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Monday

Perennial rice: Plant once, harvest again and again

The perennial rice 'Yunda 107' is harvested in the Yunnan Province of China. Perennial rice can be harvested for successive regrowth seasons, maintaining a relatively stable yield and greatly reducing labor input. China News Service/China News Service via Getty Ima hide caption

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China News Service/China News Service via Getty Ima

Short Wave

Perennial rice: Plant once, harvest again and again

Rice is arguably the world's most important staple crop. About half of the global population depends on it for sustenance. But, like other staples such as wheat and corn, rice is cultivated annually. That means replanting the fields year after year, at huge cost to both the farmers and the land. For years, scientists have been tinkering with rice strains to create a perennial variety – one that would regrow after harvest without the need to be resewn. Today, Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber takes a look at one promising perennial rice effort. It's one of a series of interviews we conducted live at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Perennial rice: Plant once, harvest again and again

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Sunday

Does the perfect Oreo cream-to-chocolate ratio exist? One research study says yes

NPR's Miles Parks speaks with PhD candidate in mechanical engineering at MIT, Crystal Owens, about her scientific study, "On Oreology, the fracture and flow of 'milk's favorite cookie®.'"

Does the perfect Oreo cream-to-chocolate ratio exist? One research study says yes

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Health

Why the COVID-19 death rate varies dramatically across the U.S.

NPR's Miles Parks speaks to Thomas Bollyky, the co-author of a new report examining why COVID-19 death rates varied dramatically across the U.S. — and how that might improve future outcomes.

Why the COVID-19 death rate varies dramatically across the U.S.

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Saturday

Friday

News Round Up: algal threats, an asteroid with life's building blocks and bee maps

Leading our news round up is news of a giant floating mat of grassy brown algae called Sargassum. It has grown from small patches in the Sargasso Sea and can now be seen from space. THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

News Round Up: algal threats, an asteroid with life's building blocks and bee maps

After reading the science headlines this week, we have A LOT of questions. Why did the Virgin Islands declare a state of emergency over a large blob of floating algae? What can a far-off asteroid tell us about the origins of life? Is the ever-popular bee waggle dance not just for directions to the hive but a map?

News Round Up: algal threats, an asteroid with life's building blocks and bee maps

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Thursday

Why pandemic researchers are talking about raccoon dogs

A raccoon dog looks out of its cage in Xin Yuan wild animal market in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, 06 January 2004. PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

Why pandemic researchers are talking about raccoon dogs

A few weeks ago, raw data gathered in Janaury 2020 from Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China — the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic — was uploaded to an online virology database. It caught the attention of researchers. A new genetic analysis from an international team provides the strongest evidence yet for natural origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of one animal in particular: raccoon dogs. Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong talks with Katherine Wu, a staff writer at The Atlantic, who broke the story and explains the genetic evidence.

Why pandemic researchers are talking about raccoon dogs

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Wednesday

Scientists sequence Beethoven's genome for clues into his painful past

Scientists say they have sequenced the genome of composer Ludwig van Beethoven. INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Scientists sequence Beethoven's genome for clues into his painful past

Scientists have sequenced the genome of Ludwig van Beethoven from two-century-old locks of hair, and found clues about the ailments that plagued him in life.

Scientists sequence Beethoven's genome for clues into his painful past

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Scientists think they know why interstellar object 'Oumuamua moved so strangely

An artist's vision of the first interstellar object discovered in the solar system, 'Oumuamua. ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESO, M. Kornmesser hide caption

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ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESO, M. Kornmesser

Scientists think they know why interstellar object 'Oumuamua moved so strangely

A strange comet-like object discovered over five years ago was the first known visitor from another solar system. Its movement was so odd that scientists struggled to explain it, until now.

Scientists think they know why interstellar object 'Oumuamua moved so strangely

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Meet the 'glass-half-full girl' whose brain rewired after losing a hemisphere

Mora Leeb places some pieces into a puzzle during a local puzzle tournament. The 15-year-old has grown up without the left side of her brain after it was removed when she was very young. Seth Leeb hide caption

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Seth Leeb

Shots - Health News

Meet the 'glass-half-full girl' whose brain rewired after losing a hemisphere

Mora Leeb was 9 months old when surgeons removed half her brain. Now 15, she plays soccer and tells jokes. Scientists say Mora is an extreme example of a process known as brain plasticity.

Meet the 'glass-half-full girl' whose brain rewired after losing a hemisphere

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Research News

Scientists believe they have found a crucial building block of life on an asteroid

It's an intriguing finding that suggests life as we know it may have been seeded by asteroids and meteors.

Scientists believe they have found a crucial building block of life on an asteroid

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A shrinking reservoir signals Ukraine and Russia are waging a dangerous water war

Aquatic plants and debris are exposed by the falling water levels at the Kakhovka Reservoir. Researchers say that the draining of the reservoir by Russian forces are but one example of the war's effect on Ukraine's water supply. Dmytro Smoliyenko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty hide caption

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Dmytro Smoliyenko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty

Ukraine invasion — explained

A shrinking reservoir signals Ukraine and Russia are waging a dangerous water war

Russia is using a dam it controls to release water from Ukraine's massive Kakhovka Reservoir. It's one of dozens of cases where the war is limiting access to safe water.

If ChatGPT designed a rocket — would it get to space?

When Geoff Brumfiel asked an AI software for rocket schematics, he got interesting results. Like these Saturn V-inspired renderings. NPR staff generated imagery using Midjourney hide caption

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NPR staff generated imagery using Midjourney

Short Wave

If ChatGPT designed a rocket — would it get to space?

From text churned out by ChatGPT to the artistic renderings of Midjourney, people have been taking notice of new, bot-produced creative works. But how does this artificial intelligence software fare when there are facts at stake — like designing a rocket capable of safe spaceflight?

If ChatGPT designed a rocket — would it get to space?

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