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Friday

Ever tagged a butterfly? Volunteers are marking monarchs to track their migration

This Monarch butterfly, originally tagged near a Des Moines suburb, was located as it sat on a thistle 100 miles away on a farm in western Iowa in late September. Pierce Behrens hide caption

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Pierce Behrens

Animals

Ever tagged a butterfly? Volunteers are marking monarchs to track their migration

The annual butterfly migration is underway. For decades scientists have relied on volunteers to tag butterflies to provide details about their journey.

Ever tagged a butterfly? Volunteers are marking monarchs to track their migration

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What's behind the debate to re-authorize PEPFAR, the widely hailed anti-HIV effort?

PEPFAR, the U.S. multibillion dollar effort to fight HIV/AIDS, funds organizations such as the Coptic hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Brent Stirton/Getty Images hide caption

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Brent Stirton/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

What's behind the debate to re-authorize PEPFAR, the widely hailed anti-HIV effort?

The program launched by President George W. Bush is credited with saving 25 million lives. Some in Congress want this year's reauthorization tied to language that PEPFAR will not "promote abortion."

The tiny worm at the heart of regeneration science

Schmidtea mediterranea is an especially appealing animal for scientists who research regeneration because, when cut, each of the fragments will regenerate into a complete, new organism. Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado/Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado/Wikimedia Commons

Short Wave

The tiny worm at the heart of regeneration science

A tiny worm that regenerates entire organs. A South American snail that can regrow its eyes. A killifish that suspends animation in dry weather and reanimates in water. These are the organisms at the heart of regeneration science. But exactly how they do these things is still a mystery to scientists. Today on the show, Regina G. Barber talks to microbiologist Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado about this mystery. They get into what regeneration looks like, why humans can't do it (yet) and where the science may lead us in the decades to come.

The tiny worm at the heart of regeneration science

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Thursday

250 million is the new 40: Mammals may already be halfway done on Earth, study finds

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

Research News

250 million is the new 40: Mammals may already be halfway done on Earth, study finds

The future is always hard to predict, especially millions of years from now. But researchers found that a future supercontinent centered around the tropics may be tough for mammals to survive.

Wednesday

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

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

Short Wave

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

In 2016, NASA launched a spacecraft to do something rarely attempted before: Collect space rocks from a potentially dangerous asteroid. The mission, named OSIRIS-REx, was successful. Tuesday, scientists opened a sealed canister containing the samples from the asteroid Bennu. Science correspondent Nell Greenfieledboyce talks to host Regina G. Barber about the mission's close calls and what NASA might learn from these space rocks that are older than our planet.

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

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Tuesday

Monday

Young climate activists challenging 32 governments will get their day in court

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

Climate

Young climate activists challenging 32 governments will get their day in court

Six young activists are due Wednesday at the European Court of Human Rights, where they're accusing 32 governments of violating their human rights for failing to adequately address climate change.

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

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

Short Wave

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

Ever had an itch you can't scratch? It can be maddening. And even though itch has a purpose — it's one of our bodies' alert systems — it can also go very wrong. Dermatologist Dr. Shawn Kwatra talks to host Regina G. Barber about the science of why and how we get itchy, the mysteries behind chronic itch and how his own experience with eczema, hives and seasonal allergies helps him connect with his patients.

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

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Sunday

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

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

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James MacDonald/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Religion

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

Chaplains provide spiritual counsel at some of life's most raw moments. With psychedelic legalization spreading, some chaplains think this role should include facilitating psychedelic trips.

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

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

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

Space

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

NASA's Osiris-REx mission has successfully returned a pristine sample of asteroid back to Earth. This cupful-or-so of space rock could shed light on the solar system's origins.

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

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Risk factor for Parkinson's discovered in genes from people of African descent

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

Goats and Soda

Risk factor for Parkinson's discovered in genes from people of African descent

An effort to diversify genetic studies has led to a discovery about Parkinson's disease in people of African descent.

Saturday

She got famous on YouTube. Now it helps fund her research in quantum gravity

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

She got famous on YouTube. Now it helps fund her research in quantum gravity

This theoretical physicist and mathematician drops a new video several times a month, dispensing her dry wit and pithy wisdom to a loyal fan base of nerds across the internet.