Science, Spoken

Scientists just figured out that thousands of air quality stations have been accidentally gathering invaluable DNA data on local organisms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Sign in Space encourages the public to imagine what a real message from extraterrestrials might be like—and figure out how to interpret it. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The injectable weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are already popular. Oral forms could lead to even more demand. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hospitals are evolving at warp speed, and autonomous surgical robots are just the beginning. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prolonged exposure to strobe lights has a psychedelic effect, which researchers are investigating as a way to heal the brain. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The number of oceangoing birds has declined 70 percent since the 1950s, but restoring their populations can bolster marine ecosystems that sequester carbon. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scientists are “watching with bated breath” to see if ice will return to normal levels. The planetary consequences could be huge. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Allergy rates are on the rise. Blame climate change and people’s urbanized lifestyles. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Antibody treatments clear amyloid protein from patients’ brains, slowing the progression of their disease but potentially inducing deadly swelling. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The spaceflight sets the stage for the aging International Space Station's private successors, and for an influx of paying customers. Read the story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fitbits and Apple Watches weren’t designed for people with atypical health conditions. But the tech can be extremely useful—with some creativity. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Warming waters in the Pacific can trigger droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall around the world, potentially leading to $3 trillion in losses in the coming years. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first large-scale comparison of DNA mutation rates in 68 different vertebrate species gives insights into how quickly life can evolve. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A startup used gene editing to make mustard greens more appetizing to consumers. Next up: fruits. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chill materials to extreme temperatures, and their vibrations show properties that could one day be exploited to create memory in quantum computers. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NASA team hopes the iconic spacecraft and its twin can continue taking data beyond the solar system past their 50th birthdays. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every year, thousands of pets develop tumors very similar to those found in people. Find drugs that work for canines, and human treatments should follow. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2019 and 2020, the out-of-control blazes sent clouds of smoke across the Pacific, where they brightened clouds and cooled the ocean. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The highest alerts are being unraveled globally. But with some 7 million people dead, there are hard lessons to learn from the pandemic—and a lot of work still to do. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new paper showing how water actually travels through a plastic membrane could make desalination more efficient. That’s good news for a thirsty world. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Immune cells called monocytes are triggered to help clear infection—but in some cases they never switch off, leaving patients breathless for months. Read the story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The technique may finally be emerging as a way to preserve species at risk of extinction. Read the story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a remote part of the Amazon, anthropologists and neuroscientists are learning about life and health without an “embarrassment of riches.” Read the story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope could help resolve some cosmic discrepancies: How fast the universe is expanding and how evenly matter is distributed. Read the story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Increasingly severe heat waves will imperil the country’s development goals, slow economic growth, and heighten health risks, new research shows. Read the story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices