Short Wave
New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.
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- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 1344
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
Lessons in Love From Voles
For years, scientists have known that oxytocin is important in facilitating the feeling of love in humans. How do they know? Prairie voles. For years, scientists have relied on the cuddly rodents to …
00:11:07 |
Fri 14 Feb 2025
Stopping A Deadly Disease On Apache Lands
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is one of the deadliest tickborne diseases in the United States, often killing people within about a week if left untreated. At one point, the San Carlos Apache Reservati…
00:14:02 |
Wed 12 Feb 2025
What Happens Inside A Top-Secret U.S. Nuclear Facility?
The U.S. tested nuclear weapons until the early 1990s. Since then, scientists have been using supercomputers and experiments to simulate nuclear test detonations, without detonating any nukes. But th…
00:13:30 |
Tue 11 Feb 2025
The Dangers Of Mirror Cell Research
For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. On a molecular level, life takes this to the extreme. All of the DNA in earthly living things twists to the right, whereas the protein building blo…
00:13:22 |
Mon 10 Feb 2025
How Physics Could Make Big Crowds Safer
What do large crowds of people and water have in common? They both act like fluids. When crowds cheer, sway and clump together, the movements look like ripples of water. Researchers hope insights fro…
00:10:04 |
Fri 07 Feb 2025
Microbes: It's Complicated
For a long time, microbes like the ones in Yellowstone's hot springs were studied in isolation. Molecular ecologist Devaki Bhaya says we should be studying them in community. Here's why.
Help shape th…
Help shape th…
00:14:25 |
Wed 05 Feb 2025
Why Black Holes Are More Than They Seem
Black holes are notorious for gobbling up, well, everything. They're icons of destruction, ruthless voids, ambivalent abysses from which nothing can return — at least, according to pop culture. But b…
00:12:50 |
Tue 04 Feb 2025
Not All Nature Comebacks Are Equal
Ecologist Gergana Daskalova moved back to the small Bulgarian town of her childhood. It's a place many people have abandoned — and that's the very reason she returned. At the same time as land is b…
00:12:22 |
Mon 03 Feb 2025
10 Technologies To Watch
In a world brimming with innovation and limited time, it can be hard to tell what technology has the potential to really shift life. Yet, every year, MIT Technology Review undertakes this very task a…
00:12:09 |
Fri 31 Jan 2025
Farts To The Rescue
Farts are funny and sometimes smelly. But are they a legitimate topic of research?
More than 40% of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from some kind of functional gut disorder — from acid refl…
More than 40% of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from some kind of functional gut disorder — from acid refl…
00:13:56 |
Wed 29 Jan 2025
The Latest On Bird Flu
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading among livestock and other mammals in the United States, raising concerns that another pandemic may be looming. Last month, California declared a state of em…
00:13:18 |
Tue 28 Jan 2025
Moths, Owls And Fungi With Over 20,000 Sexes...Oh My!
Put on your headphones. In today's episode, host Emily Kwong leads us on a night hike in Patuxent River State Park in Maryland. Alongside a group of naturalists led by Serenella Linares, we'll meet a…
00:13:29 |
Mon 27 Jan 2025
Peeing Is Contagious!
At least, it's contagious among a group of captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Sanctuary. How do researchers know? A very dedicated grad student at Kyoto University. In the quest for scientific knowl…
00:08:30 |
Fri 24 Jan 2025
Where Are We In The Quest To Find Alien Life?
Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. It was a big moment in a century-long concerted search for extraterrestrial in…
00:12:13 |
Wed 22 Jan 2025
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
Forests are the lungs of our planet. Not only do they absorb carbon dioxide and create oxygen, they also regulate temperature, absorb rainwater to help prevent flooding and provide critical habitat f…
00:13:55 |
Tue 21 Jan 2025
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is banning the dye called Red No. 3, a food dye additive in many processed foods, like sodas, sweets and snacks. Recently, it and other dye…
00:10:13 |
Mon 20 Jan 2025
All Of Life Has A Common Ancestor. What Was LUCA?
Imagine the tree of life. The tip of every branch represents one species, and if you follow any two branches back through time, you'll hit an intersection. If you keep going back in time, you'll even…
00:13:07 |
Fri 17 Jan 2025
Some Dinos Had Feathers. Did They Fly?
When you picture a dinosaur, what does it look like? For Jingmai O'Connor, paleobiologist and associate curator of reptiles at the Field Museum of Chicago, the dinosaurs she studies look a lot more l…
00:13:18 |
Wed 15 Jan 2025
Bone Marrow Cells: Key To Vaccine Longevity?
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine generates enough of an antibody response to protect against severe disease for six months. But other vaccines offer years-long — even lifelong — immunity, such as the measle…
00:08:48 |
Tue 14 Jan 2025
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
Air quality in the Los Angeles region has plummeted due to smoke from the ongoing wildfires. With all that smoke comes possible risks to human health. So what actually is smoke and why is it so harmf…
00:13:59 |
Tue 14 Jan 2025
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