Science, Spoken

A clinical trial reveals the first evidence of how the brain restructures physically in the first month on SSRIs—and the link between neuroplasticity and depression. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New research from two teams shows that these fleeting blips can be faster and brighter, and come from much further away, than previously thought. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Himalayan lake fed by melting ice just released a devastating flood in northern India. Thousands of other unstable lakes are getting bigger every year. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As if we needed another reason to quickly ditch fossil fuels: Cleaner snow melts much more slowly. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the first time, researchers are testing an approach that involves replacing a mutated gene in the inner ears of children with severe hearing loss. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Avian influenza can wipe out entire poultry flocks. An early experiment with Crispr suggests that gene editing can protect chickens against infection. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The fish may be a harbinger of dramatic warming in the north—and rapidly transforming ecosystems. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humans are teaming up with dogs to eliminate the blood-sucking pests, but there's no overarching strategy, just eye-watering costs. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Psyche probe is heading to its namesake metal-rich asteroid. Along the way, it will demonstrate a near-infrared laser system to send high-rate data hundreds of millions of miles home. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The comprehensive collection of 21 studies attempts to map all the brain’s cell types, and offers hope of one day being able to trace brain diseases to their genetic roots. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scientists finally opened the rock sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx captured a treasure trove of material from the solar system’s earliest days. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Human donor kidneys are in short supply. A new experiment that tested gene-edited organ transplants in monkeys showed that pig kidneys may one day be viable substitutes. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The atmosphere is rapidly warming, but the soil is also prone to heat waves. Scientists are racing to understand the consequences. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A malaria vaccine that could protect millions of children against the parasite-borne disease is expected to roll out early next year. It follows another formula that has already had moderate success. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup conducted years of tests at UC Davis, a public university. A WIRED investigation reveals how Neuralink and the university keep the grisly images of test subjects hidden. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mini-brains that work and grow like their full-size counterparts could offer an alternative to animal testing, and advance the quest for personalized medicine. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last month was so hot, scientists are struggling to find words for it. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foam rubber—like the filling inside your couch—produces an enormous amount of CO2. A Norwegian company called Agoprene thinks seaweed could be the solution. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid seems to spike twice a year—but unlike with flu season, not in a predictable pattern. That could be due to the virus, the environment, or the people it is infecting. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trees make clouds by releasing small quantities of vapors called “sesquiterpenes.” Scientists are learning more—and it’s making climate models hazy. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Police are hosting events to collect DNA samples that can help solve missing persons cases. But when people put their DNA in a commercial database, it can used for other purposes. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first human to receive a genetically engineered pig heart survived two months. Surgeons are hoping this transplant will last longer. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The OSIRIS-REx capsule containing a “treasure trove” of space rocks has now arrived at Johnson Space Center, where scientists will gingerly unpack it. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The OSIRIS-REx probe is carrying rock samples from the asteroid Bennu, millions of miles away. If it works, it will be only the third such retrieval in history. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christopher Columbus was blamed for bringing syphilis to Europe. New DNA evidence suggests it was already there. Maybe both stories are true. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices