Science

Dropping water levels in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine have exposed fishing nets and roots of aquatic plants along the shoreline of the Dnipro river.

Russia is draining a massive Ukrainian reservoir, endangering a nuclear plant

12:44pm February 10, 2023

Satellite data show water levels plummeting at the Kakhovka Reservoir. The reservoir supplies drinking water, irrigates vast tracts of farmland, and cools Europe's largest nuclear plant.

Queue Listen Now

This composite was made with images from NASA's Juno mission and shows the shadow on Jupiter cast by Io, one of its many moons.

Science

Here's why Jupiter's tally of moons keeps going up and up

6:10am February 09, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The first astronomer to discover moons around Jupiter was Galileo, back in the year 1610, but astronomers are still finding more and more moons around this gas giant.

A new study finds that orca mothers still feed their adult sons. It's a bond that may come with costs, researchers say.

Killer whale moms are still supporting their adult sons — and it's costing them

5:05am February 09, 2023

by Ari Daniel

Orca moms spent precious resources feeding their fully grown adult male offspring. A new study finds that this may limit how many more young they produce.

A patient undergoes dialysis at a clinic in Sacramento, Calif. New CDC data highlights racial disparities in the risk of staph bloodstream infections among dialysis patients.

Hispanic dialysis patients are more at risk for staph infections, the CDC says

12:43pm February 07, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Hispanic patients had a 40% higher risk of staph than white patients, a study found, and black patients are more at risk as well. The report outlines steps doctors can take to keep patients safer.

A man searches for people in the rubble of a destroyed building in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.

Here's what we know about what caused the Turkey earthquake

11:23am February 07, 2023

Seismologists say Monday's earthquake took place in a complex junction of faults that was long overdue for a big one. The destructive shaking was spread across many kilometers.

Queue Listen Now

Rescue teams are conducting search and rescue operations in Diyarbakir and other parts of southeastern Turkey that were hit by powerful earthquakes on Monday. Anyone claiming to predict quakes, a seismologist tells NPR, is making "scattershot" predictions.

No, you can't predict earthquakes, the USGS says

8:27am February 07, 2023

by Bill Chappell

If someone who predicts an earthquake seems to get it right, it's basically like a broken clock that's right twice a day, a USGS seismologist tells NPR.

Science

What caused Monday's major earthquake in Turkey? Here's what we know

6:51am February 07, 2023

by Geoff Brumfiel

A devastating earthquake has struck southern Turkey and Northern Syria. It's a seismically active part of the world known for big quakes. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Feb. 6, 2023.)

Queue Listen Now

This image of the Southern Ring Nebula was one of the first James Webb Space Telescope images released to the public last year.

Science

What's the fairest way to share cosmic views from Hubble and James Webb telescopes?

5:06am February 07, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Astronomers are debating how quickly the observations of the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope should be made public.

James Webb Space Telescope managers weigh whether to release its data right away

6:24pm February 06, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Astronomers who win time to use space telescopes typically get a period of time when they alone can see the resulting data. But telescope managers are considering making all data public immediately.

Queue Listen Now

Eileen and Louise both got COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic in New York. Eileen ended up on a ventilator for two months and then spent five months in a rehab hospital. Louise fought the illness at home as hospitals started filling up.

Family caregivers of people with long COVID bear an extra burden

5:00am February 06, 2023

by Kat McGowan

When a case of COVID-19 morphs into the mysterious, chronic condition known as long COVID, the specialists, appointments, medications and daily need for family care can overwhelm everyone involved.