NPR Topics: Research News

Narwhal sightings are rare. Scientists just saw them use their tusks in new ways

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 03:00:59 -0400

What are the narwhals up to? Generally, we don't really know! They are mysterious creatures. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce talks about new, rare drone footage scientists captured of arctic narwhals. The video sparked new ideas for how they use their tusks.

Read Nell's full piece.

Love mysterious critters and want to hear more? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

Why don't diving seals drown? Scientists finally have an answer

Jonathan Lambert — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0400

New research suggests seals sense oxygen levels in their blood to know when to come up for air.

(Image credit: University of St. Andrews Sea Mammal Research Unit)

Speaking into a microphone? Your audio quality can impact the way people view you

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:26:18 -0400

A new study shows that the quality of a person's microphone in a video meeting affects how the speaker is perceived by others.

(Image credit: Smith Collection/Gado)

What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about how viruses evolve

Hannah Chinn — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 03:00:59 -0400

Early in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the SARS-CoV-2 virus would mutate slowly. They were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of viral mutations and multiple seasonal waves later, we now know why. The answer changes researchers' understanding of viral evolution — and it could help predict the evolution of other viruses in the future. Emily talks about it all with Sarah Zhang, a health writer for The Atlantic.

Want to hear more virology or human biology stories? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

(Image credit: Matt Anderson Photography)

Mud dragons, water bears: A new census of ocean life has found over 800 new species

Sarah McCammon — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 09:14:43 -0400

Over 800 marine species have recently been discovered including a guitar-shaped shark off the coast of Mozambique. NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks to marine biologist, Lucy Woodall.

Do you have ADHD? That TikTok might not help you decide

Regina G. Barber — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 03:00:59 -0400

Ever diagnosed yourself with a mental health disorder based on a TikTok video? If so, you're not alone. "I personally don't think that there's anything more human than wanting to understand yourself and wanting to understand your own experiences," says Vasileia Karasavva. Vasileia is the lead author of a paper published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One that gets into why this kind of self-diagnosis can be such a double-edged sword.

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Why don't we remember being babies? Brain scans reveal new clues

Ari Daniel — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:06:27 -0400

Why can't we remember when we were babies? Scientists who scanned infants' brains found that they do make memories. The findings suggest these memories may still exist, but are inaccessible to us.

(Image credit: 160/90)

For microplastics in baby seabirds, what doesn't kill you causes organ failure

Jonathan Lambert — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 07:55:13 -0400

New research shows that ingesting plastic can cause organ dysfunction and other health problems in birds.

Love fruit? Thank dinosaur mass extinction

Emily Kwong — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 03:00:59 -0400

Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: dinosaurs. When these ecosystem engineers were in their heyday, forest canopies were open and seeds were small. But around the time most dinosaurs were wiped out, paleontologists noticed an interesting shift in the fossil record: Seeds got bigger — much bigger. There was a fruit boom. Did the death of these dinosaurs have something to do with it? And who are the modern day equivalent of dinosaur influencers? To find out, host Emily Kwong talks to Chris Doughty, an ecologist at Northern Arizona University.

Tell us what other tales of dino past you want us to regale you with by emailing us at shortwave@npr.org!

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How the Trump administration is halting scientific research

Emily Kwong — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 03:00:59 -0400

In its first 50 days, the Trump administration made sweeping changes to scientific arms of the government like the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. The president issued executive orders to terminate all work that was related to DEI, environmental justice and gender inclusivity. In response, research was halted and thousands of people were fired — some of which was reversed. It's a lot to keep track of, so we called in reinforcements. Here to recount it all and analyze what these ongoing changes mean for the future of scientific research in the United States are NPR science correspondents Rob Stein, Pien Huang and Jonathan Lambert.

Want to hear more about policy changes affecting science? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! We're also always open to other story ideas you have.

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