NASA is shifting the way the Hubble Space Telescope points. The change is a work-around for a piece of hardware that's become intolerably glitchy. Officials say Hubble will continue to do 'ground breaking science,' for about another decade.
If you dread getting on a scale to calculate your body mass index, there’s a good reason to ignore the measure. Body composition tests are an increasingly popular way to gauge health. Here’s why they're better than BMI.
Charlotte the ray was touted as a case of asexual reproduction. Her aquarium now says she's actually sick with a rare disease — not pregnant. "This is a very weird story," an expert tells NPR.
The mystery: How did bubonic plague spread so rapidly? Could rat fleas have done it all? A new study points the finger at lice as possible accomplices.
Scientists have long studied how near-infrared light bounces off forests and grasslands, as a proxy for plant health. Now, an artist is using the same trick to turn the Joshua tree into an instrument.
People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may soon have a new treatment option: MDMA, the chemical found in ecstasy. In August, the Food and Drug Administration plans to decide whether MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD will be approved for market based on years of research. But serious allegations of research misconduct may derail the approval timeline.
NPR science reporter Will Stone talks to host Emily Kwong about the clinical trials on MDMA-assisted therapy research and a recent report questioning the validity of the results.
The Boeing Starliner launch was halted with just minutes to spare. The mission to the International Space Station was to carry two NASA astronauts. Starliner has already faced years of delays.
The same solar region that brought an outburst of night-time beauty in early May is coming back around. But things have changed, a space weather expert tells NPR.
A pioneering program in Ethiopia teaches all students about this "taboo" topic. A new UNICEF report, released on “World Menstrual Hygiene Day," assesses how countries respond to menstrual issues.
Alok Shukla is one of the winners of the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize. He's cited for a campaign to keep a company from felling a forest in India to excavate the coal that lies beneath.
A silky shark named Genie traveled from the Galapagos Islands out to the open ocean and back – over 17,000 miles – over the course of a year and a half. That's an average of 31 miles per day, making Genie's journey the longest recorded migration for a silky shark.
Marine scientist Pelayo Salinas de León and his team named Genie in honor of the late marine biologist Eugenie Clark – also known as "The Shark Lady." She devoted her life to the study of sharks and to improving their reputation.
Have another story you want us to cover? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Humans rely on our symbiotic relationship with good microbes—in the gut, the skin and ... the vagina. Fatima Aysha Hussain studies what makes a healthy vaginal microbiome. She talks to host Emily Kwong about her long-term transplant study that asks the question: Can one vagina help another through a microbe donation?
