Science

This week in science: Melting arctic ice, sea star anatomy and sleep deprived mice

4:28pm November 02, 2023

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Regina Barber and Aaron Scott of NPR's Short Wave about Antarctica's melting ice, the weird anatomy of sea stars, and how a sleepless night can ease depression in mice.

Do you know this goose? Researchers have developed a new facial recognition tool for geese that can ID them based on their beaks.

Enhance! HORNK! Artificial intelligence can now ID individual geese

10:28am November 02, 2023

by Geoff Brumfiel

Yes, that's right, somebody has developed AI for goose faces.

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Using AI to follow one goose in a flock could help with conservation efforts

6:10pm November 01, 2023

by Geoff Brumfiel

Artificial Intelligence is coming to the animal kingdom. Researchers have used advanced facial recognition techniques to track individual geese in a population, and other animal species too.

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Sand flies carry the protozoan parasites that spread leishmaniasis. It was thought to be a disease of tropical climates, but leishmaniasis-causing parasites have now been found living and circulating in the United States.

A 'tropical disease' carried by sand flies is confirmed in a new country: the U.S.

2:27pm November 01, 2023

by Max Barnhart

Leishmaniasis, a disease spread by a parasite carried by sand flies, is generally considered a tropical disease. Now, thanks to climate change, new research finds it's endemic to the United States.

These American birds and dozens more will be renamed, to remove human monikers

10:33am November 01, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The official naming organization for birds in the U. S. is making a bold move, after concerns were raised about birds being named after people with questionable histories.

The FDA is closer to approving a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease

4:50pm October 31, 2023

by Rob Stein

The Food and Drug Administration took a crucial step toward approving the first treatment using the revolutionary gene-editing technique known as CRISPR to treat sickle cell disease.

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In 'White Holes,' Carlo Rovelli takes readers beyond the black hole horizon

11:35am October 31, 2023

by Adam Frank

Physicist Carlo Rovelli is unique among modern scientists who write for popular audiences in his ability to capture the purest essence of his science with both precision and lyricism.

The "bun in the oven" idea goes all the way back 2,000+ years to Ancient Greece, along with some other ideas that discuss pregnancy as a fundamentally passive state, says the author of a new book.

'Bun in the oven' is an ancient pregnancy metaphor. This historian says it has to go

10:30am October 31, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

In a new book, Policing Pregnant Bodies, author Kathleen Crowther grapples with how very old ideas – some of them misogynistic – shape how we think about pregnancy and abortion today.

Worldwide, women cook nearly nine meals a week on average, while men cook only four, according to a new survey.

Worldwide, women cook twice as much as men: One country bucks the trend

8:11pm October 30, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

A new gallop survey finds the gender gap in home cooking has widened. Globally, women cook an average of 9 meals per week, compared to 4 meals for men. And some countries have bigger gaps than others.

Loyalty to groups helped humans survive. That instinct still shows up in conflicts

6:21pm October 30, 2023

by Yuki Noguchi

Entrenched conflicts exist globally and locally. Here's what behavioral science says about working through entrenched divisions.

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