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Sunday

The FDA is probing whether the Moderna vaccine can cause a rare side effect in teens

The FDA review of Moderna's application for an emergency use authorization of its coronavirus vaccine in adolescents may not be completed before January, the company said. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates

The FDA is probing whether the Moderna vaccine can cause a rare side effect in teens

Moderna says the FDA is looking into reports of a rare side effect — myocarditis, or the inflammation of the heart muscle — in those who've gotten the shot.

Saturday

Here's why you might see the northern lights this Halloween weekend

The northern lights can be seen from the Cameron River viewpoint off the Ramparts Falls trail on the Ingraham Trail near Yellowknife, Canada. VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption

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VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Here's why you might see the northern lights this Halloween weekend

A solar flare eruption from earlier this week is expected to reach Earth on Saturday and Sunday, creating the potential for the aurora borealis to be visible across large parts of the U.S.

From a place of privilege, she speaks the truth about climate to power

Maria Laura Rojas, a climate activist from Bogota, at the outskirts of the city. Erika Piñeros for NPR hide caption

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Erika Piñeros for NPR

Goats and Soda

From a place of privilege, she speaks the truth about climate to power

Maria Laura Rojas admits that climate change has not had an impact on her own life. But with empathy and determination, she'll speak out for the most vulnerable at the COP26 summit.

From a place of privilege, she speaks the truth about climate to power

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Friday

FDA authorizes use of Pfizer's COVID vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds

Ari Blank got a comforting hand-squeeze from his mom in May as he was vaccinated against COVID-19 in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. This week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of Pfizer's vaccine in even younger kids — ages 5 to 11. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Shots - Health News

FDA authorizes use of Pfizer's COVID vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds

The agency acted after an independent panel of scientists strongly supported the move. Kids could start getting vaccinated within the week.

COVID's endgame: Scientists have a clue about where SARS-CoV-2 is headed
Hanna Barczyk for NPR

Goats and Soda

COVID's endgame: Scientists have a clue about where SARS-CoV-2 is headed

Pandemic predictions have been made — and then things would change. But based on models and studies (including a 1980s test that squirted virus up human noses), researchers have a new endgame thesis.

COVID's endgame: Scientists have a clue about where SARS-CoV-2 is headed

Listen · 6:30
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Should I have kids? Move? Recycle? Your climate questions answered

Massive icebergs from Jakobshavn Glacier melting in Disko Bay on sunny summer evening, Ilulissat, Greenland. Paul Souders/Getty Images hide caption

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Paul Souders/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Should I have kids? Move? Recycle? Your climate questions answered

Ahead of the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow this weekend, Sam chats with climate experts Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist and writer, and Kendra Pierre-Louis, senior climate reporter with the podcast 'How to Save a Planet.' Together, they answer listener questions about everything from how to talk to your kids about global warming... to how to deal with all of this existential dread.

Should I have kids? Move? Recycle? Your climate questions answered

Listen · 24:46
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Kathryn Whitehead: How can we safely deliver vaccines to the right cells?

TED Radio Hour: Kathryn A. Whitehead Bret Hartman/Bret Hartman / TED hide caption

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Bret Hartman/Bret Hartman / TED

TED Radio Hour

Kathryn Whitehead: How can we safely deliver vaccines to the right cells?

mRNA vaccines are groundbreaking—but the mRNA inside them is fragile. Kathryn Whitehead explains how scientists have created the right "packing material" to safely deliver these to the right cells.

Kathryn Whitehead: How can we safely deliver vaccines to the right cells?

Listen · 13:23
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Keller Rinaudo: How can delivery drones save lives?

TED Radio Hour: Keller Rinaudo Ryan Lash/Ryan Lash / TED hide caption

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Ryan Lash/Ryan Lash / TED

TED Radio Hour

Keller Rinaudo: How can delivery drones save lives?

In rural areas, basic health care can be out of reach. Keller Rinaudo founded Zipline, a delivery company that uses drones to deliver necessary medical supplies within hours, even minutes.

Keller Rinaudo: How can delivery drones save lives?

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Erika Hamden: What does it take to send a telescope into the stratosphere?

TED Radio Hour: Erika Hamden Ryan Lash/Ryan Lash / TED hide caption

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Ryan Lash/Ryan Lash / TED

TED Radio Hour

Erika Hamden: What does it take to send a telescope into the stratosphere?

Astrophysicist Erika Hamden spent 10 years building FIREBall, a telescope that reaches the stratosphere and looks for clues to how stars form. Launching it was more challenging than she ever imagined.

Erika Hamden: What does it take to send a telescope into the stratosphere?

Listen · 13:23
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The countries left behind in climate negotiations

Climate activists "set fire" to George Square, Glasgow, with an art installation creating a field of climate fire to welcome world leaders to Glasgow for the COP26 conference. Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images

Short Wave

The countries left behind in climate negotiations

NPR climate correspondents Lauren Sommer and Dan Charles join the show before the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland (COP26) starts on Sunday. Diplomats, business executives, climate experts, and activists from all around the world will gather to discuss the question: Is the world on track to avoid the worst effects of climate change?

The countries left behind in climate negotiations

Listen · 13:44
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Thursday

The number of young children with lead poisoning may be about to more than double

U.S. health officials have changed their definition of lead poisoning in young children — a move expected to more than double the number of kids with worrisome levels of the toxic metal in their blood. Carlos Osorio/AP hide caption

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Carlos Osorio/AP

Children's Health

The number of young children with lead poisoning may be about to more than double

The CDC has unveiled a stringent new standard that's expected to bring the number of children ages 1 to 5 considered to have high blood lead levels from about 200,000 to about 500,000.

How metaphors and stories are integral to science and healing

Entrance Gate to Bellevue Hospital in New York City Education Images/Education Images/Universal Image hide caption

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Education Images/Education Images/Universal Image

Short Wave

How metaphors and stories are integral to science and healing

New York's Bellevue Hospital is the oldest public hospital in the country, serving patients from all walks of life. It's also the home of a literary magazine, the Bellevue Literary Review, which turns 20 this year. Today on the show, NPR's arts reporter Neda Ulaby tells Emily how one doctor at Bellevue Hospital decided a literary magazine is essential to both science and healing.

How metaphors and stories are integral to science and healing

Listen · 12:50
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Wednesday

Spiders can have arachnophobia!

When confronted with a spider-like 3-D model, jumping spiders freeze and back away slowly, especially if the model has eyes. Daniela Roessler hide caption

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Daniela Roessler

Short Wave

Spiders can have arachnophobia!

If you're not so fond of spiders, you may find kindred spirits in other spiders! Researcher Daniela Roessler worked with jumping spiders and found that they know to get away from the presence of other possible predator spiders, even if they've never encountered them before. She talks with host Maria Godoy about her research and what Halloween decorations do to the poor spiders, if arachnids can have arachnophobia.

Spiders can have arachnophobia!

Listen · 12:17
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