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A new study in the journal Nature Geoscience predicts that 250 million years from now, a supercontinent formed around the equator will be too hot for mammals to survive. Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP via Getty Images

The sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission touched down in the desert on September 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. NASA/Keegan Barber hide caption

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NASA/Keegan Barber

After 7 years, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission successfully returns asteroid sample

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Siblings Sofia Oliveira, 18, and Andre Oliveira, 15, pose for a picture at the beach in Costa da Caparica, south of Lisbon, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. Ana Brigida/AP hide caption

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Ana Brigida/AP

The itchy sensation alerts our bodies to potential threats on our skin, but in some cases, itch can become a chronic condition. Warumpha Pojchananaphasiri/Getty Images hide caption

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Warumpha Pojchananaphasiri/Getty Images

Diagnosing the cause of chronic itch isn't easy, but one man wants to change that

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Dried Psilocybe mushrooms on a glass plate. James MacDonald/Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption

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James MacDonald/Bloomberg/Getty Images

As psychedelic-assisted therapy grows, so does interest from a new group: chaplains

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The sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. Keegan Barber/NASA hide caption

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Keegan Barber/NASA

NASA asteroid sample lands safely in Utah before being whisked away by helicopter

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Ekemeni Riley is the managing director of Aligning Science Across Parkinson's, a research initiative that worked on an effort to bring a more diverse population into a study on genes that carry a greater risk for the disease. A team that included scientists from Lagos, London and the U.S. found a previously unknown gene variant that can nearly quadruple the risk for people of African ancestry. Anna Rose Layden for NPR hide caption

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Anna Rose Layden for NPR

Theoretical physicist and YouTuber Sabine Hossenfelder, shown in a photo taken in December at the University of Oxford in England, turned to YouTube "to keep my sanity" during the dark days of the pandemic. Anthony Sajdler hide caption

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Anthony Sajdler

Archaeologists dug into a riverbank in Zambia and uncovered what they call the earliest known wood construction by humans. The half-million year-old artifacts could change how we see Stone-Age people. Larry Barham and Geoff Duller/University of Liverpool hide caption

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Larry Barham and Geoff Duller/University of Liverpool

World's oldest wooden structure defies Stone-Age stereotypes

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New analysis has found a source of carbon within Europa, Jupiter's moon that is believed to hold massive amounts of liquid water. This view of the moon was created from images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

Last month team members practiced retrieving the sample return capsule, using a replica, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. NASA/Keegan Barber hide caption

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NASA/Keegan Barber

NASA effort to bring home asteroid rocks will end this weekend in triumph or a crash

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Freder/Getty Images

To woo a cockatoo, scientists find having your own drumsticks and rhythm is key

Today on the show, All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly joins Regina G. Barber and Maria Godoy for our bi-weekly science roundup. They talk through some of the latest eye-catching science news, including the percussion-intensive mating life of cockatoos, what pink diamonds today tell us about the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Nuna and the latest on the Nipah outbreak in India.

To woo a cockatoo, scientists find having your own drumsticks and rhythm is key

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Bulbul Aktar, a shasthya kormi, or community health worker, with the malaria elimination program in Bangladesh, goes door to door to treat malaria patients. "This is my job, my duty," says Aktar. "Every single home, I have to know about them and visit them." Fatima Tuj Johora for NPR hide caption

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Fatima Tuj Johora for NPR

Malaria is on the ropes in Bangladesh. But the parasite is punching back

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Smoky haze from wildfires in Canada obscures New York City's Empire State Building this year. The air in the U.S. has improved over the past 50 years, but smoke pollution from growing wildfires erodes much of that progress. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption

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David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

A diver in the Revillagigedo Archipelago interacts with giant mantas as part of a citizen science cruise led by Dr. Alfredo Giron. Alfredo Giron hide caption

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Alfredo Giron

A study of nearly 300,000 people in the U.K. found that people who maintained at least five of seven healthy habits cut their risk of depression by 57%. Maria Stavreva/Getty Images hide caption

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Maria Stavreva/Getty Images

These habits can cut the risk of depression in half, a new study finds

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We've heard we need more fiber in our diets. Here are 8 easy tips for getting there

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