Science

A statewide survey of California's bumblebees hopes to help conserve them

4:43pm June 09, 2023

NPR's Ailsa Chang searches coastal California for wild bumblebees with conservation biologist Leif Richardson, one of the leaders of the California Bumble Bee Atlas.

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Smoky air is filled with microscopic flakes of particulate matter that can get into the lungs and even into the blood stream.

Staying safe in smoky air is particularly important for some people. Here's how

2:17pm June 09, 2023

Much of the Northeast U.S. is blanketed in a murky haze of wildfire smoke. For most people breathing this air is unpleasant, for others it can be life-threatening. There are ways to reduce the risk.

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Mountain goats roamed the streets of LLandudno, Wales in March of 2020, as the COVID-19 lockdown kept people and tourists away.

Science

Humans traveled less during COVID restrictions. Animals traveled more

4:46pm June 08, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Animals being tracked by scientists tended to travel longer distances in the early months of the pandemic, when people stayed home. The wildlife also ventured closer to roads.

Fixing pickleball's noise problem

4:22pm June 08, 2023

Pickleball is one of America's fastest growing sports, but it has a noise problem. Bob Unetich is working to fix it.

The California two-spot octopus can edit the RNA in its brain on a massive scale, likely allowing it to keep a clear head in both warm and cool waters.

Science

Octopuses tweak the RNA in their brains to adjust to warmer and cooler waters

4:22pm June 08, 2023

by Ari Daniel

The California two-spot octopus can edit the RNA in its brain to produce different proteins as ocean temperatures fluctuate, a new study finds.

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The remains of the Kakhovka Dam as seen by satellite on June 7, 2023. Seismologists claim to have seen an explosive signal around the time of the dam's collapse.

Seismic stations detected explosion at Ukrainian dam around the time it collapsed

3:19pm June 08, 2023

by Geoff Brumfiel

A Norwegian organization says that two seismic networks it oversees saw an explosion at the war-torn Kakhovka dam in Ukraine around the time it failed.

He Jiankui announced nearly five years ago that he had created the first gene-edited babies.

His baby gene editing shocked ethicists. Now he's in the lab again

1:03pm June 08, 2023

by John Ruwitch

He Jiankui, who shocked the world in 2018 by announcing the creation of the first gene-edited babies, tells NPR he's now working on a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

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In this webcam image provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, an eruption takes place on the summit of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, Wednesday morning, June 7, 2023.

Hawaii's Mount Kilauea volcano has erupted again. Watch it live

8:24am June 08, 2023

by Ayana Archie

Lava began erupting at the Halemaʻumaʻu crater and reached heights of 13 to 30 feet and covered an area of approximately 370 acres. The biggest threat to those in the area is volcanic gas.

Social media leads to discovery of 5,000-year-old mastodon tooth

4:25pm June 07, 2023

A mastodon tooth washed up on a California beach and then went missing. A local museum tried to track it down.

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Volunteers helped tally terrapin turtles for science

5:07pm June 06, 2023

by Kelly Kenoyer

Scientists are relying more and more on non-scientists to help them gather data. That was the case recently on North Carolina's coast, where volunteers spent a day counting terrapin turtles.