producing some of the most detailed, rich, and far-reaching images of the universe we have seen – including the birth of stars, galaxies colliding, and the bending of space-time itself. Today, Host Emily Kwong talks with Short Wave Scientist-in-Residence Regina G. Barber and NPR's Joe Palca about these mind bending new portraits of our universe and our origins.

The Universe's Baby Pictures (Squee!) From The James Webb Space Telescope

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Tuesday

Space

NASA's James Webb telescope will change how we view the universe

NASA's newest and most powerful observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, will release its first color picture on July 12 at 10:30am EST.

NASA's James Webb telescope will change how we view the universe

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Monday

NASA's James Webb telescope reveals the universe as we've never seen it before

The James Webb Space Telescope (shown here being tested on earth) is expected to reveal some of the most spectacular views of the Universe ever seen. Chris Gunn/Northrop Grumman, NASA hide caption

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Chris Gunn/Northrop Grumman, NASA

Science

NASA's James Webb telescope reveals the universe as we've never seen it before

NASA's $10 billion new telescope showed the world something remarkable today: an image of some of the first galaxies to form in the universe.

NASA's James Webb telescope reveals the universe as we've never seen it before

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Tuesday

Space

NASA has lost contact with a small satellite called CAPSTONE

NASA has lost contact with a satellite called CAPSTONE intended to study a new kind of orbit around the moon. It's the same orbit the agency plans to use in future missions to send humans to the moon.

NASA has lost contact with a small satellite called CAPSTONE

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Thursday

Space

Canada aims to provide medical technologies for deep space exploration

Twenty teams in Canada received small grants to develop portable medical tools that could be used on long interplanetary space flights. They could also be useful in remote parts of Canada.

Canada aims to provide medical technologies for deep space exploration

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Tuesday

A computer program designed to sort mice squeaks is also finding whales in the deep

The green boxes show portions of the audio spectrogram that artificial intelligence has identified as marine mammal calls. Ocean Science Analytics hide caption

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Ocean Science Analytics

Animals

A computer program designed to sort mice squeaks is also finding whales in the deep

By converting sounds to images, scientists can use artificial intelligence to quickly find and assess animals' calls, even deep in the ocean.

A computer program designed to sort mice squeaks is also finding whales in the deep

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Wednesday

A Texas team comes up with a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer

Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi of Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine have developed a COVID-19 vaccine that could prove beneficial to countries with fewer resources. Max Trautner/Texas Children's Hospital hide caption

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Max Trautner/Texas Children's Hospital

Goats and Soda

A Texas team comes up with a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer

Peter Hotez and Maria Elena Bottazzi used an oldie-but- goodie technology to devise a vaccine that's easy to make — and relatively cheap. India has already ordered 300 million doses.

A Texas team comes up with a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer

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Tuesday

Zero-gravity ballet: James Webb Space Telescope deploys sunshield and mirror

On Tuesday, engineers successfully finished deploying the James Webb Space Telescope's sunshield, seen here during testing in December 2020 at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, Calif. Chris Gunn/NASA hide caption

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Chris Gunn/NASA

Space

Zero-gravity ballet: James Webb Space Telescope deploys sunshield and mirror

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope successfully deployed its secondary mirror Wednesday after unfolding its enormous sunshield a day earlier.

Zero-gravity ballet: James Webb Space Telescope deploys sunshield and mirror

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Medical Treatments

This new, low-cost COVID-19 vaccine could be a game changer for low-income countries

A low cost vaccine called Corbevax may help solve the problem of getting safe and effective COVID vaccines to poor and middle-income countries.

This new, low-cost COVID-19 vaccine could be a game changer for low-income countries

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Space

NASA has successfully deployed the sunshield on the James Webb Space Telescope

NASA mission managers successfully completed the most complicated part of the unfolding process of James Webb Space Telescope's sunshield — a critical stage in the powerful observatory's deployment.

NASA has successfully deployed the sunshield on the James Webb Space Telescope

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Thursday

New COVID studies show promise for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster

A health care worker holds doses of J&J vaccines at the Gandhi Phoenix Settlement in Bhambayi township, South Africa, on Sept. 24. A study of the J&J booster shot in the country had promising results against the omicron variant. Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

New COVID studies show promise for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster

Two studies that have not yet been peer reviewed indicate increased protection against the infectious omicron variant.

New COVID studies show promise for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster

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Wednesday

Monday

Space

The James Webb Space Telescope is on its trek to a spot a million miles from Earth

The James Webb Space Telescope is on its ways to its parking place a million miles from Earth. What do scientists plan to do with it once it is operational?

The James Webb Space Telescope is on its trek to a spot a million miles from Earth

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Saturday

Space

So far so good for the James Webb Space Telescope after its long-awaited launch

The James Webb Space Telescope is on the way to its final destination, about a million miles from Earth. From there, it will make unprecedented observations of the universe.

So far so good for the James Webb Space Telescope after its long-awaited launch

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