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The brain requires a large number of nutrients for optimal health and efficiency, but micronutrients are typically absorbed better through foods than through supplements. Grace Cary/Getty Images hide caption

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Grace Cary/Getty Images

Study participants in The Gambia received a measles vaccine through a virtually pain-free sticker. Early data on adults and children as young as nine months suggest the syringe-free skin patch is safe and effective. Micron Biomedical hide caption

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Micron Biomedical

The seven galaxies noted in this James Webb Space Telescope image are at a distance that astronomers refer to as redshift 7.9, which correlates to 650 million years after the big bang. NASA, ESA, CSA, T. Morishita (IPAC). Image processing: A. Pagan (STScI) hide caption

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NASA, ESA, CSA, T. Morishita (IPAC). Image processing: A. Pagan (STScI)

Leila Mirhaydari, shown shortly after her kidney transplant surgery in 2014. Eight years later, Leila learned her body was rejecting the donated organ. Courtesy of Leila Mirhaydari hide caption

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Courtesy of Leila Mirhaydari

The CPSC commissioned new stock photos showing Americans with disabilities using a variety of home safety devices, including portable generators. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission hide caption

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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

"When you're younger, your mind is more open, and you're more creative," says 13-year-old Leo De Leon. Adolescence is a time of rapid brain development that scientists call "breathtaking." Jon Hamilton/NPR hide caption

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Jon Hamilton/NPR

Want to understand your adolescent? Get to know their brain

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A screenshot shows TikTok user yafavv.mandaa finding a blue couch on a New York City street. The video spurred questions about whether the sofa might have bed bugs. Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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Screenshot by NPR

A lodgepole chipmunk (Tamias speciosus) on a rock. Ketki Samel hide caption

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Ketki Samel

Climate change stresses out these chipmunks. Why are their cousins so chill?

Kwasi Wrensford studies two related species: the Alpine chipmunk and the Lodgepole chipmunk. The two have very different ways of coping with climate change. In this episode, Kwasi explains to host Emily Kwong how these squirrelly critters typify two important evolutionary strategies, and why they could shed light on what's in store for other creatures all over the globe.

Climate change stresses out these chipmunks. Why are their cousins so chill?

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon capsule and a crew of four private astronauts lifts off from pad 39A, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Sunday. John Raoux/AP hide caption

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John Raoux/AP

This choir from South Africa spent two years singing in Britain, and even performed for Queen Victoria in 1891. But their journey did not end well. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption

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Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Water levels at Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir, remain critically low because of a climate-change driven megadrought and overuse of the Colorado River's water. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Genetics, gut microbes and other lifestyle and environmental factors can impact how people's bodies react to food. An NIH study aims to find out how. Stephen Chernin/Getty Images hide caption

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Stephen Chernin/Getty Images

Tuesday, researchers at Ozyegin University and Middle East Technical University published a paper in the journal Physics of Fluids that investigates various formulations and storage settings for gummy candy. Cosmin Buse / 500px/Getty Images/500px hide caption

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Cosmin Buse / 500px/Getty Images/500px

Scientists finally know the secret to creating — and storing — perfectly gummy candy

This week for our science news roundup, superstar host of All Things Considered Ari Shapiro joins Short Wave hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber to discuss the joy and wonder found in all types of structures. The big. The small. The delicious. We ask if diapers can be repurposed to construct buildings, how single-celled organisms turned into multi-cellular ones and how to make the best gummy candy?

Scientists finally know the secret to creating — and storing — perfectly gummy candy

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Checking in with Joseph Dituri on his 79th day living underwater

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A terminally ill doctor reflects on his discoveries around psychedelics and cancer

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Volunteers check honey bee hives for queen activity and perform routine maintenance as part of a collaboration between the Cincinnati Zoo and TwoHoneys Bee Co. at EcOhio Farm in Mason, Ohio, on May 27, 2015. John Minchillo/AP hide caption

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John Minchillo/AP