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Friday

From left: A duchess, a GOAT(?) and a Timothée (or Tomothée).

From left: British royalty, NBA royalty, Hollywood royalty. Unique Nicole/Getty Images; Ronald Martinez/Getty Images; Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Unique Nicole/Getty Images; Ronald Martinez/Getty Images; Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

The NPR news quiz

Trump says nobody has heard of Lesotho. Can you answer our quiz question about it?

It was another action-packed week, with the Academy Awards, Mardi Gras and the president's address to Congress. Did you pay attention?

Tuesday

These scientists are trying to revive woolly mammoths ... by modifying mice

Left, a regular mouse sits near a genetically modified mouse, seen to the right. The latter has been genetically modified to have the longer, golden hair and fat stores of a woolly mammoth. Colossal Biosciences hide caption

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Colossal Biosciences

Short Wave

These scientists are trying to revive woolly mammoths ... by modifying mice

You've heard of the woolly mammoth. But have you heard of woolly mice? These critters were genetically modified by the Dallas-based biotech company Colossal Biosciences to have the same "woolly" and fat appearance as the ancient mammoths. The mice are a key step in the longer journey to de-extinct the woolly mammoth. NPR's Rob Stein takes us to the lab where it all happened.

These scientists are trying to revive woolly mammoths ... by modifying mice

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A woolly mouse, a breed created by scientists using genetical modifications.

A woolly mouse, a breed created by scientists using genetic engineering. The development is a first step toward reviving a version of the extinct woolly mammoth. Colossal Biosciences hide caption

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Colossal Biosciences

Shots - Health News

Hoping to revive mammoths, scientists create 'woolly mice'

Hoping to bring the giant, ancient animal back from extinction, scientists have created a far smaller woolly creature. Woolly mice have some of the key traits of mammoths, including their thick, hairy coat.

Woolly Mice

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Thursday

Valerii Plotnikov (left) from the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha, Yakutsk, Russia, and Daniel Fisher of the University of Michigan examine a woolly mammoth unearthed during a 2018 expedition.

Valerii Plotnikov (left) from the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha, Yakutsk, Russia, and Daniel Fisher of the University of Michigan examine a woolly mammoth unearthed during a 2018 expedition. Love Dalén hide caption

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Love Dalén

Shots - Health News

A 3D reconstruction of the woolly mammoth genome might help revive the extinct species

With a skin sample from a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth, scientists are gaining new insights into what made the animals tick. The findings could also help controversial de-extinction efforts.

Scientists recreate woolly mammoth genome

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Wednesday

Scientists take a step closer to resurrecting the woolly mammoth

Could woolly mammoths walk again among humans? Scientists are working to resurrect the extinct species. Mark Garlick/Getty Images/Science Photo Library hide caption

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Mark Garlick/Getty Images/Science Photo Library

Shots - Health News

Scientists take a step closer to resurrecting the woolly mammoth

Scientists at a biotech company say they have created a key stem cell for Asian elephants that could help save the endangered species and become a steppingstone for bringing back the woolly mammoth.

Scientists take a step closer to resurrecting the woolly mammoth

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Monday

One woolly mammoth's journey at the end of the Ice Age
Julius Csotonyi

Short Wave

One woolly mammoth's journey at the end of the Ice Age

Lately, paleoecologist Audrey Rowe has been a bit preoccupied with a girl named Elma. That's because Elma is ... a woolly mammoth. And 14,000 years ago, when Elma was alive, her habitat in interior Alaska was rapidly changing. The Ice Age was coming to a close and human hunters were starting early settlements. Which leads to an intriguing question: Who, or what, killed her? In the search for answers, Audrey traces Elma's life and journey through — get this — a single tusk. Today, she shares her insights on what the mammoth extinction from thousands of years ago can teach us about megafauna extinctions today with guest host Nate Rott.

One woolly mammoth's journey at the end of the Ice Age

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Friday

News Round Up: mammoth meatballs, stressed plants and apologetic robots

According to a recent study in the journal Cell, plants that are distressed due to factors like dehydration and cuts, emit specific airborne sounds at an increased frequency. Tuvik Beker/Tel Aviv University hide caption

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Tuvik Beker/Tel Aviv University

Short Wave

News Round Up: mammoth meatballs, stressed plants and apologetic robots

In this Friday round up of science news we can't let go, not everything is as it seems. Meatballs are not made of fresh meat from the cattle range. Robots are keeping something from you. And plants have secrets they keep out of your earshot. It's deceptive science, Short Wave-style.

News Round Up: mammoth meatballs, stressed plants and apologetic robots

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Tuesday

Tuesday

Saturday

A Pulitzer winner at the worst possible time, 'A Strange Loop' is Broadway-bound

Jaquel Spivey performs as Usher in A Strange Loop at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington D.C. Teresa Castracane/Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Association with Playwrights Horizons and Page 73 Productions hide caption

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Teresa Castracane/Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Association with Playwrights Horizons and Page 73 Productions

Theater

A Pulitzer winner at the worst possible time, 'A Strange Loop' is Broadway-bound

Michael R. Jackson put 20 years into polishing his audacious, autobiographical musical, and then theaters went dark. Now, 'A Strange Loop' is building buzz on its way to New York City.

A Pulitzer winner at the worst possible time, 'A Strange Loop' is Broadway-bound

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Tuesday

Scientists Say They Could Bring Back Woolly Mammoths. But Maybe They Shouldn't

An artist's impression of a woolly mammoth in a snow-covered environment. Leonello Calvetti/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images/Stocktrek Images hide caption

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Leonello Calvetti/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images/Stocktrek Images

Science

Scientists Say They Could Bring Back Woolly Mammoths. But Maybe They Shouldn't

A company formed by Harvard genetics professor George Church, known for his pioneering work in genome sequencing and gene splicing, hopes to genetically resurrect woolly mammoths.

Friday

Wednesday

Woolly Mammoths Are Long Gone, But The Hunt For Their Ivory Tusks Lives On

Last year, China banned the sale of commercial elephant ivory to stop poaching. That's when interest in ancient, buried woolly mammoth tusks boomed. Amos Chapple/RFE/RL hide caption

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Amos Chapple/RFE/RL

Animals

Woolly Mammoths Are Long Gone, But The Hunt For Their Ivory Tusks Lives On

Last year China banned the sale of commercial elephant ivory. But that's led to another illicit trade — in woolly mammoth tusks — that is having a severe impact on Siberia's permafrost.

Woolly Mammoths Are Long Gone, But The Hunt For Their Ivory Tusks Lives On

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Wednesday

(Left) A close-up view of a spirally fractured mastodon femur. (Right) A boulder discovered at the Cerutti Mastodon site in San Diego County thought to have been used by early humans as a hammerstone.

(Left) A close-up view of a spirally fractured mastodon femur. (Right) A boulder discovered at the Cerutti Mastodon site in San Diego County thought to have been used by early humans as a hammerstone. Tom Démeré/San Diego Natural History Museum hide caption

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Tom Démeré/San Diego Natural History Museum

The Two-Way

New Evidence Suggests Humans Arrived In The Americas Far Earlier Than Thought

Until now, the earliest signs of humans in the Americas dated back about 15,000 years. But new research puts people in California 130,000 years ago. Experts are wondering whether to believe it.

New Evidence Suggests Humans Arrived In The Americas Far Earlier Than Thought

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Wednesday