Science, Spoken

From the Hawaii Community Foundation to the Maui Food Bank, donations to these groups aid people impacted by the recent disaster in Lahaina. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humans figured out how to prevent huge fires in urban areas over a century ago. Why have they gotten so bad again? Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chronic drinking depletes the brain’s dopamine levels. A single dose of a gene therapy reset them, and stopped the craving for alcohol. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The space agency lost touch with the beloved spacecraft following a faulty command signal. Here’s how it happened—and how engineers worked to bring it back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wildfires were once rare across the Aloha State. But drought, invasive species, and human development have pushed Hawaii into a fiery new age. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wastewater fuels blooms of reef-smothering algae. Better engineering and an army of funny-looking fish can come to the rescue. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nobody knows what around a fifth of your genes actually do. It’s hoped they could hold the secret to fixing developmental disorders, cancer, neurodegeneration, and more. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An unprecedented look at dopamine in the brain reveals that psychosis drugs get developed with the wrong neurons in mind. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 cases are slowly increasing across the US for the fourth summer in a row. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A prosthetic arm that connects directly to the nervous system gives the user fine control over the motions of individual fingers—just by thinking and trying to move. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Current treatments for depression after giving birth are either slow to work or hard to get. The FDA is considering a new tablet that relieves symptoms within days. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Snow is falling—but it doesn’t show up to replenish the river. In a drying West, researchers are racing to find out where it goes. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When humans and a neural network viewed pieces of art, they all found the same images memorable. What those images have in common offers a glimpse into what fascinates the brain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This summer's extraordinary heat is but a preview of what's to come: Humidity not only makes daytime highs more miserable, it extends the hotness through the night. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the system of currents that runs through the Atlantic about to shut down, creating climate chaos? Depends on who you ask. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Extreme heat and other weather events are driving bears closer to humans’ campgrounds and hiking trails—and that’s no good for either species. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patients with hairy tongue syndrome—which can also turn tongues black, brown, yellow, or blue—often report gagging, mouth dryness, or bad breath. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A UK company cofounded by an astrophysicist combines AI with radar satellite imagery to keep track of vegetation, and eventually to make forecasts about its growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A small study showed that feeding deer a type of ivermectin reduced the number of ticks drinking their blood. (Yes, it’s that ivermectin. No, you shouldn’t eat it.) Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maybe it’s a commercial jingle, a TikTok song, or a new summer bop. Here’s how to trick your brain into hitting pause. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By early 2024, a tablet called Opill will be sold in pharmacies without a prescription, making it easier for uninsured and young buyers to access. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Millions of years ago, retroviruses invaded the human genome. Today some of these viral remnants threaten the developing embryo while others fight to defend it. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flight delays, cancellations, and violent turbulence are becoming increasingly common as extreme weather ramps up. Things are likely to get worse with climate change. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As glaciers retreat, methane-rich groundwater is bubbling to the surface. That may be warming the climate, accelerating the Arctic’s rapid decline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A protein secreted by seemingly dormant cells in skin moles causes hair to grow again. That’s a big—and potentially useful—surprise. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices