Science Quickly

This is our back-to-school special episode of COVID, Quickly. We’ll talk about why COVID testing is about to become a school problem—and about whether or not kids are at risk for long COVID. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Engineers at the company DeepMind built a machine-learning system based on research on how babies’ brain works, and it did better on certain tasks than its conventional counterparts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conny Aerts is an astrophysicist and a pioneer of asteroseismology. This year she shared the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for her research and leadership that has laid the foundations of solar and stellar structure theory, and revolutionized our understanding of the interiors of stars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our puppies’ eyes well up, a reaction caused by oxytocin, which makes us want to take care of them even more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recognizing those who are making a meaningful impact in the lives of cancer patients, the Cancer Community Awards, sponsored by AstraZeneca, presents an individual or organization with the President’s Award. We reconnected with Margaret Stauffer, the 2021 winner, to hear more about what’s happened since she received the award. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrating those who enhance the ability to provide the right treatment for the right patient at the right time, the Cancer Community Awards, sponsored by AstraZeneca, presents an individual or organization with the Catalyst for Precision Medicine Award. We prepared for this year’s awards by reconnecting with the 2021 winner, Dr. Colin Pritchard, to hear more about what’s happened since he receiv...

We do not have a theory to tell us everything about how a black hole works, but new research is shedding a least some light on one of their many mysteries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we take a few minutes to talk about the other virus making headlines—and then return to long COVID. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrating those who significantly improve access to cancer care for underserved populations, the Cancer Community Awards, sponsored by AstraZeneca, presents an individual or organization with a Catalyst for Change Award. We spoke with the 2021 award winner, Tomma Hargraves, to learn more about what’s happened since she received the award. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

A single whiff of oxytocin, a chemical that some call the “love hormone,” promotes tolerance among lions at a wildlife sanctuary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrating those who strive to overcome disparities in cancer care to bring quality services to their patients, the Cancer Community Awards, sponsored by AstraZeneca, created the Catalyst for Equity Award. We spoke with Dr. Anne Marie Murphy, executive director of Equal Hope and winner of the award in 2021, to learn more about what’s happened since her organization received the award. Learn more...

A pair of studies show that male bottlenose dolphins rely on wingmen when wooing mates—and that they cultivate these friendships by being vocal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrating those who are making a patient’s experience as easy as possible during an extraordinarily difficult time, the Cancer Community Awards, sponsored by AstraZeneca, presents an individual or organization with a Catalyst for Care Award. We spoke with the 2021 winner, Unite for HER’s founder and CEO Sue Weldon, to hear more about what’s happened since her organization received the award. Lea...

On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about getting reinfected with the coronavirus just a month or two after an earlier bout—and the difference that trusting others can make in a pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Sagiv is a chemist who studies properties of self-assembled monolayers. This year, he shared The Kavli Prize in Nanoscience for his research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lung cancer is the number-one cause of cancer deaths in the world. But how many lives would be saved if doctors could diagnose and treat it before it progresses? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new subpopulation of Greenland polar bears offers insights into how this species might hang on as Arctic ice disappears. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about the increase in new Omicron subvariants. Should fall vaccine boosters contain standard Omicron or some of those new subvariants instead? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers design an artificial neuron that can trigger closure of a Venus flytrap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we discuss some parents breathing a collective sigh of relief and the paradox of how effective vaccines can make it harder to create new drugs to treat patients who get the coronavirus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers tricked out conventional camera traps to snap headshots of Puma concolor, revealing a better way to track the elusive species. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Huda Zoghbi is a clinician-scientist who studies the molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. This year she shared the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience for discovering the genetic pathways behind serious brain disorders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Appointing women to leadership positions renders organizations more likely to describe all women as being powerful, persistent and bold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we clear up some data misconceptions, get to the bottom of the booster uptake issue and talk Novavax. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bacteria resistant to methicillin emerged in hedgehogs long before the drug was prescribed to treat infections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices