NPR News: Unlocking the secrets of an ancient plague

Unlocking the secrets of an ancient plague
The first historically recorded pandemic is believed to have struck the walled city of Jirash, in what is now modern-day Jordan, in the 7th century. A new study reveals details about those who died.

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NPR News: NASA redirects Artemis moon mission program, postponing a planned astronaut landing

NASA redirects Artemis moon mission program, postponing a planned astronaut landing
In shaking up its Artemis lunar program, NASA's new moon plan looks more like the Apollo missions of the 1960s. Instead of landing on the surface on Artemis III, NASA hopes to do so on Artemis IV.

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NPR News: This community festival embraces the joys of a frozen lake — while it still has one

This community festival embraces the joys of a frozen lake — while it still has one
As climate change accelerates, local experts say the date Wisconsin's Lake Mendota freezes over is getting later, making safe conditions for activities that rely on snow and ice harder to predict.

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NPR News: NASA lost a lunar spacecraft one day after launch. A new report details what went wrong

NASA lost a lunar spacecraft one day after launch. A new report details what went wrong
Why did a $72 million mission to study water on the moon fail so soon after launch? A new NASA report has the answer.

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NPR News: These major issues have brought together Democrats and Republicans in states

These major issues have brought together Democrats and Republicans in states
Across the country, Republicans and Democrats have found bipartisan agreement on regulating artificial intelligence and data centers. But it's not just big tech aligning the two parties.

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NPR News: Why farmers in California are backing a giant solar farm

Why farmers in California are backing a giant solar farm
Many farmers have had to fallow land as a state law comes into effect limiting their access to water. There's now a push to develop some of that land… into solar farms.

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NPR News: When a horse whinnies, there's more than meets the ear

When a horse whinnies, there's more than meets the ear
A new study finds that horse whinnies are made of both a high and a low frequency, generated by different parts of the vocal tract. The two-tone sound may help horses convey more complex information.

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NPR News: Newly discovered dinosaur species was a fish-eater with a huge horn

Newly discovered dinosaur species was a fish-eater with a huge horn
The semi-aquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus mirabilis, was discovered by an international team of scientists working in Niger.

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NPR News: NASA's Artemis II lunar mission may not launch in March after all

NASA's Artemis II lunar mission may not launch in March after all
NASA says an "interrupted flow" of helium to the rocket system could require a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building. If it happens, NASA says the launch to the moon would be delayed until April.

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NPR News: US military airlifts small reactor as Trump pushes to quickly deploy nuclear power

US military airlifts small reactor as Trump pushes to quickly deploy nuclear power
The Pentagon and the Energy Department have airlifted a small nuclear reactor from California to Utah, demonstrating what they say is potential for the U.S. to quickly deploy nuclear power for military and civilian use.

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NPR News: NASA eyes March 6 to launch 4 astronauts to the moon on Artemis II mission

NASA eyes March 6 to launch 4 astronauts to the moon on Artemis II mission
The four astronauts heading to the moon for the lunar fly-by are the first humans to venture there since 1972. The ten-day mission will travel more than 600,000 miles.

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NPR News: NASA chief blasts Boeing, space agency for failed Starliner astronaut mission

NASA chief blasts Boeing, space agency for failed Starliner astronaut mission
NASA's Jared Isaacman slammed Boeing for failures with its Starliner spacecraft, which was deemed unsafe to return its crew of two astronauts from the International Space Station

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NPR News: Scientists analyzed bottle residue from ancient Rome. They found human feces

Scientists analyzed bottle residue from ancient Rome. They found human feces
Archeologists found evidence that ancient Romans may have used a medical treatment involving perfume... and human feces.

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NPR News: This week in science: Mental health and chatbots, ultrarunning and intermittent fasting

This week in science: Mental health and chatbots, ultrarunning and intermittent fasting
NPR's science podcast Short Wave talk about how ultrarunning affects the body, the trend of intermittent fasting and how to protect people's mental health when they talk with chatbots.

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NPR News: Baby chicks link certain sounds with shapes, just like humans do

Baby chicks link certain sounds with shapes, just like humans do
A surprising new study shows that baby chickens react the same way that humans do when tested for something called the "bouba-kiki effect," which has been linked to the emergence of language.

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NPR News: That ain't perfume! Ancient bottle contained feces, likely used for medicine

That ain't perfume! Ancient bottle contained feces, likely used for medicine
Researchers found a tiny bottle from ancient Rome that contained fecal residue and traces of aromatics, offering evidence that poop was used medicinally more than two thousand years ago.

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NPR News: Mass grave sheds light on 7th century plague

Mass grave sheds light on 7th century plague
In modern-day Jordan, a 1500-year old mass grave sheds light on the lives of people affected by the Plague of Justinian.

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NPR News: This form of mental exercise may cut dementia risk for decades

This form of mental exercise may cut dementia risk for decades
A study finds that people who did one specific form of brain training in the 1990s were less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next 20 years.

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NPR News: Surprise shark caught on camera for first time in Antarctica's near-freezing deep

Surprise shark caught on camera for first time in Antarctica's near-freezing deep
Many experts had thought sharks didn't exist in the frigid waters of Antarctica.

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NPR News: AI is helping individual scientists, study suggests — but not science

AI is helping individual scientists, study suggests — but not science
Artificial intelligence is helping researchers advance their careers and drill deeper into specific questions, but it is not necessarily benefiting science on the whole.

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NPR News: Why do humans kiss?

Why do humans kiss?
We ask Matilda Brindle, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford.

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NPR News: Four people on NASA'S Crew-12 arrive at the International Space Station

Four people on NASA'S Crew-12 arrive at the International Space Station
The crew will spend the next eight months conducting experiments to prepare for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.

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NPR News: What monogamy in the animal world tells us about ourselves

What monogamy in the animal world tells us about ourselves
As Valentine's Day approaches, we take a look at monogamy and its alternatives among animals — including humans.

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NPR News: What elephant whiskers can teach us about touch

What elephant whiskers can teach us about touch
Elephants use their trunks much like a human uses their hands: to pick up food and manipulate objects. A new study finds that tiny, specialized whiskers on elephant trunks help them do it.

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NPR News: On their way! 4 people on NASA Crew-12 mission launch to International Space Station

On their way! 4 people on NASA Crew-12 mission launch to International Space Station
The four people are set to dock with the I.S.S. on Saturday, returning the orbital lab to its full complement of seven. NASA's last mission, Crew-11, left a month early due to an ill crew member.

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NPR News: Have astronomers witnessed the birth of a black hole?

Have astronomers witnessed the birth of a black hole?
A massive star in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has simply disappeared. Some astronomers believe that it's collapsed in on itself and formed a black hole.

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NPR News: A researcher's effort to make edible cotton seeds

A researcher's effort to make edible cotton seeds
Edible cotton seeds could revolutionize the cotton industry. That's the goal of  one researcher who says the seeds would be an inexpensive protein source that could help feed millions of people.

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NPR News: An ape, a tea party — and the ability to imagine

An ape, a tea party — and the ability to imagine
The ability to imagine — to play pretend — has long been thought to be unique to humans. A new study suggests one of our closest living relatives can do it too.

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NPR News: This complex brain network may explain many of Parkinson's stranger symptoms

This complex brain network may explain many of Parkinson's stranger symptoms
Parkinson's disease appears to disrupt a brain network involved in everything from movement to memory.

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NPR News: US scientists adapt after the Trump administration's funding blows

US scientists adapt after the Trump administration's funding blows
Scientists say the Trump administration's policies have led to major changes and uncertainty about scientific efforts and accomplishments.

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NPR News: The physics of the spiral pass have long been a mystery. Not anymore

The physics of the spiral pass have long been a mystery. Not anymore
The physics of the spiral pass have baffled physicists and football fans for decades.

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NPR News: The seismometers at the end of the earth have names

The seismometers at the end of the earth have names
Scientists have placed two seismometers 8000 feet below the ice cap at the South Pole to measure earthquakes and support tsunami alerts.

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NPR News: What we know about the massive sewage leak in the Potomac River

What we know about the massive sewage leak in the Potomac River
A collapsed sewer line, about 8 miles from the White House, pumped 368 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of wastewater into the Potomac. Repairs could take longer than previously expected.

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NPR News: Researchers say when it comes to our attention spans, we are at war

Researchers say when it comes to our attention spans, we are at war
NPR's Scott Simon speaks to writer Matt Klein about how to win back our attention in an age of infinite information.

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NPR News: Can't solve a puzzle? Sleep on it, a new study suggests

Can't solve a puzzle? Sleep on it, a new study suggests
NPR's Short Wave talks about babies' perceptions of rhythm, how sleep may help us solve puzzles and why snakes may be able to fast so long.

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NPR News: The Winter Olympics in Italy were meant to be sustainable. Are they?

The Winter Olympics in Italy were meant to be sustainable. Are they?
Italy's Winter Olympics promised sustainability. But in Cortina, environmentalists warn the Games could scar these mountains for decades.

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NPR News: Measles continues to spread in the US, but with some letup

Measles continues to spread in the US, but with some letup
As South Carolina's outbreak grows to 876 confirmed cases, vaccinations in the state surged in January. Cases have also been reported in two ICE detention facilities.

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NPR News: Searching for dinosaur secrets in crocodile bones

Searching for dinosaur secrets in crocodile bones
Until now, estimating how old a dinosaur was when it died has been a fairly simple process: Count up the growth rings in the fossilized bones. But new research into some of dinosaurs' living relatives, like crocodiles, suggests that this method may not always work.

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NPR News: How a Black fossil digger became a superstar in the very white world of paleontology

How a Black fossil digger became a superstar in the very white world of paleontology
In South Africa, paleontology has been dominated by white people. Lazarus Kgasi is changing that dynamic — and coloring in the picture of the world our distant ancestors once inhabited.

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NPR News: NASA delays the launch of Artemis II lunar mission by at least a month

NASA delays the launch of Artemis II lunar mission by at least a month
NASA is targeting March for the launch of four astronauts on a ten-day mission to circle the moon and return safely to Earth, traveling farther than any humans have ventured in deep space.

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NPR News: The method for estimating a dinosaurs' age at death may be off, research suggests

The method for estimating a dinosaurs' age at death may be off, research suggests
A growing body of research on dinosaurs' closest living relatives suggests the method that's been used to estimate how old a dinosaur was when it died may be leading paleontologists astray.

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NPR News: The Trump Administration exempts new nuclear reactors from environmental review

The Trump Administration exempts new nuclear reactors from environmental review
The announcement comes just days after NPR revealed the administration had secretly rewritten safety and environmental standards.

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NPR News: Meet Milo and Tina, the 'first openly Gen Z' Olympic mascots

Meet Milo and Tina, the 'first openly Gen Z' Olympic mascots
The 2026 Olympics and Paralympics mascots are Milo and Tina, a pair of teenage, scarf-clad stoat siblings with big dreams. If you're wondering what a stoat is, you're in the right place.

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NPR News: What to know about Artemis II's 'wet dress rehearsal'

What to know about Artemis II's 'wet dress rehearsal'
As astronauts prepare to fly around the moon, critical testing must occur before there is "Go" for launch.

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